National Application Center :: career details :: Insurance Underwriters
Career Details :: Insurance Underwriters
Description
Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate degree of risk involved and determine acceptance of applications.
Experience
A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Tasks
- Examines documents to determine degree of risk from such factors as applicant financial standing and value and condition of property.
- Writes to field representatives, medical personnel, and others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting policies.
- Declines excessive risks.
- Authorizes reinsurance of policy when risk is high.
- Reviews company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.
- Decreases value of policy when risk is substandard and specifies applicable endorsements or applies rating to ensure safe profitable distribution of risks, using reference materials.
- Evaluates possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance.
Related Careers
- Actuaries
- Assessors
- Claims Examiners, Property and Casualty Insurance
- Cost Estimators
- Credit Analysts
- Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage
- Insurance Policy Processing Clerks
- Procurement Clerks
- Tax Preparers
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Processing Information
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems
- Judging Qualities of Things, Service, People
- Analyzing Data or Information
Important Skills
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Information Gathering
- Reading Comprehension
- Mathematics
- Critical Thinking
Frequent Work Context
- Consequence of Error
- Importance of Being Sure All Is Done
- Indoors
- Sitting
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate