Short answer
Mississippi had 1,539 insurance establishments with paid employees in 2023, 36th among the states, employing 12,017 people, according to Census County Business Patterns. 1,233 were agencies and brokerages and 219 were carrier offices. No SEC-listed insurer is headquartered in the state. The Mississippi Insurance Department licenses insurers, agents and adjusters; in its 2025 to 2026 reporting year it processed 1,444 consumer complaints and recovered about $7.9 million for consumers.
- 1,539 insurance establishments and 12,017 jobs in 2023, with $921.8 million in payroll; 36th among the states.
- The 1,233 agencies and brokerages average 4.3 employees; 925 have fewer than five.
- Carriers employ 5,284 people at 219 offices; health insurers are the largest group, with 2,270.
- The Department reports 184,181 licensed producers and 36,065 independent and public adjusters, far more than work in Mississippi insurance.
- Its Consumer Services Division processed 1,444 complaints and collected $7,875,512 for consumers in the year to February 2026.
On this page
This is for Mississippians buying insurance or stuck on a claim, for people looking at insurance work in the state, and for companies selling to its agencies and insurers. It covers how many there are and of what kind, the insurers run from the state, how to check a company or agent with the Mississippi Insurance Department (MID), and what the agency market buys. It doesn't recommend carriers.
The count
County Business Patterns 2023:
| Segment | NAICS | Establishments | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies and brokerages | 524210 | 1,233 | 5,336 | $72,093 |
| Third-party administrators | 524292 | 44 | 1,215 | $70,193 |
| Claims adjusting | 524291 | 31 | 73 | $65,068 |
| Insurance carriers | 5241 | 219 | 5,284 | $83,213 |
| Health and medical insurers | 524114 | 48 | 2,270 | $85,618 |
| Property and casualty insurers | 524126 | 116 | 1,730 | $83,426 |
| Life insurers | 524113 | 49 | 1,270 | $78,833 |
| All insurance | 524 | 1,539 | 12,017 | $76,707 |
Average pay: our calculation, payroll divided by employees. Agencies make up 80% of establishments; carriers 14%, a little under the national 16%. Mississippi ranks 36th among the states for both carrier and agency establishments, and 41st for carrier employment.
| Employees at the establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 1,109 |
| 5 to 9 | 241 |
| 10 to 19 | 100 |
| 20 to 49 | 60 |
| 50 to 99 | 11 |
| 100 to 249 | 10 |
| 250 to 499 | 6 |
| 500 or more | not published |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the two largest classes for Mississippi. The published classes add to 1,537, so two establishments have 500 or more employees, and 18 have 100 or more (derived as the total less the smaller bands). That leaves 1,450 under 20 employees and 71 with 20 to 99; the average is 7.8.
Limits. The counts are establishments with paid employees. A company with offices in Jackson and Gulfport counts twice, and agents who work alone without staff aren't counted.
Licensed versus local
MID's 2025 to 2026 annual report (1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026) gives the licensing side. It reports 184,181 licensed producers and agents, 4,239 surplus lines producers, 36,065 independent and public adjusters, 1,394 bail agents and 12,493 other licensees, 238,372 in all. Set against 12,017 insurance jobs in the state, most of those licenses must belong to people working from other states, which is normal: agents and adjusters hold licenses wherever their clients or claims are. MID also says its financial regulators monitored the solvency of 2,674 companies.
Insurers run from Mississippi
No SEC-registered listed insurance company is headquartered in Mississippi. Tennessee's List of Licensed Insurance Companies (as of 30 September 2026), which records each company's state of charter and main office, includes 14 Mississippi-chartered insurers, nine of them run from the Jackson area:
| Main office | Mississippi-chartered insurers on the list |
|---|---|
| Jackson | Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, Hugo Insurance Exchange |
| Ridgeland | AmFed Advantage Insurance Company, AmFed Casualty Insurance Company, AmFed National Insurance Company |
| Flowood | American Federated Insurance Company, American Federated Life Insurance Company, Bluebonnet Life Insurance Company, Gulf Guaranty Life Insurance Company |
The list includes only insurers licensed in Tennessee. For every company licensed in Mississippi, use MID's Company Licensing Search, which can download lists of licensed companies by authorized line and license type. For the national groups that write most Mississippi policies, see the largest insurance companies in the US.
Checking a company or agent
- Company: MID's Company Licensing Search finds licensed insurers by license number, NAIC number or name.
- Agent or adjuster: MID's licensing search covers individuals and entities as well as companies.
- Complaint record: the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search reports complaints, licenses and financial information for each insurer.
- A complaint: MID has separate forms for complaints against a company and against an agent, and an online complaint form. Its Consumer Services Division processed 1,444 complaints in the 2025 to 2026 reporting year, handled 7,953 phone calls, closed 96% of the complaints it received and collected $7,875,512.25 for consumers. Its main number is 601-359-3569.
Jobs
Mississippi insurance paid an average of $76,707 in 2023: $83,213 at carriers and $72,093 at agencies, against national averages of $107,137 and $90,831 (our calculation from County Business Patterns). Health insurers are the largest carrier employers, with 2,270 people at 48 offices.
Selling to Mississippi agencies
The market is owner-run agencies: 925 of the 1,233 have fewer than five employees and fewer than ten have 50 or more. Owners buy agency management systems, quoting tools, websites and local marketing, bookkeeping and help with succession. Pitch on time saved and keep pricing simple.
Illustrative example. The company, rates and results are invented.
Magnolia Systems (magnolia-systems.example) moves agencies from old agency management systems to cloud ones and trains their staff. It targets agencies with 5 to 19 employees: 206 plus 78, or 284. It keeps those whose job postings or websites suggest an older system, an assumed 30%, or 85. One email and one call to each owner, at a 6% reply rate, gives 5 conversations; two migration projects at $12,000 each bring $24,000. Spotting which of 284 agencies run older systems is the research Bebop does for each one, and the guide to selling to small businesses covers the rest.
Next step: DeSoto County agencies sit in the Memphis market; see insurance companies in Memphis.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023: state file, NAICS 524 and its industries, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Annual Report 2025-2026, Mississippi Insurance Department, accessed 30 October 2026
- Company Licensing Search, Mississippi Insurance Department, accessed 30 October 2026
- File a Complaint, Mississippi Insurance Department, accessed 30 October 2026
- List of Licensed Insurance Companies (as of 30 September 2026), Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, accessed 30 October 2026
- Consumer Insurance Search (CIS), National Association of Insurance Commissioners, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many insurance companies are in Mississippi?
Census County Business Patterns counted 1,539 insurance establishments with paid employees in Mississippi in 2023, 36th among the states, employing 12,017 people. 1,233 were agencies and brokerages and 219 were carrier offices. The counts are of offices rather than firms and leave out agents who work alone. Separately, the Mississippi Insurance Department reports monitoring the solvency of 2,674 companies.
What insurance companies are based in Mississippi?
No SEC-listed insurer is headquartered in Mississippi. Tennessee's registry of licensed insurers shows Mississippi-chartered insurers run from the Jackson area, including Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company in Jackson, three AmFed companies in Ridgeland and American Federated Insurance Company in Flowood. MID's Company Licensing Search lists every insurer licensed in the state.
How do I file an insurance complaint in Mississippi?
Contact the insurer or agent first. If that fails, use the Mississippi Insurance Department's online complaint form or its separate complaint forms for companies and agents. In its 2025 to 2026 reporting year, the Department's Consumer Services Division processed 1,444 complaints and collected about $7.9 million for consumers. The Department's main number is 601-359-3569.
How do I check if an insurance agent is licensed in Mississippi?
Use the Mississippi Insurance Department's licensing search, which covers individual producers, agencies and adjusters as well as insurance companies. Confirm the license is active and covers the type of insurance you're buying. For the insurer's complaint and financial record, use the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search with the company's legal name.