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The differences between life underwriters and commercial underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a life underwriter has an average salary of $78,633, which is higher than the $59,051 average annual salary of a commercial underwriter.
The top three skills for a life underwriter include underwriting decisions, risk selection and health insurance. The most important skills for a commercial underwriter are real estate, customer service, and financial analysis.
| Life Underwriter | Commercial Underwriter | |
| Yearly salary | $78,633 | $59,051 |
| Hourly rate | $37.80 | $28.39 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 16,767 | 31,908 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A life underwriter is a person who helps give the insurer a detailed outlook on their health and presents them with a premium. An underwriter works for an insurance company and examines an insurer's eligibility for certain benefits. They then evaluate the application depending on their capacity to pay and their current health status. Also, they need to inform them about the advantages and disadvantages of having life insurance.
A commercial underwriter is responsible for processing commercial loan applications, evaluating payment agreements and terms of service, validating customers' information, and requesting additional documents as needed. Commercial underwriters analyze the credit qualifications of an applicant, including financial history, account statements, and outstanding loan applications, if any. They identify potential credit risks for the loan request and advice the applicants for alternative loan options according to their needs and qualifications. A commercial underwriter responds to the applicants' inquiries and concerns regarding their loan applications and provides timely decisions for their requests.
Life underwriters and commercial underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Life Underwriter | Commercial Underwriter | |
| Average salary | $78,633 | $59,051 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $116,000 | Between $41,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Olympia, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | J.P. Morgan |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a life underwriter and a commercial underwriter in terms of educational background:
| Life Underwriter | Commercial Underwriter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between life underwriters' and commercial underwriters' demographics:
| Life Underwriter | Commercial Underwriter | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3% | Male, 48.7% Female, 51.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 73.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 5.5% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |