AI AND YOUR JOB · CHECKED OCT 2026
Will AI replace insurance underwriters?
For simple policies, it largely already has. Swiss Re says automated engines decide about 75% of life insurance applications worldwide, and BLS expects underwriter jobs to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, but complex commercial and specialty risks, exceptions and declines still need an underwriter who owns the decision. About 6,800 openings a year are still projected, all from people leaving the field.
- Tasks from the US Labor Department's O*NET
- Pay and outlook from BLS
- 11 sources
AI EXPOSURE TODAY
Medium
AI does 1 and helps with 8 of 13 core tasks. 4 are still human.
- AI does it (1)
- AI helps (8)
- Still human (4)
Task by task: what AI can do today
The core tasks of the job, from the US Labor Department's O*NET profile (13-2053.00). Each verdict links to its evidence.
| Task | Verdict | Tools doing it | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen standard applications against set underwriting rules | AI does this today | Swiss Re Magnum, Valen Risk Manager | Swiss Re says automated engines like its Magnum platform now decide about 75% of life insurance applications worldwide, and up to 90% in some markets, with little or no human review. [1][2][3] |
| Examine applications to judge risk from health, finances and property condition | AI helps, you check | Swiss Re Underwriting Ease, Valen Risk Manager | Tools like Swiss Re's Underwriting Ease pull health records, lab results and doctor statements into one view, and one early user says it cuts manual review work by up to 50%, but the underwriter still judges the risk. [1][2][4] |
| Sort and prioritize incoming submissions from brokers | AI helps, you check | Sixfold, AIG Assist | Hiscox uses AI to pull key details out of broker emails in minutes and AIG says AI lets it handle far more submissions without adding staff, but you still decide which risks to quote. [5][6][7] |
| Write to agents, doctors and others for more information or to explain underwriting rules | AI helps, you check | Sixfold, Swiss Re Underwriting Assistant | AI underwriting assistants flag what is missing from a file so you know what to ask for, but the questions you send and the rules you explain come from you. [3][6] |
| Set premiums and coverage amounts | AI helps, you check | InsBridge rating engine | Rating engines calculate the price from your inputs and Hiscox has cut one specialty line from days to minutes for a quote, yet coverage limits and judgment on a borderline risk are set by the underwriter. [1][2][5] |
| Rate substandard risks and add the right endorsements | AI helps, you check | InsBridge rating engine | Software applies the rating tables, but choosing which exclusions or endorsements protect the insurer without gutting the policy takes experience. [1][2] |
| Check how much insurance is already in force on one risk or a group of related risks | AI helps, you check | Sixfold, Verisk risk modeling | AI underwriting tools check each new risk against the existing book and the insurer's appetite, but deciding how much more the company can safely take on is a call for the underwriter and management. [6][11] |
| Evaluate possible losses from catastrophes or over insurance | AI helps, you check | Verisk risk modeling | Catastrophe models now return modeled storm and quake losses in seconds at the point of quoting, but senior underwriters are expected to challenge the model and own the exceptions. [11] |
| Review and override recommendations from underwriting software | Still human | None | Vendors such as Sixfold say human underwriters stay accountable for final outcomes, so someone trained has to catch the cases where the system is wrong. |
| Decline risks that are too large or too uncertain | Still human | None | Saying no affects real people and businesses, and the insurer needs a person who can explain and defend that decision to agents and regulators. |
| Authorize reinsurance when a risk is high | Still human | None | Moving part of a large risk to a reinsurer is a negotiated, high dollar decision made by people with authority to bind it. |
| Answer agents' questions about coverage | Still human | None | Agents call because a client's situation does not fit the guidelines, and a good relationship with the underwriter is what gets a deal placed. |
| Underwrite complex commercial and specialty accounts | AI helps, you check | AIG Assist | Hiscox now uses AI to go from submission to quote in a specialty terrorism line and AIG has rolled its AI assistant into more lines, but both say an experienced underwriter still owns these accounts. [5][7] |
The job market for insurance underwriters
Source: Insurance Underwriters. BLS expects this job to shrink 4% over 2025 to 2035.
Where insurance underwriters can move next
GROWING · $130,000
Actuary
Actuaries build and test the pricing and risk models that underwriting software runs on, so you move from using the model to owning it. It takes strong math and a long series of professional exams. [8]
Median pay $130,000 · outlook +9%GROWING · $94,160
Financial examiner
Examiners judge whether banks are lending safely and holding enough reserves, which uses the same habit of reading financial documents for risk. Expect more than a year of on the job training. [9]
Median pay $94,160 · outlook +9%GROWING · $62,280
Insurance sales agent
Agents win clients through trust and advice, and knowing exactly what underwriters look for helps you place harder risks. You need a state license, and median pay is lower than for underwriters. [10]
Median pay $62,280 · outlook +3%INSURANCE UNDERWRITER AI PROOF KIT
Want the step by step plan for insurance underwriters?
We are writing a insurance underwriter version of our AI Proof Kit: the tools to learn, how to set them up, a raise script and the safest next roles. We write kits in the order people ask for them.
Want to see what a kit looks like? See the bookkeeper kit.
Quick questions
Will AI replace insurance underwriters?
It is shrinking the job rather than ending it. BLS projects underwriter employment to fall 4% from 2025 to 2035 because automated underwriting software processes applications quickly and more decisions will be made automatically [2]. About 6,800 openings a year are still expected, all to replace people who leave [2].
Is insurance underwriting a good career in 2026?
It still pays well, with a median of $81,370 in May 2025 [2], but entry level seats are under the most pressure. Standard life applications now mostly go through automated engines [3], while insurers like Hiscox use AI to speed up specialty risks but say human insight remains crucial [5]. Aim for lines of business that need judgment.
Which underwriting work is most likely to be automated?
Standard applications are the most automated. Swiss Re says automated engines decide around 75% of life applications globally and up to 90% in some markets, while complex medical and financial cases still go to people [3]. Data entry from broker emails is next: Hiscox cut quoting time in one specialty line from up to three days to about three minutes [5].
What software do insurance underwriters use?
O*NET lists tools such as Valen Risk Manager, the RGA Facultative Application Console and the InsBridge rating engine alongside Excel and document systems [1]. Newer AI tools include Swiss Re's Underwriting Ease, which gathers medical records into one view [4], and Sixfold, which checks submissions against an insurer's appetite and suggests a next step [6].
Sources
Checked 2026-10-10. Verdicts are Leapscope's reading of these sources. We did not test these tools hands on for this page.
- Insurance Underwriters (13-2053.00), O*NET OnLine
- Insurance Underwriters, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Reimagining life insurance underwriting, Swiss Re
- Swiss Re launches AI powered Underwriting Ease to streamline life insurance reviews, Insurance Business
- Hiscox and Google Cloud Collaborate on AI in lead underwriting for the London Market, Hiscox Group
- Sixfold introduces AI underwriter to support insurance underwriting decisions, Reinsurance News
- AIG's GenAI Deployment Sees Outcomes Beyond Expectations, Insurance-Canada.ca
- Actuaries, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Financial Examiners, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Insurance Sales Agents, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Integration and Automation Solutions for Risk Modeling, Verisk
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