Hospitality accounts for more than $7 billion in premium

Accommodation and food service businesses begin coming out of the recession

The accommodation and food service businesses that comprise NAICS 72 produced nearly $7.2 billion in premium in 2010, according to data compiled by MarketStance, Middletown, Connecticut. That year saw the hospitality business start to emerge from the recession. Years 2008-2010 had seen a 0.6% average annual drop in employment in these businesses. It was only in the Rough Notes Northeast region that the hospitality business enjoyed modest growth in employment, with all other regions showing declines. (NAICS 72 includes traveler accommodations such as hotels and motels, as well as RV parks and camps, and rooming and boarding houses. It also includes food services and drinking places, as well as food service contactors, caterers and mobile food services.)

The hospitality industry employs more than 12 million people in some 935,000 locations, making it a very important contributor to the national economy. It is equally important to independent agents, since most of the businesses in this category are small businesses employing fewer than 50 people.

In fact, 62% (582,000) of the operating locations for this industry are small businesses and another 33% (304,000) belong to self-employed people. The nearly 49,000 mid-sized operations represent 5% of the businesses. The small and self-employed businesses provide $4.23 billion in premium, while the mid-sized operations contribute $2.62 billion. The 208 large operations represent $348 million in premium.

Because of the preponderance of small business operations, it is not surprising that BOP premiums of $3.24 billion represent the largest percentage (45%) of property/casualty business written for this niche. This is followed by workers comp premium of $1.54 billion, liability premiums of $1.33 billion and property premiums of $592 million. n

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