Analysis
NAICS 5242 is the 2022 industry group for agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities, part of 524 (Insurance Carriers and Related Activities). Census lists 32 example activities under it in the official index.
County Business Patterns counts 147,902 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 1,310,504 people at an average annual payroll of $87,892 per employee (76th percentile of national industries). 71% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 2 codes at this level within Insurance Carriers and Related Activities, with 83.8% of them.
Across its national industries Census lists 32 index entries; typical ones are agencies, insurance, cause-of-loss investigators, insurance, claims processing services, insurance, third party and actuarial services, insurance.
It splits into 2 more detailed codes. The largest by establishments is 52421 (Insurance Agencies and Brokerages) with 133,728.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 1% and employment rose 15%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
Official definition
This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1) acting as agents (i.e., brokers) in selling annuities and insurance policies or (2) providing other employee benefits and insurance related services, such as claims adjustment and third party administration.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Index entries (32)
- Agencies, insurance
- Cause-of-loss investigators, insurance
- Claims processing services, insurance, third party
- Actuarial services, insurance