Insurance underwriters
SOC Code: 13-2053
Insurance underwriters carries a 45% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $79,880 and -2.6% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 127,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 45% AI exposure, Insurance underwriters sits 8 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 79% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
40/100
Insurance underwriters, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B+ $79,880
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -2.6%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 45% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Insurance underwriters in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Insurance underwriters shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Slow growth (245 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Insurance underwriters sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Insurance underwriters sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
45% Higher than most higher than 79% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Insurance underwriters vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Insurance underwriters is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Insurance underwriters's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 13-2053) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Insurance underwriters be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Insurance underwriters. Public companies with meaningful exposure to this occupation, such as Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Price T Rowe Group Inc, inherit a share of the same automation risk through their industry classification. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.
- 2. Decline excessive risks.
- 3. Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting policies.
- 4. Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance.
- 5. Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.
- 6. Decrease value of policy when risk is substandard and specify applicable endorsements or apply rating to ensure safe, profitable distribution of risks, using reference materials.
- 7. Authorize reinsurance of policy when risk is high.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Complex Problem Solving
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Sales and Marketing
- Administrative
- Economics and Accounting
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Insurance underwriters?
Insurance underwriters has an AI exposure score of 45%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Insurance underwriters?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Insurance underwriters is projected to decline by 2.6% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 127,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Insurance underwriters?
Key skills for Insurance underwriters include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Insurance underwriters earn?
The median annual wage for Insurance underwriters is $79,880, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Insurance underwriters?
The typical entry-level education for Insurance underwriters is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Insurance underwriters?
Public companies with significant Insurance underwriters workforce shares include Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Price T Rowe Group Inc, Popular, Inc., among others. These employers are mapped by industry classification (SIC/NAICS) to BLS occupation-industry employment distributions. See the full employer rankings for AI displacement risk grades.
Employers with High AI Exposure in This Occupation Group
Public companies whose industry occupation mix includes a significant share of Insurance underwriters roles.
| Company | AI Grade | Risk Score |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. | D | 50.5% |
| Price T Rowe Group Inc | D | 50.5% |
| Popular, Inc. | D | 50.5% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc | D | 50.5% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co | D | 50.5% |
| Bank Of America Corp /De/ | D | 50.5% |
| Hsbc Holdings PLC | D | 50.5% |
| Unitedhealth Group Inc | D | 50.5% |
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 7 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Insurance underwriters: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (45% here).
- Advertising sales agents · AI exposure 45%
- Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys · AI exposure 45%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment · AI exposure 45%
- First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers · AI exposure 45%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-2.6% here).
- Photographic process workers and processing machine operators · growth -2.6%
- Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders · growth -2.5%
- Education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare · growth -2.5%
- Farm and home management educators · growth -2.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 13 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Insurance underwriters' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Insurance underwriters side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).