SACRAMENTO – Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced Thursday that California's annual insurance premium volume has increased to $332 billion.

California is now the fourth largest insurance market in the world and remains the largest insurance market in the United States.

"As the regulator of the largest insurance market in the nation, I am committed to protecting consumers and making sure they have access to a healthy insurance market offering products to meet consumer and business needs," said Jones.

"Insurance is the one product that touches our lives from the moment we are born to beyond our last breath,” he said. “Whether it is health, auto, home, business, workers' compensation, disability or life, insurance is an integral part of our lives-we rely on it to protect ourselves, our families, our assets and our businesses. Insurance provides financial protection and peace of mind for millions of Californians."

In California, there are more than 24 classes of insurance, sold by more than 1,300 companies.

More than 410,000 agents, brokers, adjusters, and business entities are licensed to sell insurance in the state.

An earlier version of this article stated that California is the third-largest insurance market in the United States, but the California Department of Insurance has since reported that it is in fact the fourth largest.