Insurance Underwriters

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

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Writing
Critical Thinking
Speaking
Judgment and Decision Making
Active Learning
Complex Problem Solving

Key knowledge

English Language
Customer and Personal Service
Mathematics
Sales and Marketing
Administrative
Economics and Accounting
Law and Government
Computers and Electronics

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.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Enterprising, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (70% of respondents)
Related experience: None (40%)
On-the-job training: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (36.7%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Insurance Underwriters is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Higher on contact with others than 59% of occupations compared	63% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Moderate	Higher on dealing with the public than 55% of occupations compared	33% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Very low	Lower on teamwork than 81% of occupations compared	40% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	High	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared	47% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very high	Higher on time pressure than 93% of occupations compared	60% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	Very high	Higher on conflict situations than 86% of occupations compared	31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	High	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 74% of occupations compared	37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Consequence of error	Moderate	Lower on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared	40% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very high
Conflict situations: very high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions