Insurance underwriter

As an insurance underwriter, you'll assess a range of risks and estimate the likelihood and potential cost of a claim. These risks may relate to individuals, property, businesses, liabilities or specialist areas such as cyber, energy, aviation and marine insurance.

You'll use data, risk information and specialist reports, working with insurance brokers, actuaries, claims professionals and risk specialists. Your aim is to offer competitive insurance while helping the insurer manage the financial risk of claims and make a profit.

Types of insurance underwriting

Most insurance underwriters specialise in a particular type of insurance or risk. Areas include:

• commercial insurance - covering businesses, their property, activities and liabilities
• life and health insurance - covering risks such as illness, injury and death
• personal insurance - such as home, motor, pet and travel
• reinsurance - covering insurance companies against some of the risks they have accepted
• specialist insurance - such as aviation, marine, cyber and energy.

What does an insurance underwriter do?

You'll need to:

• review insurance applications and gather information about the person, property, business or other risk to be insured
• analyse data, claims history, financial information and specialist reports to assess the likelihood and potential cost of a claim
• decide whether to offer insurance and whether higher-value or complex risks need to be referred to a senior underwriter, specialist team or reinsurer
• calculate or agree the premium and set policy limits, exclusions, conditions and other terms, applying policy wording correctly and helping to develop or amend it in some roles
• prepare quotations and negotiate cover, prices and terms with insurance brokers or customers
• arrange surveys, medical evidence or other specialist assessments where more information is needed
• review existing policies at renewal and decide whether to continue, change or decline the cover
• monitor the performance and profitability of individual accounts and wider portfolios of insurance business
• build strong working relationships with brokers, claims teams, actuaries, risk engineers and other specialists
• record underwriting decisions accurately and ensure they comply with company policies, regulatory requirements and your level of underwriting authority.

Insurance underwriter salaries

• Starting salaries for trainee and assistant underwriters typically range from £24,000 to £35,000. Apprenticeship salaries may be lower, depending on your age and stage of training. Salaries may be higher for graduate schemes, London-based roles and specialist areas of insurance. The Lloyd's Insurance Graduate Programme, for example, pays £33,790 a year.
• With experience, insurance underwriters typically earn £35,000 to £65,000. Pay varies considerably according to the type and complexity of the risks handled.
• Senior and lead underwriters may earn £60,000 to more than £100,000. Underwriting managers, heads of underwriting and experienced specialists in the Lloyd's and London markets may earn significantly more.

Salaries vary according to your location, experience, qualifications, employer and area of insurance. Pay is generally higher in London and for work involving specialist, complex or high-value commercial risks.

Bonuses and other performance-related payments can add significantly to earnings, particularly in senior and specialist roles. Additional benefits may include a pension, private medical insurance, life assurance, share schemes, discounted insurance and financial support towards professional qualifications.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

How many hours does an insurance underwriter work?

You'll usually work standard office hours, Monday to Friday, typically around 37 to 40 hours a week. You may occasionally need to work longer hours during busy periods or to meet business deadlines.

Hybrid working may be available, although arrangements vary by employer and role.

How do you become an insurance underwriter?

You don't usually need a degree in a specific subject to become an insurance underwriter. However, subjects that develop numerical, analytical or commercial skills may be useful, including:

• business or management
• economics
• finance
• mathematics or statistics
• science or engineering.

Science or engineering subjects can be particularly useful for specialist areas such as energy, construction, marine or environmental risk. Employers are generally more interested in your analytical, numerical, communication and decision-making skills, commercial awareness and potential to succeed in the role.

Large insurers and other insurance organisations offer structured graduate schemes, including programmes specialising in underwriting. Entry requirements vary and some employers ask for at least a 2:1 degree. You could also apply for the Lloyd's Insurance Graduate Programme, which provides experience across the insurance industry and may include placements in underwriting, broking and claims.

You can enter without a degree through a role such as underwriting assistant, assistant underwriter or insurance technician. With experience, on-the-job training and professional qualifications from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), you can progress into an underwriter role.

In England, you can also enter through an apprenticeship, combining paid employment with workplace training and study. Relevant options include:

• Level 3 Insurance Practitioner, which includes an assistant underwriter option
• Level 4 Insurance Professional
• Level 6 Senior Insurance Professional.

