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The differences between insurance agents and underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an underwriter has an average salary of $61,751, which is higher than the $51,936 average annual salary of an insurance agent.
The top three skills for an insurance agent include customer service, insurance sales and health insurance. The most important skills for an underwriter are customer service, investor guidelines, and mortgage loans.
| Insurance Agent | Underwriter | |
| Yearly salary | $51,936 | $61,751 |
| Hourly rate | $24.97 | $29.69 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 67,977 | 8,510 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An insurance agent is responsible for inviting potential clients to the insurance company by offering different insurance services. Insurance agents must have a comprehensive knowledge of insurance types to provide the clients with the best insurance option in the market. The insurance agents should evaluate a client's long-term needs and financial goals to create individual packages as the insurance company allowed. An insurance agent also handles policy renewals and keeps customers' insurance files for reference.
An underwriter's duties depend on the line of work or industry involved, such as mortgage companies, insurance, or lending firms. However, an Underwriter's responsibility will mainly revolve around using their extensive expertise on how a company will achieve financial gains, and assessing the possible financial risks of a client by reviewing various aspects to determine their capacity to uphold monetary obligations. Most of the time, the Underwriter's tasks will also involve evaluating a client's credit history, health, assets, overall financial history.
Insurance agents and underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Insurance Agent | Underwriter | |
| Average salary | $51,936 | $61,751 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $88,000 | Between $39,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Z Capital Group | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an insurance agent and an underwriter in terms of educational background:
| Insurance Agent | Underwriter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between insurance agents' and underwriters' demographics:
| Insurance Agent | Underwriter | |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 9% |