Short answer
Rhode Island had 525 insurance establishments with paid employees in 2023, employing 15,773 people, according to Census County Business Patterns. 133 were carrier offices, 25% of the total, and 320 were agencies and brokerages. No SEC-listed insurer is headquartered there, but state records show Rhode Island-chartered insurers run from the state, including Amica Mutual (Lincoln), Factory Mutual (Johnston) and several companies managed from Warwick.
- 525 insurance establishments and 15,773 jobs in 2023, with $1.7 billion in payroll and an average of 30 employees per establishment.
- Carriers are 25.3% of establishments, well above the national 16.2%, and employ 6,846 people at an average of $132,576.
- 21 of the state's 22 insurance offices with 250 to 499 employees are third-party administrators.
- Amica, Factory Mutual and Farmers-named companies are among the Rhode Island-chartered insurers managed in the state.
- No SEC-listed insurance company is headquartered in Rhode Island.
On this page
This page is for Rhode Islanders comparing insurers or dealing with a claim, for job seekers looking at the state's insurance employers, and for companies that sell to carriers, administrators and agencies. It sets out the Census counts, explains the unusual shape of the market, names the insurers run from Rhode Island using a state insurance registry, and covers how to check a company or agent. It doesn't recommend carriers.
A small state with big insurance offices
County Business Patterns 2023 counted 525 insurance establishments in Rhode Island, 0.30% of the national total and 46th among the states. What sets them apart is size: 30.0 employees on average, against about 15 in Florida or Indiana.
| Segment | NAICS | Establishments | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance carriers | 5241 | 133 | 6,846 | $132,576 |
| Property and casualty insurers | 524126 | 65 | 4,297 | $131,254 |
| Health and medical insurers | 524114 | 32 | 1,948 | $118,825 |
| Life insurers | 524113 | 32 | 520 | $200,687 |
| Agencies, brokerages and related services | 5242 | 392 | 8,927 | $86,757 |
| Agencies and brokerages | 524210 | 320 | 2,406 | $96,231 |
| Third-party administrators | 524292 | 50 | not reported (high-noise figure) | not reported |
| All insurance | 524 | 525 | 15,773 | $106,644 |
The average pay column is our calculation from payroll and employees. The third-party administrator employee count is published, but the Census Bureau flags it because the noise it adds for confidentiality changed the figure by 5% or more; most of the 8,927 jobs on the agency-and-services side that aren't at agencies are at these administrators.
| Employees at the establishment | Establishments |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 303 |
| 5 to 9 | 88 |
| 10 to 19 | 55 |
| 20 to 49 | 30 |
| 50 to 99 | 12 |
| 100 to 249 | 11 |
| 250 to 499 | 22 |
| 500 or more | not published |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the two largest classes for Rhode Island; the published ones add to 521, so four establishments have 500 or more employees, and 37 have 100 or more (a figure derived as the total less the smaller bands). The striking cell is 250 to 499: 22 establishments, 21 of them third-party administrators (NAICS 524292), which process claims and administer benefits for insurers, employers and self-insured plans. In the 2022 edition of the industry classification that code's title also names pharmacy benefit management. The Census Bureau doesn't say which businesses these are.
What the counts are. Establishments with paid employees, so one company's several offices count separately and agents working alone without staff are left out.
Insurers run from Rhode Island
No SEC-registered listed insurance company is headquartered in the state. The best public view of the home-grown carriers we could open is Tennessee's list of licensed insurers (as of 30 September 2026), which records each company's state of charter and main office. It shows 15 Rhode Island-chartered insurers, 11 of them managed from Rhode Island:
| Main office | Rhode Island-chartered insurers on the list |
|---|---|
| Lincoln | Amica Mutual Insurance Company, Amica Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Amica Life Insurance Company |
| Johnston | Factory Mutual Insurance Company, Affiliated FM Insurance Company, Appalachian Insurance Company |
| Warwick | Farmers Direct Property and Casualty, Farmers Group Property and Casualty, Farmers Property and Casualty, Metropolitan General and Providence Washington insurance companies |
The list covers only insurers licensed in Tennessee, so smaller Rhode Island carriers that write only locally won't appear. The state's own regulator, the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation's Insurance Division, keeps the complete records. For the national groups behind many of these names, see the largest insurance companies in the US.
