Underwriter vs claims adjuster

The differences between underwriters and claims adjusters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an underwriter has an average salary of $61,751, which is higher than the $51,116 average annual salary of a claims adjuster.

The top three skills for an underwriter include customer service, investor guidelines and mortgage loans. The most important skills for a claims adjuster are insurance carriers, auto claims, and customer service.

Underwriter vs claims adjuster overview

	Underwriter	Claims Adjuster
Yearly salary	$61,751	$51,116
Hourly rate	$29.69	$24.57
Growth rate	-4%	-6%
Number of jobs	8,510	13,221
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	4

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.

What does a claims adjuster do?

A claim's adjuster is responsible for the handling of the insurance claims and investigating the extent of property damage and processing the business or a person's liability. Claims adjusters have a broad range of duties such as damage inspection to evaluate incident reports, communicating with property owners and spectators as well as referring to legal documents. They must also have excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills to calculate payments and analyze the complexities of multiple sources. Claims adjusters should also provide timely reports for reference and possible disputes.

Underwriter vs claims adjuster salary

Underwriters and claims adjusters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Underwriter	Claims Adjuster
Average salary	$61,751	$51,116
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $96,000	Between $40,000 And $64,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New Jersey
Best paying company	Google	Merchants Insurance Group
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Insurance

Differences between underwriter and claims adjuster education

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

	Underwriter	Claims Adjuster
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Underwriter vs claims adjuster demographics

Here are the differences between underwriters' and claims adjusters' demographics:

	Underwriter	Claims Adjuster
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%	Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 5.2% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	10%

Differences between underwriter and claims adjuster duties and responsibilities

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.

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Claims adjuster example responsibilities.

Achieve targeted performance goals to manage costs and support Allstate's industry-leading operational standards.
Maintain a full caseload of WC files for a Louisiana customer, for six months, while managing this team.
Manage California branch operations including supervision of 5 WC adjusting and support staff
Apply strong customer service, organizational and multitasking skills to efficiently manage auto insurance claims.
Manage strict confidentiality of documents and comply with HIPAA regulations stipulate by the facility and government.
Manage file inventory by utilizing CCC pathways diary system documenting claim file activities in accordance with establish procedures

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Underwriter vs claims adjuster skills

Common underwriter skills

Customer Service, 11%
Investor Guidelines, 6%
Mortgage Loans, 5%
Underwriting Guidelines, 5%
Financial Statements, 4%
FHA, 3%

Common claims adjuster skills

Insurance Carriers, 13%
Auto Claims, 8%
Customer Service, 8%
Litigation, 7%
Xactimate, 6%
Claims Handling, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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