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The differences between underwriters and personal lines underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a personal lines underwriter has an average salary of $69,706, which is higher than the $61,751 average annual salary of an underwriter.
The top three skills for an underwriter include customer service, investor guidelines and mortgage loans. The most important skills for a personal lines underwriter are insurance policies, underwriting decisions, and loss ratio.
| Underwriter | Personal Lines Underwriter | |
| Yearly salary | $61,751 | $69,706 |
| Hourly rate | $29.69 | $33.51 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 8,510 | 19,754 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A personal lines underwriter works at insurance companies to ensure that clients are eligible to receive insurance services. Their responsibilities include gathering and analyzing insurance applications, verifying client information, studying financial histories and occupational risks, and conducting interviews. They may also perform clerical support tasks such as preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, and updating databases. Moreover, a personal lines underwriter typically works in a team setting, which requires an active communication line for a smooth and efficient workflow.
Underwriters and personal lines underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Underwriter | Personal Lines Underwriter | |
| Average salary | $61,751 | $69,706 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $96,000 | Between $43,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New York |
| Best paying company | Capital Group | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Insurance |
There are a few differences between an underwriter and a personal lines underwriter in terms of educational background:
| Underwriter | Personal Lines Underwriter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between underwriters' and personal lines underwriters' demographics:
| Underwriter | Personal Lines Underwriter | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9% |
| 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, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 5.7% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |