What does an underwriting manager do?
Underwriting managers work mostly in the financial and insurance industries to provide management for all underwriting activities, including loan applications and insurance products. They oversee a team of associate-level staff, assigning them insurance or loan plans to evaluate and underwrite, ensuring that they comprehend expectations and timelines, and provide support by answering questions. They are team leaders, leading associate-level underwriters altogether activities, supporting risk management, and financial due diligence activities. In addition, underwriting managers also play a significant role in developing and enacting policies and procedures in regional offices.
Underwriting manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real underwriting manager resumes:
- Manage the company underwriting department and coordinate origination efforts within OAIC, Ocwen's REIT.
- Manage the execution of underwriting, portfolio analysis and account- base decision making in accordance with establish guidelines and processes.
- Review of government sponsor (FHA, VA, USDA) loans to ensure adherence to specific policies and procedures.
- Reduce number of loan input errors per file with quality underwrites, in which are further approve by FNMA & FHLMC
- Direct all underwriting activities in the origination of home equity loans and lines of credit.
- Train all staff members on successful sales techniques to help facilitate consumer, conventional, FHA, commercial mortgage loans.
- Analyze appraisals for acceptability to FNMA standards.
- Manage the execution of underwriting, portfolio analysis and account- base decision making in accordance with establish guidelines and processes.
- Follow charter requirements of FHLMC to determine investment quality of loans.
- Prepare and present monthly ALCO indirect lending reports.
- Prepare various reports including month-end pipeline and activity reports for ALCO meetings, executive meetings and board reports.
- Provide stats and reporting to senior-level management within loss mitigation, short sale, foreclosure, rescission and bankruptcy.
- Help with implementing of new Instec rating engine and uploading into AS400 system.
- Analyze conventional refinance and purchase transactions through DU/LP ensuring compliance with appropriate company and secondary market investor standards.
- Develop underwriting training on ISO and proprietary forms and guidelines for implementation of company strategy.
Underwriting manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Underwriting Managers are proficient in Customer Service, Portfolio, and Risk Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Organizational skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Underwriting Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 13%
Monitored calls, resolved escalated issues, and if necessary working with my senior management directly for customer service satisfaction
- Portfolio, 7%
Manage the execution of underwriting, portfolio analysis and account- based decision making in accordance with established guidelines and processes.
- Risk Management, 6%
Manage a team of residential mortgage underwriters ensuring compliance with established policies, procedures and risk management.
- Underwriting Guidelines, 6%
Review pricing/product and underwriting guidelines to maximize competitiveness
- Financial Statements, 4%
Analyze commercial credit reports Analyze merchant financial statements Provide analysis to upper management for merchants with annual revenue up to $50MM
- Underwriting Process, 3%
Supported other regional offices with evaluation of underwriting processes which result in establishing consistency and compliance with best practices.
Common skills that an underwriting manager uses to do their job include "customer service," "portfolio," and "risk management." You can find details on the most important underwriting manager responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an underwriting manager to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Underwriting managers often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "coordinated cmbs regulated communications between cre property owners and due diligence underwriters in organizing site inspections and management interviews on property. "
Organizational skills. Many underwriting manager duties rely on organizational skills. "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work.," so an underwriting manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways underwriting manager responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "led a results-oriented team of 25 customer service representatives in achieving organizational objectives. "
Analytical skills. underwriting managers are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to underwriting manager responsibilities, because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." An underwriting manager resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "analyzed health coverage to determine cost effectiveness, achieving the reduction loss ratio of 15% to 20%. "
Math skills. A big part of what underwriting managers do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to underwriting manager responsibilities because "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical underwriting manager tasks: "mortgage due diligence, quantitative analysis and risk analysis. "
Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for an underwriting manager to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what underwriting managers relies on this skill, since "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." How this skill relates to underwriting manager duties can be seen in an example from an underwriting manager resume snippet: "developed and implemented technology-oriented products; 5 direct reports/ $1m budget. "
The three companies that hire the most underwriting managers are:
- Highmark46 underwriting managers jobs
- Prime Therapeutics41 underwriting managers jobs
- Zurich21 underwriting managers jobs
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Compare different underwriting managers
Underwriting manager vs. Cash manager
A cash manager is responsible for monitoring cash flow, analyzing financial transactions, and allocating adequate budget and resources for every department's operations. Cash managers conduct data and statistical analysis to determine the company's expenses and financial loss and strategize techniques in minimizing those risks. They also help senior management in identifying business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase profits for the business. A cash manager handles billing disputes, resolves account discrepancies, and submits accurate financial reports.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an underwriting manager are more likely to require skills like "portfolio," "risk management," "underwriting guidelines," and "underwriting process." On the other hand, a job as a cash manager requires skills like "cash management," "treasury," "reconciliations," and "ach." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Cash managers tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $101,436. In contrast, underwriting managers make the biggest average salary, $87,735, in the insurance industry.On average, cash managers reach similar levels of education than underwriting managers. Cash managers are 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Underwriting manager vs. Tax manager
A Tax Manager is responsible for managing tax reporting and compliance within an organization. They provide innovative tax planning and prepare state and federal tax returns for companies.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, underwriting manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "portfolio," "risk management," and "underwriting guidelines." Meanwhile, a tax manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "cpa," "client relationships," "tax planning," and "tax compliance." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, tax managers earn a higher salary than underwriting managers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, tax managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $96,231. Whereas underwriting managers have higher pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $87,735.tax managers earn higher levels of education than underwriting managers in general. They're 12.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Underwriting manager vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from underwriting manager resumes include skills like "portfolio," "risk management," "underwriting guidelines," and "underwriting process," whereas a manager is more likely to list skills in "payroll," "food safety," "management," and "powerpoint. "
Managers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $71,781. On the other hand, underwriting managers are paid the highest salary in the insurance industry, with average annual pay of $87,735.managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to underwriting managers. Specifically, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Underwriting manager vs. Finance center manager
The duties of a finance center manager depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, they are responsible for overseeing the operations of a financial center, ensuring everything is running smoothly. They are also responsible for performing clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, managing schedules, setting goals and deadlines, processing documents, and maintaining data and records of all financial activities. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of underwriting manager
Updated January 8, 2025
