Insurance Underwriters
Business and Financial Operations
Reviews applications and supporting documents to judge how much risk an applicant, a property, or a related group of risks would bring. Checks health, finances, property condition, and how much coverage the company already holds on similar risks, then accepts the case, declines it, lowers the value, or adds conditions. Writes to field staff, medical contacts, and others for more facts, rate quotes, or policy explanations, and may authorize reinsurance when risk is high. Also weighs losses from catastrophe or too much insurance on one risk. Suits people who like close reading, careful judgment, and deciding cases from written evidence.
Typical education: Bachelor’s Degree (4-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$81'370
Median Wage Market Position
$81'370
What you might do
- Review applications to judge health and property risk
- Decline coverage when the risk looks excessive
- Ask doctors or agents for missing details
- Weigh losses from disasters or too much coverage
- Check existing coverage on one person or property
- Approve reinsurance when a single risk is high
Skills that matter
- Reading applications to judge insurance risk
- Deciding which risks to accept or decline
- Writing for rates, facts, or policy explanations
- Weighing catastrophe and excess-loss exposure
- Lowering coverage on weaker risks
- Authorizing reinsurance on high-risk policies
AI & the future of this role
Application screening, actuarial scoring, and policy pricing already rely on data software can evaluate at scale. Exceptions needing judgment or unusual risks may remain, but standard underwriting volume is likely to thin.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details