goddsmack

Hey all,

Need a bit of advice, I have an interview for an underwriter position soon. I would like to hear ideas, comments, suggestions, pros/cons...etc., in any of your experiences, since it is a new field for me. It is with a very large company and utilizes my technical background from my education and job experiences to perform the job. Anyway, any feedback would be great. Thanks in advance.

Reebok AMG

I'm curious, too. I might be interviewing with Geico in a few months when they stop by campus.

anothercls

Some companies have software that basically asseses the risk and will make the decisions for you.

The only way to get good is to learn from someone who's been in insurance for years and knows what they're doing. I know some people who see everything in black and white when it comes to underwriting, but there is a lot more to it. A lot of companies have guidelines you must follow, but some companies will allow you to take more risks, depending on how much they trust you. You're going to have to interact with a lot of people if you deal with at any company. Insureds and agents always want the best price, you shouldn't get sucked into this as you can find yourself in trouble.

Do some research on the company, check their A.M. Best rating, see what they typically write. If you get licensed you can become an agent and possibly make more money, but comission only. Your job will basically be to try and make money w/o putting the company at risk to lose it. Sounds simple...

Do you want to name the company?

What was your previous job/technical skills that qualify you for this type of position?

goddsmack

Here's what the company HR said, the underwriting part, they will teach me, but the technical aspect (environmental to answer "anothercls" response) comes from my previous experience and education. I prefer not to name the company at this time.

Hey what exactly is an "AM" rating? and what's the range? Thanks again.

anothercls

www.ambest.com - it is a company that rates insurance companies on a lot of factors, but mostly financial. The higher the rating, the more likely people are willing to be insured with them.

goddsmack

yeah well I did the interview, and I think I'm not appropriate for the job. It really seems to be more of a sales job. I mean even quantifying the risk is done by someone else, so I declined the job.

anothercls

That sucks, doesn't sound like underwriting to me, sounds like paper pushing.