For anyone in the restoration industry or anyone who's been involved in insurance claims, you know how powerful the system can be—and how challenging it is to fight against. But here's a question: Who exactly is pulling the strings behind the scenes? The answer might be more alarming than you think.
Let’s talk about Xactimate, the widely used software for estimating damage claims in the insurance industry. Xactimate, developed by Xactware, is the go-to tool for insurance companies when calculating claims for everything from water damage to fire restoration. But here's the catch: Xactware was bought by Verisk Analytics, a company owned in large part by some of the biggest players in global finance, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. These companies control a massive portion of the world's financial market, including the companies that control the insurance industry. And in case you didn’t know—these same investment giants have stakes in nearly every major insurance company, which means they control how your claims are processed, your premiums are set, and ultimately, who wins and who loses in this system.
?Verisk Analytics: The Backbone Behind the Insurance Industry
Verisk Analytics is the parent company of Xactware and plays a key role in shaping the entire insurance landscape. Here’s a closer look at Verisk’s financials and key shareholders:
- Annual Revenue: $3.5 billion (2022)
- Annual Profit: $950 million (2022)
Top 4 Shareholders of Verisk Analytics:
- BlackRock Shares: 10.5% ownership Worth: $2.3 billion Percentage: 10.5%
- Vanguard Group Shares: 8.2% ownership Worth: $1.7 billion Percentage: 8.2%
- State Street Corporation Shares: 7.1% ownership Worth: $1.5 billion Percentage: 7.1%
- Fidelity Management Shares: 5.4% ownership Worth: $1.1 billion Percentage: 5.4%
Top 10 U.S. Insurance Companies & Their Key Shareholders:
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 6.9% ownership (worth $7.2 billion) BlackRock: 5.4% ownership (worth $5.7 billion) State Street Corporation: 4.1% ownership (worth $4.3 billion) TIAA-CREF: 3.2% ownership (worth $3.4 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $84.5 billion Total Profit: $7.6 billion Total Claims Filed: 10 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 30% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Berkshire Hathaway (majority owner) BlackRock: 7.2% ownership (worth $5.4 billion) Vanguard Group: 5.6% ownership (worth $4.2 billion) State Street Corporation: 4.5% ownership (worth $3.4 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $45.2 billion Total Profit: $6.5 billion Total Claims Filed: 8 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 25% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 7.9% ownership (worth $3.6 billion) BlackRock: 6.5% ownership (worth $3 billion) State Street Corporation: 5.3% ownership (worth $2.4 billion) Fidelity Management: 4.1% ownership (worth $1.9 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $52.3 billion Total Profit: $4.7 billion Total Claims Filed: 9 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 35% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 7.3% ownership (worth $4.8 billion) BlackRock: 6.8% ownership (worth $4.4 billion) State Street Corporation: 5.6% ownership (worth $3.7 billion) Fidelity Management: 4.3% ownership (worth $2.8 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $50 billion Total Profit: $7.9 billion Total Claims Filed: 12 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 28% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 8.2% ownership (worth $3.3 billion) BlackRock: 6.3% ownership (worth $2.6 billion) State Street Corporation: 5.1% ownership (worth $2.1 billion) TIAA-CREF: 4.3% ownership (worth $1.8 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $45.8 billion Total Profit: $5.2 billion Total Claims Filed: 7 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 30% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 6.5% ownership (worth $2.2 billion) BlackRock: 5.2% ownership (worth $1.8 billion) State Street Corporation: 4.1% ownership (worth $1.4 billion) Fidelity Management: 3.8% ownership (worth $1.3 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $25.3 billion Total Profit: $3.1 billion Total Claims Filed: 4 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 32% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 7.8% ownership (worth $3.7 billion) BlackRock: 6.2% ownership (worth $3 billion) State Street Corporation: 5.9% ownership (worth $2.9 billion) Fidelity Management: 4.5% ownership (worth $2.2 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $48 billion Total Profit: $6.3 billion Total Claims Filed: 10 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 29% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Zurich Insurance (majority shareholder) Vanguard Group: 5.6% ownership (worth $3.5 billion) BlackRock: 4.8% ownership (worth $3 billion) State Street Corporation: 3.5% ownership (worth $2.2 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $45.5 billion Total Profit: $5.2 billion Total Claims Filed: 6 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 33% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: BlackRock: 7.3% ownership (worth $3.6 billion) Vanguard Group: 5.6% ownership (worth $2.8 billion) State Street Corporation: 4.1% ownership (worth $2.0 billion) Fidelity Management: 3.2% ownership (worth $1.6 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $70 billion Total Profit: $8.5 billion Total Claims Filed: 5 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 33% (estimated)
- Top 4 Shareholders: Vanguard Group: 8.1% ownership (worth $2.2 billion) BlackRock: 7.2% ownership (worth $1.9 billion) State Street Corporation: 5.9% ownership (worth $1.6 billion) Fidelity Management: 4.3% ownership (worth $1.2 billion)
- Financials: Total Revenue: $35 billion Total Profit: $3.8 billion Total Claims Filed: 3 million (2022 estimate) Total Claims Denied: 27% (estimated)
The Bigger Picture of Corporate Control
It’s becoming clear that the big players—BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street—are not just running the stock market. They’re also running the insurance companies, controlling your premiums, dictating the claims process, and making decisions that impact millions of people every day. The question is: when will we, the people, decide to hold these companies accountable?
The challenge is clear: We need to rethink how business is conducted, especially in industries like insurance, where profits are put above the people they serve. It’s crucial to consider how we, "We the People," can raise awareness, have meaningful conversations, and explore ideas for legal frameworks that will better protect consumers. The system is not going to change overnight, but through collaboration and determination, we can make steps toward fairness and accountability.
Let’s work together to foster awareness, drive transparency, and change the status quo.
P&C Insurance Claims Consultant | Expert Witness | Public Insurance Adjuster
2 个月Blaine Parry, while I don't disagree with the premise of your article at all, I am a bit confused - State Farm, USAA and Liberty are mutual companies, owned by their policyholders, so they aren't publicly traded. I am trying to understand how can these companies can own shares in the mutual companies? That being said, the issues run even deeper: In 2023, BlackRock Alternatives acquired a majority share of Alacrity Solutions- which provides claims services to most of the companies in your article. And from another angle, Vanguard (8.8%) and BlackRock (6.4%) are beneficial owners of Blackstone, which purchased a majority share of Servpro Industries in 2019. Servpro is a "preferred vendor" for most of the insurance companies in your article. Also, until last November, the Carlyle Group owned controlling interest in Sedgwick (TPA, claims services) with Vanguard being the majority shareholder of Carlyle. Sedgewick's new majority shareholder, Atlas Partners, is a major shareholder of HUB. McLarens (TPA, CAT Claims Services) now owns AEG Environmental. And the list goes on...
Insurance, restoration, presentation, and instructional design specialist with Restoration CrossCheck. Check out our website at RestorationCrossCheck.com for the variety of services we offer.
2 个月Appreciate the analysis. Millions of Americans have their retirement accounts with these behemoths, who, as part of their overall investment philosophies, have considerable funds invested in the insurance industry. Ironically, the insurance companies themselves have billions also invested in these same companies as part of their short-term reserve handling. Verisk, in one of its other iterations, also owns the Insurance Services Office (commonly known as the ISO), which writes the policy forms for most if not all of the carriers you list. Amazing!
President, Lion Public Adjusting || Property Loss Consultant || Military Veteran || BSA in Psychology - Emphasis in IO
2 个月Who owns ITEL?
Freelance / Contractor Services
2 个月Doesn’t state street have interest in Dominion voting machines too?
Very interesting.