The following article discusses the career path of Insurance Underwriter. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Insurance Underwriters.
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Job Duties
Insurance underwriters are specialists who help clients assess their risks. They then use this assessment to determine insurance premiums and payments. Based on this, they will determine whether or not insurance can be provided. Usually, they are employed directly by an insurance company for their strong statistics analysis and accounting skills.
An underwriter will often have to review policy decisions within the company, particularly if these decisions are too complex for the field agents. They determine the risks and based on that, reject, accept, or change policy applications as appropriate. Furthermore, insurance underwriters help to grow an insurance company’s business by finding new clients. This means that they conduct analyses in order to find new opportunities.
Last but not least, insurance underwriters may need to determine whether existing situations and policies are adhered to, particularly after a claim has been made. Based on their findings, they will recommend whether a policy will continue as is, or whether it will have to be changed of modified.
Other job duties include:
- Analyzing renewals and new businesses, claim history, data, outcome liability, and loss experience
- Underwriting, approving, submitting, or pending premiums and coverage amounts, and communicating with management about those decisions
- Checking existing policies, making sure they are fully compliant with internal guidelines, policies, and procedures
- Finding new businesses and clients based on profitability analyses
Where We Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 104,100 insurance underwriters in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals were:
- Direct insurance (except life, health, and medical) carriers: 47%
- Insurance agencies and brokerages: 19%
- Other insurance related activities: 6%
- Direct health and medical insurance carriers: 5%
- Credit intermediation and related activities: 4%
How to Become
Generally, a bachelor’s degree is required as a minimum for someone to become an insurance underwriter, preferably with a major in accounting or finance. Furthermore, they may also have to obtain further field or company-specific training and certification. Work experience is also very important, and many insurance underwriters start their career as an associate first.
Education Requirements
Typically, a bachelor’s degree is required as a minimum, with an unspecified major. Completing courses in mathematics, economics, finance, and business is often recommended. Usually, insurance underwriters will start as an associate, assisting an established underwriter. During this time, they learn about basic applications and common risk factors. The more experienced they get, the more they can work independently and the more complex their work becomes.
Insurance underwriters often get sponsored to become certified as well. This coursework is designed to ensure they remain up to date with new policies and with new technology. Furthermore, it keeps their knowledge accurate in terms of local, state, and federal regulations. There are many different certification options to choose from, including the:
- Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) offered by the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters for those with two years experience
- Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU), offered by the Insurance Institute of America (IIA)
- Associate in Personal Insurance (API), offered by the IIA
- The Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF), offered by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
- The Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), offered by the American College of Financial Services, to those with at least three years’ experience
Traits & Qualities
The most effective have the following traits to some degree or other:
- Strong analytical skills
- Excellent decision-making skills
- Detail oriented
- Good interpersonal skills
- Excellent mathematical skills
Minimum Education
Bachelor’s Degree
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- Most Reported
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$15,000
$190,000
The following section lists Insurance Underwriter salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Delaware had the largest quoted salary of $101,239 while Hawaii had the smallest quoted salary of $33,600.
According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Insurance Underwriter. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.
| Employer Name | Location | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Symmetry Financial Group Insurance Underwriter | California | $157,521 |
| Diedre Moire Insurance Underwriter | Virginia | $143,234 |
| Crossroads Consulting Insurance Underwriter | New York | $133,373 |
| Selby Jennings Insurance Underwriter | Washington | $122,573 |
| The Life Agency Insurance Underwriter | Texas | $120,000 |
| Network. Chicago Insurance Underwriter | Illinois | $108,658 |
| CyberCoders Insurance Underwriter | California | $108,377 |
| Network. Irving Insurance Underwriter | Texas | $107,248 |
Learn More
- Insurance Underwriters : Occupational Outlook Handbook …
- Underwriting – Wikipedia
- Medical Underwriter Career and Salary Facts – Learn.org
| Career Name | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| Procurement Manager | $81,418 |
| Healthcare Manager | $81,093 |
| Director of Communications | $81,076 |
| Project Manager | $80,833 |
| Program Analyst | $78,849 |
| Investment Consultant | $76,236 |
| Investment Analyst | $76,199 |
| Technical Analyst | $76,186 |
| Real Estate Manager | $76,119 |
| Business Development Manager | $75,226 |
