Business and Financial Operations

Insurance Underwriters

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

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Insurance Underwriters

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Insurance Underwriters. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$81,370USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$39.12USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$55,530$26.70
25th$64,620$31.07
50th · Median$81,370$39.12
75th$110,390$53.07
90th$145,160$69.79

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

PUT A WAGE IN CONTEXT

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Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.

This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.

THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Account Manager UnderwriterAccount UnderwriterAutomobile and Property UnderwriterBond UnderwriterCasualty UnderwriterCommercial Credit UnderwriterCommercial Insurance UnderwriterCommercial Lines UnderwriterCommercial UnderwriterCredit UnderwriterDirect Endorsement Underwriter (DE Underwriter)Excess Casualty Underwriter
Expand more title examples (26)
Field UnderwriterGroup Underwriting ConsultantHealth UnderwriterInland Marine UnderwriterInsurance AnalystInsurance UnderwriterInsurance WriterLife UnderwriterManagement Liability UnderwriterMarine UnderwriterMiddle Market UnderwriterPersonal Lines UnderwriterProduction UnderwriterProfessional Liability UnderwriterProperty UnderwriterStop Loss UnderwriterSurety UnderwriterUnderwriterUnderwriting Account RepresentativeUnderwriting AnalystUnderwriting AssociateUnderwriting ConsultantUnderwriting ExecutiveUnderwriting Service RepresentativeUnderwriting SpecialistWholesale Underwriter

Typical 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.
Expand more tasks (1)
  • Authorize reinsurance of policy when risk is high.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Expand more skills (29)
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
FIND YOUR MARKET

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United States wage reference

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TURN CONTEXT INTO A NEXT STEP

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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Insurance Underwriters career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.