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Insurance underwriter vs broker

The differences between insurance underwriters and brokers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a broker has an average salary of $124,861, which is higher than the $64,163 average annual salary of an insurance underwriter.

The top three skills for an insurance underwriter include health insurance, insurance underwriting and insurance coverage. The most important skills for a broker are brokerage, financial services, and insurance products.

Insurance underwriter vs broker overview

Insurance UnderwriterBroker
Yearly salary$64,163$124,861
Hourly rate$30.85$60.03
Growth rate-4%5%
Number of jobs39,0262,770
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4449
Years of experience--

What does an insurance underwriter do?

An insurance underwriter specializes in identifying and assessing financial risks in insurance policies. It is their duty to gather and review insurance applications, understand the coverage of policies and claims, determine a client's ability to uphold financial obligations by studying their personal information, and develop strategies to prevent the impact of risks and financial losses. They may also negotiate with external parties while adhering to the company's rules and regulations. Moreover, there are instances when an insurance underwriter must produce progress reports and presentations for managers and executives.

What does a broker do?

Brokers can either be a firm or an individual acting as an intermediary between a securities exchange and an investor. They often provide services to individual investors and traders who cannot engage directly with security exchanges, which only accept orders from their members. They provide investors and traders with an investment plan, market intelligence, and research. They may cross-sell some financial services and products offered by their brokerage firms. They are also typically classified as discount or full-service brokers.

Insurance underwriter vs broker salary

Insurance underwriters and brokers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Insurance UnderwriterBroker
Average salary$64,163$124,861
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $116,000Between $68,000 And $227,000
Highest paying CityHartford, CTNew York, NY
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew York
Best paying companyCitiChild Guidance & Family Solutions
Best paying industry-Insurance

Differences between insurance underwriter and broker education

There are a few differences between an insurance underwriter and a broker in terms of educational background:

Insurance UnderwriterBroker
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Southern California

Insurance underwriter vs broker demographics

Here are the differences between insurance underwriters' and brokers' demographics:

Insurance UnderwriterBroker
Average age4449
Gender ratioMale, 33.4% Female, 66.6%Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 5.7% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 6.9% White, 70.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage9%13%

Differences between insurance underwriter and broker duties and responsibilities

Insurance underwriter example responsibilities.

  • Manage patient's records, appointments, and account balances while adhering to HIPPA standards.
  • Manage A/R, A/P, credentialing, surgery scheduling, and coordinate patient referrals to other physicians.
  • Manage operating procedure and accounting systems for payroll, operating expenses, supplies and inventory management and commercial accounts.
  • Prepare all HCFA billing with proper ICD-9 codes and CPT codes for accurate turn around time on payments.
  • Follow up with insurance carriers and patients to expedite the recovery of payment obligations
  • File insurance and process billing and payments, coordinate patients financial arrangements, present treatment plans, verify insurance coverage.
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Broker example responsibilities.

  • Manage, lease and sell office condominiums on site.
  • Retail trader, fix income securities; manage client account activity; properly allocate client funds to appropriate investment options
  • Manage indexes, options, foreign equities, and short-selling positions that are compatible with clients' long-term investment goals.
  • Expand and maintain professional relationships with trading accounts including banks, hedge funds and portfolio managers.
  • Specialize in finding undervalue and/or overbought commodities by using fundamental and technical analysis that exist throughout the markets.
  • Install the oracle client for windows.
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Insurance underwriter vs broker skills

Common insurance underwriter skills
  • Health Insurance, 11%
  • Insurance Underwriting, 8%
  • Insurance Coverage, 8%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Underwriting Guidelines, 7%
  • Insurance Products, 6%
Common broker skills
  • Brokerage, 17%
  • Financial Services, 9%
  • Insurance Products, 7%
  • Risk Management, 6%
  • Client Relationships, 6%
  • Real Estate Transactions, 5%

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