Underwriting managers ensure insurance companies follow risk acceptance guidelines, set underwriting guidelines, and monitor their effectiveness. A four-year degree, industry designations, and several years of underwriting experience are required. Supervisory experience is preferred. It takes six or more years of experience to become an underwriting manager.
Underwriting managers are responsible for ensuring that an insurance company’s guidelines for accepting a risk are followed by the company’s underwriters. They can also play a role in setting the company’s underwriting guidelines and monitoring their effectiveness. To become an underwriting manager, you typically need a four-year degree and industry designations and several years of underwriting experience. Many companies also require some experience in a supervisory or team leadership role.
Most underwriting managers hold degrees in risk, finance or business management, although degrees in areas such as accounting and marketing are also commonly accepted. To become an underwriting manager, most graduates start a career as an underwriting trainee. The intern usually spends a year or two learning the company’s industry and specific underwriting standards.
During this period, the intern may begin to receive an industry designation, which may later increase his or her chances of becoming an underwriting manager. The most common designation in the industry is CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter). Many life and health companies require a CLU (Chartered Life Underwriter) designation to become an underwriting manager. It can take several years of study and examination for an underwriter to receive designations such as the CPCU or CLU.
Once an underwriter graduates to trainee status, they will likely spend several years as a full-fledged underwriter. An underwriter will typically learn industry standards for a wide range of products before focusing on a specific, specialized line of coverage. Some of the lines of coverage include homeowners, workers compensation, professional liability, commercial property, life and disability. Most underwriting managers have experience across a wide range of products and specialties, although there is generally little crossover between the property and casualty fields and the life and health fields.
Many companies prefer candidates to have some supervisory experience in order to become an underwriting manager. Underwriters can gain this experience by leading a team of other underwriters, interns or account managers. A company will monitor the effectiveness of an underwriting supervisor with metrics such as account retention, premium-to-loss ratio, and new business acquisition.
To become an underwriting manager, you need to be able to develop working relationships with clients, suppliers, and brokers. Furthermore, an underwriting manager must be able to successfully balance the needs and objectives of all these parties while creating a book of business that is both profitable and has an acceptable loss rate. It usually takes six years or more of qualified experience in the field to become an underwriting manager.
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