Insurance and Financial Services
Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa, is where local, regional, national and international insurance and financial services thrive. The finance and insurance sector contributed $22.4 billion of the $83.3 billion of total GDP in 2023. And the region has earned bragging rights with the highest concentration of insurance employment among U.S. metros, with over 80 of Iowa’s insurance companies headquartered here.
DSM's talented workforce and fair, consistent regulatory environment attracts property and casualty, health and life insurance, financial services and insurtech companies from around the world. Wells Fargo & Co., Principal, Nationwide and John Deere Financial alone employ over 20,000 employees in DSM.
Iowa's tax code favors insurance and financial services companies. There are no premium taxes on the sale of annuities, qualified insurance plans or surtaxes on insurance carrier. Additionally, there is no sales tax on interstate or international telecommunications.
Iowa's insurance premium tax is being lowered from 1% to 0.9% by 2027 – one of the lowest rates in the nation.