Business and finance
Insurance underwriter
Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.
Median pay
$81,370
Growth to 2035
−4%
declining
Openings a year
6,800
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Insurance underwriter
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Insurance underwriter: 33% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.
- Decline excessive risks.
- Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting policies.
- Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance.
- Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.
- Decrease value of policy when risk is substandard and specify applicable endorsements or apply rating to ensure safe, profitable distribution of risks, using reference materials.
- Authorize reinsurance of policy when risk is high.
Also called: Account Underwriter · Automobile and Property Underwriter · Commercial Lines Underwriter · Health Underwriter · Life Underwriter · Personal Lines Underwriter · Underwriter · Underwriting Consultant
Outlook and AI
Insurance underwriters held 125,600 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 120,800 by 2035 (−4%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as automated underwriting systems will allow more applications to be handled by computer processing, reducing the needed number of insurance underwriters.
Compare with
- Insurance underwriter vs. Financial risk specialist
- Insurance underwriter vs. Credit analyst
- Insurance underwriter vs. Loan officer
- Insurance underwriter vs. Insurance sales agent
- Insurance underwriter vs. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
- Insurance underwriter vs. Personal financial advisor
- Insurance underwriter vs. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Insurance underwriter vs. Loan interviewers and clerks
- Insurance underwriter vs. Financial analyst
- Insurance underwriter vs. Credit counselor