Okuzeka
Insurance vocabulary · Underwriting & Risk

Underwriting

Meaning in insurance, with examples

/ˈʌndərˌraɪtɪŋ/nounCore term

In insurance, underwriting means: The process of studying a risk, deciding whether to insure it and setting the price and conditions of the policy.

In Turkish: risk kabul, underwriting

How it is used

The core technical job in an insurance company. Underwriting can be strict or flexible; departments set underwriting guidelines and measure underwriting profit. The verb is 'underwrite': 'We don't underwrite nightclubs.'

Example sentences

  1. Underwriting asked for a fire safety report before they would quote the factory.

  2. Strict underwriting helped us bring the loss ratio below 70 percent.

Common collocations

  • underwriting guidelines
  • underwriting profit
  • underwriting process
  • underwriting department
  • underwriting criteria
  • underwriterAn insurance professional who examines risks, decides whether to accept them and sets the premium, limits and conditions.
  • risk assessmentA careful study of how likely a loss is and how serious it could be, used to decide whether and how to insure something.
  • proposal formThe form a customer fills in when applying for insurance, giving the facts the insurer needs to assess the risk.
  • loss ratioClaims costs divided by earned premiums, shown as a percentage; it shows how much of the premium was spent on paying losses.

More terms: Underwriting & Risk

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.