Insurance Underwriters

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
82%
risk level
POLLING
70%
Based on 174 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
-4.5 %
by year 2032
WAGES
$76,230
or $36.65 per hour
Volume
105,900
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
3.3/10

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Automation risk

82% (Imminent Risk)

Imminent Risk (81-100%): Occupations in this level have an extremely high likelihood of being automated in the near future. These jobs consist primarily of repetitive, predictable tasks with little need for human judgment.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Social Perceptiveness

User poll

70% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 82% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Insurance Underwriters will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Insurance Underwriters' job openings is expected to decline 4.5% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Insurance Underwriters' was $76,230, or $36 per hour

'Insurance Underwriters' were paid 64.6% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 105,900 people employed as 'Insurance Underwriters' within the United States.

This represents around 0.07% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 1 thousand people are employed as 'Insurance Underwriters'.

Job description

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

SOC Code: 13-2053.00

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Comments

Lakshmi (Highly likely) says
I work closely with underwriters. There is very little they do that a computer couldn't do.
Feb 02, 2023 at 05:20 AM
Ahmed shah (No chance) says
Because robots don't have technical knowledge in Underwriting if they want technical knowledge then Underwriters should command robots. Humans have 75% chance in Industry when robots come
Feb 03, 2021 at 07:46 PM
Jecca (Highly likely) says
Automation is already taking the medical underwriting part out of my life and DI job duties. It is only a matter of time until there is code that gathers all online information and analytical reports regarding financials, credit scores, databases, pharmacy scans, motor vehicle reports, and criminal records. I give myself 10 years or less.
Oct 14, 2019 at 06:31 PM
Carl Daniel says
Hi Jecca,

I am considering entering insurance underwriting because claims were very bad, I must say.

Would you say that computer automation is taking over all areas of underwriting (commercial underwriting, property & casualty underwriting, etc.)? I do hear that it is taking personal insurance by storm.

Also, I am REALLY trying hard to find similar jobs to underwriting/insurance in case underwriting doesn't work out.

I'm looking at cost estimating (outside of construction), property assessment, and budget analysis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you don't necessarily need a business or finance degree to go into these fields (I took several traditional/core business classes in school, and I also majored in a field much like "business psychology" - organizational development, which was in the business school).

Do you have any alternatives that you plan to explore in case you have to leave underwriting? Do you think any of the ones that I mentioned are feasible alternatives?

Thank you,

Carl Daniel
Mar 23, 2022 at 02:51 AM
Paul (Highly likely) says
They have already announced at my company that underwriting will see significant changes in the next 5-10 years. The underwriters job will be "entirely" different within this time frame. They have told us there will be ongoing meetings and announcements regarding these changes as time goes by.
Oct 07, 2019 at 01:37 AM
Brendan says
I am an underwriter.

There is no doubt automation will transform this job and remove the need for the underwriter defined above. There are two different types of underwriting, staff and line underwriting. Line underwriting is what is defined above, an employee who reviews applications and degree of risk on accounts on an individual basis. Staff underwriters develop guidelines and initiatives to help drive the changes in product performance . Line underwriters then follow these guidelines and initiatives.

Staff underwriting will adapt to automation and use the tools made available by it to make better decisions. You will see some reduction in this field due to ease of decision making and some of these functions will likely transfer to automation.

Another thing to consider is that is the complexity of insurance. Insurance is ever evolving based on the ever changing ways of the world. Especially in commercial insurance, there are way too many unique situations that occur on a daily basis that there is no true basic answer to based on past history, but instead require an instinctive decision by an experienced underwriter. It is highly unlikely automation will be able to adapt to these daily situations. This is how some line underwriting will survive.

Aug 09, 2019 at 03:23 PM
Carl Daniel says
Hi Brendan,

Do you mean to say that this definition removes the need for an underwriter? - "Review individual applications for insurance to evaluate the degree of risk involved and determine the acceptance of applications."

Oh, sorry, I just realized that you mentioned that this definition only applies to line underwriting, and that automation will decrease the need for line underwriters.

Thank you for clarifying that there are two types of underwriting - I wasn't aware of that. Underwriting is the only field in insurance that interests me, but I'm not into sales. I've been working in claims (and subrogation) for years, but it's not my cup of tea.

Since I don't have the educational background to be an actuary, underwriting is pretty much the only option left for me.

I've never heard of staff underwriting before - unfortunately, working in claims didn't teach me much about underwriting.

It seems like staff underwriting is the future of employment in underwriting.

You mentioned that commercial insurance/underwriting is hard to predict due to the constantly evolving and complex nature of insurance.

I'm considering getting my Associates in Commercial Underwriting while I search for a job in underwriting.

What do you think about the future of employment in commercial underwriting? Do you think there's any hope for cautious optimism, especially for staff underwriters in commercial underwriting?

Thank you,

Carl Daniel
Mar 23, 2022 at 03:28 AM

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