Checking a company or agent
- License: ask the agent for their Rhode Island producer license number and confirm it, and the insurer's authority to write in the state, with the Department of Business Regulation's Insurance Division.
- Complaint record: the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search reports complaints, licenses and financial information by insurer. Search the legal company name on your declarations page; the three Amica companies above, for example, are separate insurers.
- Agents: the Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island, the state affiliate of the national independent agents' association, links a find-an-agent search.
- A dispute: go to the company first, then file with the Insurance Division. The NAIC's guide to filing a complaint lists what to send: policy number, documents, a factual timeline and the outcome you want.
Jobs
Pay is high. Carriers averaged $132,576 in 2023 and life insurers $200,687, against a national carrier average of $107,137; agencies averaged $96,231 against $90,831 nationally (our calculation from County Business Patterns). By state rank, Rhode Island is 47th for carrier establishments but 38th for carrier employment, a sign of how big its insurer offices are.
Selling to Rhode Island insurers and administrators
With few, large buyers, this is an account-based market. The 37 establishments with 100 or more employees, carriers and administrators alike, buy claims and policy systems, document processing, contact-center tools, cloud and security services, and contract staff. The 320 agencies, two-thirds of them under five employees, buy agency management systems, quoting tools and marketing, and the owner decides.
Illustrative example. The company, rates and results are invented.
Narragansett Talent (narragansett-talent.example) recruits licensed service representatives and claims staff. It targets the 37 Rhode Island insurance establishments with 100 or more employees and keeps the ones with open service or claims roles, an assumed 70%, or 26. A note to each talent acquisition lead naming the roles they have open, at a 15% reply rate, gives 4 conversations; two clients hiring six people a year each at an $8,000 fee bring $96,000. With a list this short, knowing each account well matters more than volume; Bebop researches each one from a plain-language description.
Next step: if you need the right industry code for a filing or a list, see the NAICS code for an insurance agency.
Sources
- County Business Patterns (CBP), 2023: state file, NAICS 524 and its industries, US Census Bureau, 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
- How to File an Insurance Complaint, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, accessed 30 October 2026
- Independent Insurance Agents of Rhode Island, IIARI, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many insurance companies are in Rhode Island?
Census County Business Patterns counted 525 insurance establishments with paid employees in Rhode Island in 2023, employing 15,773 people. 133 were carrier offices and 320 were agencies and brokerages; the rest were third-party administrators and other services. The counts are of offices rather than firms and leave out agents who work alone without staff.
What insurance companies are based in Rhode Island?
No SEC-listed insurer is headquartered in Rhode Island. Tennessee's registry of licensed insurers, which records where each company is chartered and managed, shows Rhode Island-chartered companies run from the state, including Amica Mutual Insurance Company in Lincoln, Factory Mutual Insurance Company in Johnston, and Farmers-named property and casualty companies and Providence Washington Insurance Company in Warwick.
How do I check if an insurance agent is licensed in Rhode Island?
Ask for the agent's Rhode Island producer license number and confirm it with the Department of Business Regulation's Insurance Division, which licenses agents and insurers in the state. Confirm the insurer named on your quote is authorized there too. For the insurer's complaint and financial record, use the NAIC's Consumer Insurance Search with the exact company name on your policy.
Why are Rhode Island's insurance offices so large?
Rhode Island's 525 insurance establishments averaged 30 employees in 2023, according to Census data. A quarter are carrier offices, against 16% nationally, and 21 third-party administrator offices each have 250 to 499 employees. Insurers such as Amica and Factory Mutual are also managed from the state, adding large head-office workforces to a small market.