Life underwriter education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a life underwriter. Life underwriters usually study business, psychology, or finance. 74% of life underwriters hold a bachelor's degree, and 11% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 477 real life underwriter resumes to see exactly what life underwriter education sections show.

The most common colleges for life underwriters are the Temple University and the Temple University.

There are also many online life underwriter courses to help get the education required to be a life underwriter.

There are certain life underwriter certifications that you should consider. These life underwriter certifications include Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU).

What education do you need to become a life underwriter?

What degree do you need to be a life underwriter?

The most common degree for life underwriters is bachelor's degree, with 74% of life underwriters earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 11% and associate degree degree at 9%.

Bachelor's, 74%

Associate, 11%

Master's, 9%

High School Diploma, 3%

Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a life underwriter?

You should major in business to become a life underwriter. 38% of life underwriters major in business. Other common majors for a life underwriter include psychology and finance.

Business, 38%

Psychology, 5%

Finance, 5%

Accounting, 5%

Other Majors, 47%

Most common colleges for life underwriters

Life underwriters often get their degrees at Temple University, Illinois State University, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Here are the most common colleges for life underwriters in the US based on their resumes.

Life underwriter common college	Percentages
Temple University	8.93%
Illinois State University	7.14%
Southern Illinois University Carbondale	7.14%
Madison Area Technical College	7.14%
University of Southern Maine	5.36%

Show more common life underwriter colleges

Best majors for life underwriters

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	38.5%
2	Psychology	5.2%
3	Finance	5.2%
4	Accounting	4.7%
5	Nursing	4.2%

Show more common life underwriter majors

Best colleges for life underwriters

The best colleges for life underwriters are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.

A life underwriter with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for life underwriters. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become life underwriters.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

4. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

5. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Enrollment

32,072

6. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-state tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

7. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$13,226

Enrollment

31,568

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

10. SUNY Stony Brook

Stony Brook, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,625

Enrollment

17,407

20 best online courses for life underwriters

Advertising disclosure

1. Health & Safety Risk Assessment

4.4

(545)

Learn how to conduct a complete risk assessment in your workplace...

2. Informed Risk Taking: Risk Management Process - Analysis

4.5

(1,247)

Risk Management Strategies : Risk Analysis Techniques : Risk Management Principles : Risk Management Process : Methods...

3. Risk Management: Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment

4.3

(741)

Risk Management: Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment (HIRA), Hazard Control & Mitigation, Risk Evaluation Techniques...

4. Fundamentals of Insurance - 1

4.4

(8,948)

Part 1...

5. Fundamentals of Insurance - 2

4.4

(5,370)

Part 2...

6. Financial Risk Management (FRM): Foundational FRM Principles

4.5

(960)

Minimize Financial Risks While Maximizing Financial Reward. + Financial Risk Management (FRM) Process Implementation...

7. Operational Risks Management ORM

4.3

(1,174)

Operational Risks Management ORM Case Studies for Risk Management, Compliance, Audit, IS Security, Banking Professionals...

8. Financial Statement Analysis

4.7

(255)

Learn how to make understanding financial statements your superpower!...

9. ISO/IEC 27005:2022. Information security risk management

4.6

(878)

Understand the framework proposed by ISO for managing information security risks in an organization...

10. Learn Risk Management: Risk Planning in Agile and Scrum

4.4

(712)

Complete Risk Management and Risk Planning Training: Identify Project Risks, Create Risk Plan and Monitor Risks in Scrum...

11. Audit - Financial Statement

4.4

(2,545)

Master the Art of Auditing Financial Statements: In-Depth Analysis, Techniques, and Real-World Case Studies...

12. Introduction to Compliance Risk Management CRM

4.1

(300)

Compliance risk management CRM for Compliance, Risk Management, Internal Audit and IS Security Professionals...

13. Applied ISO14971 Medical Device Risk Management

4.5

(637)

A concise guide to executing ISO 14971 requirements...

14. Learn Risk Analysis, Evaluation & Assessment - from A to Z

4.4

(4,462)

Became an expert of the fundamental tecniques and tools in risk management and assessment (PHA, FTA, FMEA, HAZOP, HACCP)...

15. Project Management Fundamentals: Risk Management

4.4

(504)

Without risk, there can be no reward. Learn how to your risks it into your allies...

16. Financial Statement Analysis - Ratio Analysis

4.3

(1,189)

Master the Art of Financial Statement Analysis: Unlocking Insights through Vertical, Horizontal, and Ratio Analysis...

17. Financial Statements: Balance Sheet, Income Stmt, Cash Flow

4.5

(574)

How To Quickly Read & Understand The Big 3 Financial Statements: Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement...

18. Multifamily Real Estate Underwriting Masterclass

4.3

(270)

Learn how you can start underwriting deals today!...

19. Risk Management: An Introduction

(697)

An essential guide to understanding Risk Management...

20. Financial Statements Analysis for absolute beginners

4.3

(314)

Understand Financial Statements and Analyze Financial Statements for Business and Financial Analysis...

Top 10 most affordable universities for life underwriters

The most affordable schools for life underwriters are Baruch College of the City University of New York, university of florida, and suny farmingdale.

If the best universities for life underwriters are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for life underwriters.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

4. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

5. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

8. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

9. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

10. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for life underwriters

The hardest universities for life underwriters to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, and University of Southern California.

Some great schools for life underwriters are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for life underwriters based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

4. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

6. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

7. Northeastern University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

19%

SAT average

1,466

8. Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,443

9. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for life underwriters

The easiest schools for life underwriters to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, holy names university, and felician university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a life underwriter without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for life underwriters.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

3. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

6. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

7. William Paterson University of New Jersey

Wayne, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

93%

SAT average

994

8. Dominican College of Blauvelt

Orangeburg, NY • Private

Admissions rate

77%

SAT average

1,038

9. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

10. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

Average life underwriter salary by education level

According to our data, life underwriters with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $101,152 annually. Life underwriters with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $86,863.

Life underwriter education level	Life underwriter salary
Master's Degree	$101,152
High School Diploma or Less	$66,175
Bachelor's Degree	$86,863
Some College/ Associate Degree	$67,940

Life underwriter education FAQs

What is the best college for Life Underwriters?

Have more questions? See all answers to common business and financial questions.

Search for life underwriter jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse business and financial jobs