Business and Financial Operations Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 13-2053

Insurance Underwriters

The published band from $55,530 to $145,160 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Financial Risk Specialists.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Insurance Underwriters: Financial Risk Specialists ($117K) , Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists ($79K) , Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes ($83K) , Logisticians ($82K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Insurance Underwriters publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 13-2053 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property
  2. 2. Decline excessive risks
  3. 3. Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting…
  4. 4. Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance
  5. 5. Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks
  6. 6. Decrease value of policy when risk is substandard and specify applicable endorsements or apply rating to ensure safe, profitable distribu…
  7. 7. Authorize reinsurance of policy when risk is high

Insurance Underwriters: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 13-2053 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.8 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.8
  3. 3. Writing 3.8
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.8
  5. 5. Speaking 3.6
  6. 6. Judgment and Decision Making 3.5
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.1
  8. 8. Complex Problem Solving 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.0
  2. 2. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  3. 3. Mathematics 3.3
  4. 4. Sales and Marketing 3.2
  5. 5. Administrative 2.9
  6. 6. Economics and Accounting 2.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$55,530 to $145,160
median $81,370 · ~2.6× spread
$81K
National median
↓ -3%
Growth 2024-2034
8,200
Annual openings
105,420
Estimated US jobs
Financial Risk Specialists
Highest-pay peer · $117K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Insurance Underwriters

1. New Hampshire $103,940
2. New Jersey $96,220
3. Connecticut $100,690
4. Wisconsin $97,370
5. Massachusetts $106,640
6. Washington $99,400
7. Maine $95,510
8. Colorado $100,640
9. Nevada $101,440
10. New York $97,450

Other Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles

  1. 1. Financial Risk Specialists $117,330
  2. 2. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $78,760
  3. 3. Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes $82,890
  4. 4. Logisticians $82,320
  5. 5. Financial Examiners $94,160
  6. 6. Project Management Specialists $102,320

The OEWS band for Insurance Underwriters runs from $55,530 (10th) to $145,160 (90th), about 2.6× wide, with median $81,370. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -3% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 8,200 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New Hampshire at $103,940. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Financial Risk Specialists at $117,330. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Insurance Underwriters pay-rank #14 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations

Insurance Underwriters sits at pay-rank #14 of 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Insurance Underwriters is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Insurance Underwriters salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 13-2053

New Hampshire · top state for Insurance Underwriters

$104K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$96K · behind New Hampshire

Financial Risk Specialists

Highest-pay peer vs Insurance Underwriters · $117K

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Insurance Underwriters · $79K

Compare Insurance Underwriters

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Insurance Underwriters with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Insurance Underwriters mid-table among Business and Financial Operations Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #14 of 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Financial Specialists, All Other ($81K), Compliance Officers ($81K), Logisticians ($82K), Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes ($83K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do insurance underwriters do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Insurance Underwriters. Leading ones include: Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property; Decline excessive risks; Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting…; Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for insurance underwriters? ▼
For SOC 13-2053, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.8), Active Listening (3.8), Writing (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Mathematics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Insurance Underwriters? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $55,530 and the 90th at $145,160 for Insurance Underwriters (2.6× spread). The national median is $81,370. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Insurance Underwriters? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Insurance Underwriters is -3%. Projected annual openings: about 8,200. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Insurance Underwriters? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Insurance Underwriters. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Insurance Underwriters? ▼
New Hampshire ($103,940), New Jersey ($96,220), Connecticut ($100,690) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Insurance Underwriters card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 13-2053. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Insurance Underwriters. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics