Career
Insurance underwriters
Decide what to insure, and at what price.
$81,370
Median pay
-3.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
6,800
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $81,370 a year and 6,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Business AdministrationSee the degree →
- FinanceSee the degree →
- Business AnalyticsSee the degree →
- Risk ManagementCIP 52.0215
- Financial Risk ManagementCIP 52.0810
- Actuarial ScienceCIP 52.1304
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Financial Risk Specialists$117,330 · +7.4%
- Credit Analysts$83,510 · -4.3%
- Loan Officers$76,690 · +1.1%
- Insurance Sales Agents$62,280 · +3.3%
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators$78,000 · -5.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.