How to hire a life underwriter

How to hire a life underwriter, step by step

Here's a step-by-step life underwriter hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a life underwriter job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new life underwriter
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The life underwriter hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A life underwriter's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, life underwriters from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of life underwriter salaries for various roles:

   Type of Life Underwriter	Description	Hourly rate
   Life Underwriter	Insurance underwriters decide whether to provide insurance and under what terms. They evaluate insurance applications and determine coverage amounts and premiums.	$25-55
   Insurance Analyst	An insurance analyst provides analytical services to maintain an efficient workflow at insurance companies. They are typically in charge of evaluating insurance policies to identify possible risks for the policyholder and the company, validating client information, and reviewing insurance applications to ensure their accuracy... Show more	$16-42
   Underwriting Consultant	An underwriting consultant is a professional who provides underwriting guidelines to underwriters as well as coordinates revision of the underwriting manual. Underwriting consultants are required to handle complex cases and situations by using their strong knowledge of company services, product standards, and underwriting policies... Show more	$23-49

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Underwriting Decisions
   • Risk Selection
   • Health Insurance
   • Medical History
   • Strong Analytical
   • EKG
   • Life Underwriting
   • Flmi
   • Brokerage
   • Life Insurance Applications
   • Group Life
   • Underwriting Guidelines
   • Long-Term Care
   • Risk Factors

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Review individual mortgage origination/post origination documentation and perform database research.
   • Review individual mortgage origination/post origination documentation and perform database research.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your life underwriter job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A life underwriter can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, life underwriters' average salary in hawaii is 44% less than in massachusetts.
   • Seniority. Entry-level life underwriters 54% less than senior-level life underwriters.
   • Certifications. A life underwriter with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a life underwriter's salary.

   Average life underwriter salary

   $78,633yearly

   $37.80 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level life underwriter salary

   $53,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

4. Writing a life underwriter job description

   A life underwriter job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a life underwriter job description:

   Life underwriter job description example

   Who We Are: With Farm Bureau Financial Services, our client/members can feel confident knowing their family, home, cars and other property are protected. We value a culture where integrity, teamwork, passion, service, leadership and accountability are at the heart of every decision we make and every action we take. We're proud of our more than 80-year commitment to protecting the livelihoods and futures of our client/members and creating an atmosphere where our employees thrive.

   What You'll Do: As a Sr. Life Underwriter you will underwrite new business life insurance policies within predetermined monetary guidelines, in accordance with Farm Bureau policy and in compliance with government regulations. You will evaluate and apply risk classification principles to life insurance applications consistent with the expectations of the actuary.

   What It Takes to Join Our Team:

   · College degree or equivalent plus 5 years relevant experience

   · FLMI, FALU, and ASC designation (s) preferred or successful progress towards attainment

   · Travel possible.

   · Excellent oral and written communication skills

   What We Offer You: When you're on our team, you get more than a great paycheck. You'll hear about career development and educational opportunities. We offer an enhanced 401K with a match, low-cost health, dental, and vision benefits, and life and disability insurance options. We also offer paid time off, including holidays and volunteer time, and teams who know how to have fun. Add to that an onsite wellness facility with fitness classes and programs, a daycare center, a cafeteria, and for many positions, even consideration for a hybrid work arrangement. Farm Bureau....where the grass really IS greener!

   If you're interested in joining a company that appreciates its employees, provides growth and professional development opportunities, and offers great benefits, we invite you to apply today!

   Work Authorization/Sponsorship
   Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We are not able to sponsor now or in the future, or take over sponsorship of, an employment visa or work authorization for this role. For example, we are not able to sponsor OPT status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find life underwriters for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any life underwriters they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level life underwriters with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find life underwriter candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with life underwriter candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new life underwriter

   Once you've found the life underwriter candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new life underwriter first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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