Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CEI

Insurance Underwriters

Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.

Also called: Account Underwriter, Life Underwriter, Personal Lines Underwriter, Underwriter, Automobile and Property Underwriter, Commercial Lines Underwriter, Health Underwriter, Underwriting Consultant.

O*NET 13-2053.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $81,370; Middle half earn $64,620 to $110,390. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 70% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: -3% · Decline; 127,000 jobs in 2024, projected 123,700. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Insurance underwriters".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
Active Listening3.8 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Speaking3.6 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.3 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.2 / 5
Administrative2.9 / 5
Economics and Accounting2.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic12
Investigative44
Artistic0
Social31
Enterprising58
Conventional86

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

mortgage loan underwriter · DE Underwriter im Kreditwesen/Underwriterin im Kreditwesen · FR rédacteur crédits bancaires/rédactrice crédits bancaires
insurance broker · DE Versicherungsmakler/Versicherungsmaklerin · FR courtier en assurances/courtière en assurances
insurance underwriter · DE Underwriter im Versicherungswesen/Underwriterin im Versicherungswesen · FR souscripteur en assurances/souscriptrice en assurances
property insurance underwriter · DE Underwriter im Bereich Sachversicherung/Underwriterin im Bereich Sachversicherung · FR souscripteur IARD/souscriptrice IARD

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Credit controllers (4121)29,000 employed
Insurance underwriters (3532)37,600 employed
Collector salespersons and credit agents (7121)5,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.33. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-2053).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test