Free Underwriter Job Description Templates
Free underwriter job description templates: insurance, mortgage, commercial, senior, and trainee, with FLSA classification and designation guidance.
Underwriter Job Description Templates
6 templates by type and level, with FLSA classification and designation guidance. Download as DOCX.
The underwriter job description is one of the few roles where the wrong classification decision can cost a small lender years of back overtime. Most templates online hand you a generic duties list and skip the two things that actually matter when a small insurance agency, mortgage company, community bank, or credit union hires one: that mortgage underwriters have repeatedly been found non-exempt in court, and that the role's designations and lending authorities need tracking, not just listing.
At FirstHR, we build templates by underwriter type with that guidance built in. The six below cover generic, insurance, mortgage/loan, commercial/credit, senior, and junior/trainee, with the FLSA classification note and designation fields most templates skip. Pick the one that fits, fill in the brackets, and post, and the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is an Underwriter?
An underwriter evaluates applications and risk, then decides whether to approve, decline, or modify, documenting each decision against company guidelines. The role is analytical and judgment-driven: reviewing applications, verifying information, assessing risk, setting terms within an authority limit, and recording the rationale. In federal data, insurance underwriters map to insurance underwriters (SOC 13-2053), who decide whether to approve applications and on what terms.
For the employer writing the posting, the product defines the role: an insurance underwriter sets coverage terms, a mortgage underwriter decisions loans, and a commercial or credit underwriter analyzes business credit. The six templates split by type and level so the document matches the real job, and the classification and designation differences between them are not cosmetic.
Underwriter Duties and Responsibilities
Underwriter duties cluster into reviewing and verifying, evaluating and deciding, documenting and communicating, and staying compliant and current. The subject of the risk shifts by type, but these areas hold across underwriting.
A strong posting grounds these in your specifics: your line of business, your guidelines, your authority limits, and your systems. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by the product you underwrite and the level. Each carries the duties, classification note, and credential fields for that setting. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Underwriter Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: company summary, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, FLSA status, and pay, with an EEO statement and a built-in classification note. Fill in the brackets, confirm the classification, and post.
Template 1: Generic Underwriter
The universal base: review applications, evaluate risk, decide within authority, and document. The starting point if your line is not listed, with the classification note built in.
Template 2: Insurance Underwriter (P&C / Life / Health)
For P&C, life, or health: assessing exposures, setting terms and pricing, and working submissions, with designation, producer-license, and MGA delegated-authority fields.
Template 3: Mortgage / Loan Underwriter
For residential or commercial loan underwriting, with the FLSA classification note front and center, because courts have repeatedly found mortgage underwriters non-exempt.
Template 4: Commercial / Credit Underwriter
For business and commercial credit: spreading financials, assessing cash flow and collateral, and writing credit memos for the loan committee. A strong fit for community lenders.
Template 5: Senior Underwriter
For the top of the ladder: complex and higher-authority risk, mentoring junior underwriters, and quality oversight, with a senior pay band acknowledged.
Template 6: Junior / Trainee Underwriter
For the entry path: a trainee track with no experience required, supervised file work, designation coursework, and a clear route to independent authority.
FLSA: Is an Underwriter Exempt or Non-Exempt?
This is the costliest question to get wrong, and the answer is not the same for every underwriter. Insurance underwriters generally qualify for the administrative exemption more easily; mortgage underwriters are the genuine risk.
For any exempt classification, the role must also meet the federal salary threshold of $684 per week ($35,568 per year); the 2024 increase was vacated in court, so the 2019 level is in effect. The exempt vs non-exempt guide and the FLSA overview cover the duties tests. Whichever way you classify, base it on actual duties, not the title, and document your reasoning. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney.
Skills, Designations, and Licensing
An underwriter role weighs analytical judgment and domain knowledge over a license, but designations and lending authorities matter and are easy to misjudge in either direction.
