Do people actually call insurance company's "carriers?"

[Lucy]

It used to be fairly common. I once worked for “The Home Insurance Company”. And we referred to “The Travellers”.

[Maphistos_Sidekick]

I wonder if it’s a function of age, prominence and a non-acronym name.

Of my prior and current employers (P&C or mixed P&C/Life):

• one was a tiny regional company; didn’t use “the”
• an old, well-known medium-sized company; acronym for a name, didn’t use “the”
• a large Hartford-area employer, one of the ones referred to with “the”
• a medium-sized “new” company; didn’t use “the”
• a newer carrier; doesn’t use “the”