Most large insurance companies prefer college graduates who have a degree in business administration or finance, with courses or experience in accounting. Nature of the Work Insurance companies protect individuals and organizations from financial loss by assuming billions of dollars in risks each year. Underwriters identify and analyze the risk of loss from their policyholders, establish appropriate premium rates, and write policies that cover that risk. An insurance company may lose business to competitors if the underwriter appraises risks too conservatively, or it may have to pay more claims if the underwriting actions are too liberal.
Technology plays an increasingly important role in an underwriter's job.
They enter into the computer various information relating to a person or organization whose application for insurance is pending. These systems automatically analyze and rate insurance applications, then recommend acceptance or denial of the risk, or they adjust the premium rate in accordance with the risk. Underwriters are then better equipped to make sound decisions in an effort to avoid excessive losses in the future. They then decide whether to issue a policy and outline the terms of the contract, including the amount of the premium. Underwriters sometimes correspond with policyholders, agents, and managers about policy cancellations or other matters.