• By Daniel Smith
• Published 07/4/2012

An underwriter plays a significant role in the insurance industry. As the name suggests, the insurance underwriter takes care of the entire underwriting process. To put it in simple words, insurance underwriting refers to the entire process of evaluating risks and determining whether or not an application can be approved or rejected. This process also helps to decide whether any particular terms and conditions need to be added to the policy.

The insurance underwriter primarily fulfils the responsibility of assessing risks. The insurance companies are looking for profits, so it is important for them to select the applications that will be financially beneficial for them. The insurance underwriter makes sure an application can be approved and won’t cause the company any loss. The risk assessment, which the underwriters carry out, helps to determine which application is “risk free” and which one has the potential to generate losses in the end.

Every insurance company has a fixed list of criteria which are to be considered while carrying out the underwriting process. Generally, the insurance company will have a perfunctory set of requirements that need to be checked off in order to approve an application; but in certain situations, the underwriter may have to put his/her discretion into use for figuring out whether a particular application is not risky enough to cause losses.

Depending on what type of insurance it is, there will be numerous relevant factors. For instance, if you are looking to get insurance for your health or some critical illness, the underwriter may request you to provide details of any:

· Ongoing medical condition

· Previous claims

· Occupation

· Medical history of the family, for example, if the family has a history of conditions such as heart diseases

· Lifestyle risks such as inordinate smoking, drinking or having dangerous hobbies

In such a situation as mentioned above, the underwriter may insist upon carrying out a thorough medical check up of the applicant. Such factors can pose a significant threat of monetary losses for the insurance company. If the underwriter perceives that the risk is too big, he/she can either recommend the insurance company to reject the application completely or may even offer an “excluded” or “loaded” policy.

The loaded policies are the ones which have higher premiums than the standard ones. The excluded ones refer to the insurance policy that prevent the client from undertaking some specific activity or may require them to join or follow a specific programme such as joining a gym. Most underwriters looking for underwriting jobs may want to specialise in a single filed.

If you are aiming for an underwriting job, you must know that the starting salary of an underwriter will be between £18,000 and £25,000, though, it may vary depending on which field you have decided to work in. As you gain experience, your salary will increase and you can even reach management or supervisory positions. Your salary at this position will likely be anywhere around £25,000 to £50,000. However, factors like your experience, the current state of the industry and the size of the team you are working for, will matter as far as the salary is concerned.

Author Bio: Steven Hayes is an experienced writer based on the south coast. He loves learning and writing about new subjects. With previous experience in the recruitment industry, the majority of his work is based in this area. He provides tips and suggestions for those looking for underwriting jobs.