Pay Scale

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary of an insurance underwriter was $65,220 per year in 2010. However, this salary reflects the salaries earned by both experienced and less experienced underwriters. The median salary for those working in this field was $59,290 per year. Toward the bottom end of the pay scale were those who made $36,700 or less per year. The lower 25 percent in this field made as high as $45,650. Associate underwriters' salaries will typically fall within the range of these two lower figures.
  
  

Employers

• Insurance underwriters' salaries differ according to the industry in which they work. According to the BLS, the largest number worked directly for insurance carriers, making an average annual salary of $66,310 per year in 2010. However, others worked for agencies and brokerages, earning salaries of $62,210 per year. Those working in the financial investment sector earned the highest salaries, topping $78,870 per year.
  
  

Location

• Location also provides some indication of what the insurance underwriter can expect to make. According to the BLS, the highest-paid underwriters worked in the states of Connecticut and New York. Those working in Connecticut earned an average salary of $83,310 per year, while those in New York made $78,110. New York also had the highest number of employed underwriters out of all 50 states. California was second. Underwriters in California earned an average salary of $69,140 per year, as of 2010.
  
  

Job Outlook

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of jobs for insurance underwriters should decrease by about four percent during the decade from 2008 to 2018. The bureau indicates that this decline will be largely due to the use of automated technology that will be used to do what underwriters have done manually in the past. The bureau indicates that emerging insurance fields may present some of the best opportunities for new underwriters.