These apprenticeships include study towards CII qualifications at Certificate, Diploma or Advanced Diploma level, depending on the apprenticeship. Search Find an apprenticeship for current opportunities in England. Separate apprenticeship services operate in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You may also move into underwriting after gaining experience in claims, insurance broking, risk assessment or another insurance role.

What skills does an insurance underwriter need?

You'll need:

• strong analytical and risk-assessment skills to interpret data, claims history and other information and decide whether a risk should be insured
• sound judgement and confident decision-making skills to set appropriate premiums, policy terms and limits within your underwriting authority
• numerical and data skills to assess the likelihood and potential cost of claims and monitor the performance of insurance portfolios
• clear communication, presentation and teamwork skills to explain underwriting decisions, share risk information and work effectively with brokers, customers and colleagues
• negotiation, influencing and relationship-management skills to agree terms with brokers and build productive long-term business relationships
• commercial awareness and knowledge of the insurance market to balance customer needs, competitive pricing and profitable growth
• attention to detail and strong organisation skills to manage applications, renewals, records and competing deadlines accurately.

Do you need insurance work experience?

Relevant work experience can strengthen your application, although it isn't always essential. Large insurers and other insurance organisations may offer internships, placement years, insight programmes and virtual work experience. These opportunities are usually advertised on employers' careers websites. Competition can be strong and entry requirements vary, so check each programme carefully.

Smaller firms may also offer work experience or work shadowing, but you may need to contact them directly. Experience in insurance broking, claims, finance, administration, data analysis, customer service or another commercial role can also help you develop skills that are useful in insurance underwriting.

You can build your understanding of the insurance industry by following insurance news and specialist publications, attending employer careers events and insight sessions, and speaking to people working in insurance. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn can also help you learn about different roles and recruitment routes.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Who employs insurance underwriters?

Most insurance underwriters work for:

• general insurance companies, which provide personal and commercial cover
• life and health insurance companies
• specialist insurers focusing on areas such as marine, aviation, cyber, energy or professional risks
• reinsurance companies
• managing general agents (MGAs) and underwriting agencies, which underwrite risks on behalf of insurers
• Lloyd's managing agents and other businesses operating in the Lloyd's and London insurance markets.

Employers range from large multinational insurers offering many types of cover to smaller companies specialising in a particular product, industry or type of risk.

Routine or lower-risk applications may be assessed using automated systems or handled by underwriting support teams. AI and data-analysis tools are also increasingly used to support risk assessment and decision-making. Underwriters usually become more directly involved where risks are unusual, complex, high value or fall outside standard guidelines.

Look for job vacancies at:

• CityJobs
• FutureMe Insurance Jobs - the CII's specialist careers and jobs site
• London Insurance Life - for roles with businesses operating in the Lloyd's and London insurance markets
• careers websites of insurers, reinsurers, managing general agents and other underwriting employers.

Specialist insurance recruitment agencies such as IDEX Consulting and IPS Group also advertise vacancies. Larger recruitment firms, including Hays, may also handle underwriting roles. You can also search for roles on LinkedIn.

Where can a career as an insurance underwriter lead?

You'll usually receive on-the-job training from experienced underwriters and may be supported to complete Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) qualifications. These typically progress from the Certificate and Diploma in Insurance to the Advanced Diploma, with underwriting-specific units available. Graduate programmes may also include experience across different products, teams or areas such as pricing and claims.

After completing the Advanced Diploma, CII members can use the ACII designation. Once you have at least five years' insurance-sector experience (not necessarily post-qualification), you can apply for Chartered status, usually as a Chartered Insurer or, if you work in the MGA or underwriting-agency sector, as a Chartered Insurance Underwriting Agent.

As you gain experience and underwriting authority, you can take responsibility for larger, more complex or higher-value risks and progress to senior underwriter, lead underwriter, team leader, underwriting manager or head of underwriting roles. You may also supervise, coach and train junior underwriters or manage the performance of an insurance portfolio.

You can specialise in areas such as aviation, cyber, energy, life and health, marine, property or reinsurance. Other options include moving into pricing, product development, portfolio management, claims, risk management or senior insurance management, or taking a more commercial role focused on broker relationships and business development.