Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between underwriting specialists and underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an underwriting specialist has an average salary of $63,325, which is higher than the $61,751 average annual salary of an underwriter.
The top three skills for an underwriting specialist include customer service, underwriting guidelines and financial statements. The most important skills for an underwriter are customer service, investor guidelines, and mortgage loans.
| Underwriting Specialist | Underwriter | |
| Yearly salary | $63,325 | $61,751 |
| Hourly rate | $30.44 | $29.69 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 25,164 | 8,510 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An underwriting specialist is responsible for reviewing clients' applications in availing financial services and determining their eligibility by analyzing credit scores and risk potential. Underwriting specialists record all necessary information and may ask for additional requirements for further investigation. They assess policy applications and implement terms and conditions upon approval and ensure that the clients understood the process to prevent miscommunication and payment delays. An underwriting specialist must have extensive knowledge of the loan and insurance disciplines to identify coverage and limitations for efficient contract negotiations.
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.
Underwriting specialists and underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Underwriting Specialist | Underwriter | |
| Average salary | $63,325 | $61,751 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $101,000 | Between $39,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | AIG | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an underwriting specialist and an underwriter in terms of educational background:
| Underwriting Specialist | Underwriter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between underwriting specialists' and underwriters' demographics:
| Underwriting Specialist | Underwriter | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.0% Female, 61.0% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 72.4% 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 Percentage | 9% | 9% |