Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie Highlights Nebraska’s Under-the-Radar Industry Success Story

Insurance conference will bring industry leaders to Omaha Oct. 19-20

Eric Dunning remembers sitting through a lecture at the University of Nebraska Business School when the teacher said something that caught his attention. The professor gave an overview of Nebraska’s economy and listed the top three industries in the state.

Agriculture and manufacturing were the top two, but the third surprised Dunning. Insurance was listed at number three. “Not banking and insurance, not finance and insurance, but just insurance,” explained Dunning, who is now Commissioner for the Nebraska Department of Insurance (NDOI). “It is an incredible anchor to the state’s economy, but there’s no museum for insurance,” he laughed. “We tend to be the quiet success story.”

The secret driver of Nebraska’s economy

Nebraska is well known for the crops it grows and the machinery it manufactures—such as center pivots and Kawasaki’s jet skis and ATVs. Yet sometimes people overlook the industry that has the most money flowing through it. “We are the secret driver of the state’s economy,” said Eric Dunning. “Because of Nebraska's regulatory environment, insurers want to be domiciled here,” he explained. “And because modern commerce is impossible without insurance, there’s a hook into just about everybody.”

The state of domicile is where a business’s reserves and investments are regulated. Nebraska was already home to many successful insurers including Mutual of Omaha, Physicians Mutual, WoodmenLife, National Indemnity, Ameritas, Assurity, Blue Cross Blue of Nebraska, Farmers Mutual of Nebraska, and Great West Casualty Nebraska. It has also managed to make its way to near the top of domiciliary states in the U.S. for insurance companies with additions of new companies that now call Nebraska home. These include Geico, MetLife, First American, AFLAC, Pacific Life Insurance, United Healthcare, and many more.

“We are number three [in the U.S.] in terms of assets of Nebraska’s domestic insurance companies. About nine percent of insurance assets in the United States are controlled by Nebraska domestics,” said Dunning.

Nebraska is also first in surplus, which is the amount of money exceeding shareholder money and capital not tied up in insurance obligations. “First in the country by like twice as much as New York,” he added. Nebraska’s insurance business entities hold combined assets of over $1.3 trillion.

Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie

To connect Nebraska’s insurance industry, and to highlight the state’s advantages as a home for insurers, NDOI organizes a yearly conference in Omaha. Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie, which will take place Oct. 19-20, brings together insurance executives, business leaders, startup owners, insurance regulators, and industry employees from around the country to network and learn from each other.

This year’s speaker lineup includes CEOs and executives from State Farm, Ameritas, SpaceXAI, OpenAI, MetLife, Anthropic, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, and many more. “It’s great to attend just because of the topics we’re discussing,” said Robert Bell, Executive Director of the Nebraska Insurance Federation. Because AI has become a central piece of every industry, this year’s event is bringing leaders who can address how it is impacting the insurance industry and its customers.

“There are a lot of conferences that are bigger and more expensive, and they’re not as personal,” Bell continued. “In the Insurtech space we’re focused on education. We bring these startups, these carriers, these insurance regulators together so they can all talk and learn.”

Attendance at this year’s event is already on track to exceed 700, which will be the highest ever. During the event, speakers are scheduled to present on topics ranging from the accelerating usage of AI in financial services to the human element of AI adoption.

Drawing talent into the insurance industry

One of the challenges in the insurance industry is recruiting new employees into the workforce. The insurance industry is a lucrative and versatile workforce to enter for recent college graduates, but many are unaware of the benefits of the industry. The average annual wage in the insurance industry is above $80,000 per year and there are more than 1,100 job openings each year.

“We create all of this amazing talent [in Nebraska], and then we ship all these kids out because they don’t think they have a future here,” said Dunning. “The reality is they do. The insurance sector has a difficult time helping find talent for insurers. The jobs are there. But it’s not altogether clear that kids are giving it a second look.”

State leaders have ensured this profitable industry is poised to grow. “We have a legislature that’s willing to drill into things like the investment code. What does that look like? What's safe for them to invest in and what isn’t? And we’ve got an administration that’s been incredibly supportive,” explained Dunning.

Each new insurance business that applies to be domiciled in Nebraska also must promise to bring jobs to the state. “They have to make a jobs commitment to us in order to come here and be domiciled here,” said Dunning. “Pacific Life, for example, is one of the largest insurance companies in the world and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. They have about 450 people, largely actuaries, working in Aksarben Village in Omaha.”

Because of great careers continually being created by insurance companies in Nebraska, it is important for young professionals to understand the value of entering the industry. The yearly Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie event is a valuable way for talent to connect with and learn more about the Nebraska insurance industry. The event even offers continuing education credits through the Nebraska Bar Association, Nebraska Department of Insurance, and the Society of Financial Examiners.

“We’re here for the mission,” continued Dunning. “The mission that I am here for most is making sure young people who want to live in this state continue to.”

The Insurtech on the Silicon Prairie event will take place Oct. 19-20 at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha. A networking event will take place Oct. 19 at the Joslyn Art Musuem in Omaha.

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