Insurance Underwriters
Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.
- Median pay
- $81,370
- Doing it now
- 125,600
- By 2035
- Down 3.8%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
6,800 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- 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.
- 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.
- Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.
- Authorize reinsurance of policy when risk is high.
- Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- InsuranceSee 60 colleges that teach it
- Business Administration, Management and OperationsSee 1,587 colleges that teach it
- Finance and Financial Management ServicesSee 765 colleges that teach it
- Management Sciences and Quantitative MethodsSee 365 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Leading and persuading
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $81,370 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.