Insurance Underwriting

Summer69

Could someone please help me with Insurance Underwriting as a possible career? I understand the theory behind the job from this description for example : “As such, underwriters review new or renew applications for insurance coverage, for both individuals and companies. With the help of computer programs, underwritersdetermine the risk involved in insuring a particular person or company and calculate the appropriate premiums for the amount of coverage requested.“ 
But how does that work in practice exactly? Whenever I get insurance for car, travel, home etc I just go on an insurance company website and get a quotation and buy it if I want to. How is underwriting involved in this process? And in what situation would someone go directly to an underwriter? 

Thanks in advance 

AskAsk

here is the link that explains about an insurance underwriter
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/insurance-underwriter

are you looking to enter this as a career?  you would need to be very numerate so you would need a numerate degree to get entry to employers.  you would also need to study for professional qualifications while you are employed.  it is a very tough profession to enter and very competitve.  you would have to be pretty bright to have a chance at getting into this profession.

for big insurance risk, you won't go to comparethemarket.com to get a quote, for example, to insure a cruise liner, a hospital, a block of flats, a supermarket, the ritz hotel or buckingham palace 

the underwriter determines the premium for the insurance by assessing the risks involved.  this is where he needs to be numerate as he uses probability theory to calculate risks.

those premium quotes on comparethemarket websites are determined by the underwriter but the risk is built into a computer program that chucks out the premiums depending on your answers on the site.

Dox

Summer69 said:

Could someone please help me with Insurance Underwriting as a possible career? I understand the theory behind the job from this description for example : “As such, underwriters review new or renew applications for insurance coverage, for both individuals and companies. With the help of computer programs, underwritersdetermine the risk involved in insuring a particular person or company and calculate the appropriate premiums for the amount of coverage requested.“ 
But how does that work in practice exactly? Whenever I get insurance for car, travel, home etc I just go on an insurance company website and get a quotation and buy it if I want to. How is underwriting involved in this process? And in what situation would someone go directly to an underwriter? 

Thanks in advance 

A crucial skill for an underwriter is being able to dig out all relevant facts. Some not-too-onerous googling would get you plenty of information, or look on Lloyd's website.

Savvy_Sue

DH used to work in the insurance industry, many many moons ago, before you could get quotes online. He was involved in setting up the systems which allow those quotes to be offered and accepted online. Before that, it was not uncommon to use a broker for all your insurance needs, and if your needs are unusual that's often a good way to go now as well. 

He sometimes chatted to underwriting specialists. Bought a Napoleonic era Martello Tower and struggling to get it insured? That's where your specialist comes in: your average broker wouldn't be able to quote immediately (unless they'd previously arranged insurance for it). 

Computers can be programmed to do more and more, so I suspect that there are fewer underwriters than there were (again, DH was working on such systems all those years ago). Having said that, the company through which we arrange our insurance at work (a broker) told us that the underwriter was insisting on having a particular piece of information before our quote could be confirmed, so they must be lurking somewhere.