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Life underwriter vs underwriter

The differences between life underwriters and 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 $61,751 average annual salary of an underwriter.

The top three skills for a life underwriter include underwriting decisions, risk selection and health insurance. The most important skills for an underwriter are customer service, investor guidelines, and mortgage loans.

Life underwriter vs underwriter overview

Life UnderwriterUnderwriter
Yearly salary$78,633$61,751
Hourly rate$37.80$29.69
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs16,7678,510
Job satisfaction-3
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a life underwriter do?

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.

What does an underwriter do?

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.

Life underwriter vs underwriter salary

Life underwriters and underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.

Life UnderwriterUnderwriter
Average salary$78,633$61,751
Salary rangeBetween $53,000 And $116,000Between $39,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City-Boston, MA
Highest paying state-Massachusetts
Best paying company-Google
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between life underwriter and underwriter education

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

Life UnderwriterUnderwriter
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Life underwriter vs underwriter demographics

Here are the differences between life underwriters' and underwriters' demographics:

Life UnderwriterUnderwriter
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 41.7% Female, 58.3%Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between life underwriter and underwriter duties and responsibilities

Life underwriter example responsibilities.

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

Underwriter example responsibilities.

  • Attain Jr. underwriter status and AUS underwriting authority.
  • Manage AUS findings and analyze approvals and results accordingly.
  • Complete initial review of appraisals, borrower credit documents, and DU/LP findings according to Fannie Mae and investor guidelines.
  • Research and develop SBA program.
  • Work on project putting together HPR policy.
  • Resolve issues preventing final disposition of REO properties.
  • Show more

Life underwriter vs underwriter skills

Common life underwriter skills
  • Underwriting Decisions, 9%
  • Risk Selection, 8%
  • Health Insurance, 8%
  • Medical History, 6%
  • Strong Analytical, 6%
  • EKG, 5%
Common underwriter skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Investor Guidelines, 6%
  • Mortgage Loans, 5%
  • Underwriting Guidelines, 5%
  • Financial Statements, 4%
  • FHA, 3%

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