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| License (insurance) | Usually none to underwrite; producer license only if binding/selling |
| License (mortgage) | Usually none; NMLS is for loan officers, not underwriters |
| Designations | CPCU, CLU, AU, API (insurance); often preferred, not required |
| Lending authority | FHA DE, VA SAR/LAPP (mortgage); name only if needed |
| Core skills | Risk analysis, financial-statement reading, judgment, documentation |
| Renewals | Designations and authorities expire; track renewal dates |
Keep requirements realistic and job-related, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics. Name only the designations and authorities the work truly requires, separate must-haves from preferred, and remember that any credential you require has a renewal date worth tracking from day one.
Underwriter Types and Related Roles
The underwriting logic is shared, but the product and the related roles differ. An insurance underwriter sets coverage terms; a mortgage underwriter decisions loans; a commercial or credit underwriter analyzes business lending. The clearest distinction is with the loan officer.
A loan officer is the production and sales side of a loan and must hold an NMLS license for mortgages; the mortgage underwriter is the independent risk-decision side and generally does not. That separation is deliberate, and it is the same production-versus-decision logic that drove courts to find mortgage underwriters non-exempt. For an adjacent analytical role, a financial analyst models and forecasts rather than decides individual risks, and at a bank a bank teller handles transactions rather than credit decisions. If your opening is about deciding risk within guidelines, underwriter is the right title.
Underwriter Pay and Employment Type
An underwriter is usually a full-time salaried role, though many mortgage underwriters are better classified as hourly and non-exempt. The federal data gives a clear anchor for insurance underwriters.
Mortgage and commercial or credit underwriters are not broken out under the same code, but their pay generally lands in a similar professional range, varying by lender size and loan complexity. Because classification affects total pay, a non-exempt underwriter is owed overtime past 40 hours, which can add to annual earnings. For your posting, anchor the range to your market, line, and level, and state whether the role is salaried or hourly along with the classification.
Hiring an Underwriter for a Small Lender or Agency
An underwriter is a core hire for small insurance agencies, MGAs, community banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies, and it comes with a few realities worth getting right. Here are the three that matter most.
After You Hire: Onboarding an Underwriter
An underwriting hire needs a structured onboarding that handles both standard paperwork and credential tracking. Send the offer with the pay and the FLSA classification you have confirmed, collect the signed offer, and complete Form I-9 and tax forms as part of the new hire paperwork.
Then handle the underwriting-specific steps: document the classification decision and the duties analysis behind it, collect and store the underwriter's designations and any lending authority letters, set up system access, and record the renewal dates for every credential. Keep the signed onboarding documents and authority letters in one place, and the offer letter template covers the terms, with the onboarding checklist giving you a repeatable process. If this is among your first hires, the guide to hiring your first employee covers the steps around the posting itself.
FirstHR fits this hire directly: e-signature for the offer and the I-9 and W-4 without printing, an onboarding workflow and AI onboarding wizard that run the same steps for every hire, document management to store signed acknowledgments and the underwriter's designations and authority letters, and HRIS records to track renewal dates for CPCU, CLU, DE authority, or any credential the role requires. Because finance teams at small agencies and lenders run lean and pricing is flat rather than per seat, you pay one rate regardless of headcount changes, where per-seat tools charge you more as you grow. FirstHR does not run payroll, administer benefits, give legal advice, or determine FLSA classification for you, so pair it with your payroll and compliance resources. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an underwriter do?
An underwriter evaluates applications and risk, then decides whether to approve, decline, or modify, documenting each decision against the company's guidelines. The core work is consistent across fields: reviewing applications and supporting documents, verifying information, assessing risk against criteria, setting terms or conditions within an authority limit, and recording the rationale for the decision. The subject of the risk is what differs. An insurance underwriter evaluates exposures and loss history to set coverage terms and pricing; a mortgage underwriter verifies income, assets, credit, and the property to approve or condition a loan; and a commercial or credit underwriter spreads business financials and assesses cash flow and collateral to recommend a credit decision. In federal data, insurance underwriters map to SOC 13-2053, while mortgage and credit underwriting sits in the broader lending and financial-analysis space. The role is analytical and judgment-driven, which is why experience, designations, and sound decision-making matter more than a specific license in most underwriting jobs.
Is an underwriter exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA?
It depends on the type of underwriter and the jurisdiction, and this is the most important classification question to get right. Insurance underwriters generally qualify for the administrative exemption more easily, since their work is often viewed as related to the general business operations of the insurer. Mortgage underwriters are the high-risk case: federal appeals courts have split, and two of them, the Ninth Circuit in McKeen-Chaplin v. Provident Savings Bank and the Second Circuit in Davis v. J.P. Morgan Chase, held that mortgage underwriters are non-exempt because their work is production tied to the bank's core marketplace offering, not the internal administration the administrative exemption covers. The Sixth Circuit reached the opposite result. Because of that split, classifying a mortgage underwriter as salaried-exempt can create overtime liability, with back pay going two to three years plus interest and fees. The safe path for many small lenders is to classify mortgage underwriters as non-exempt and pay overtime, confirm by actual duties, and document the decision. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney.
What is the difference between an insurance underwriter and a mortgage underwriter?
They share the same underwriting logic, evaluate risk and decide within guidelines, but they work on different products in different industries. An insurance underwriter assesses the risk of insuring a person, property, or business: reviewing the application and loss history, deciding whether to accept the risk, and setting the coverage terms and premium, usually for a carrier, a managing general agent, or a specialty agency. A mortgage underwriter assesses the risk of lending: verifying a borrower's income, assets, employment, and credit, evaluating the property and appraisal, and approving, conditioning, or declining the loan against agency or investor guidelines, usually for a mortgage company, community bank, or credit union. The skills overlap, analysis, judgment, attention to detail, and documentation, but the domain knowledge differs, and so does the classification risk: mortgage underwriters have repeatedly been found non-exempt in court, while insurance underwriters more often qualify for the administrative exemption. A commercial or credit underwriter is a third variant, focused on business lending and financial-statement analysis. Pick the template that matches the product you actually underwrite.
Does an underwriter need a license?
Usually not for the underwriting itself, which surprises many small employers. An insurance underwriter generally does not need a state license to underwrite, unlike agents, brokers, and adjusters, and a mortgage underwriter generally does not need the NMLS license that loan officers must hold under the SAFE Act. There are important exceptions. If your insurance underwriter also binds or sells coverage, a state producer license under your state's lines of authority may be required, and variable products bring FINRA requirements such as the SIE and a Series license. Many employers also require or prefer professional designations even though they are not licenses: CPCU, CLU, AU, or API on the insurance side, and FHA Direct Endorsement authority or VA SAR or LAPP authority on the mortgage side. Those designations and authorities have to be earned and renewed, so the practical move is to name only the credentials the work truly requires, separate must-haves from preferred in the posting, and track each one's renewal date. Confirm the specific requirements for your state and your line of business, since they vary.
How much does an underwriter make?
Insurance underwriter pay is the clearest federal benchmark. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $79,880 for insurance underwriters as of May 2024, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $51,640 and the highest 10 percent earning more than $138,020. Pay varies by line of business, region, experience, and designations, with senior and specialty underwriters at the higher end. Mortgage and commercial or credit underwriters are not broken out under the same federal code, but their pay generally lands in a similar professional range, varying by lender size, loan complexity, and market. Entry-level and trainee underwriters start below the median and climb as they earn authority and designations. Note that classification affects total pay: a non-exempt underwriter, including many mortgage underwriters, is owed overtime past forty hours, which can add meaningfully to annual earnings. For your posting, anchor the range to your local market, your line of business, and the experience level, and state whether the role is salaried or hourly along with the classification.
What is the difference between an underwriter and a loan officer?
They sit on opposite sides of the same loan and have very different roles. A loan officer is the production and sales side: they work with borrowers, take applications, recommend loan products, and bring deals in, and for mortgages they must hold an NMLS license under the SAFE Act. A mortgage underwriter is the risk and decision side: they independently review the file the loan officer submitted, verify the income, assets, credit, and property, and decide whether the loan meets guidelines and can be approved, conditioned, or declined. The separation is deliberate, the person who sells the loan should not be the person who approves the risk, which is why underwriting is a distinct function with its own judgment and authority. The underwriter generally does not need the NMLS license the loan officer must have. The same production-versus-decision distinction is why mortgage underwriters have been found non-exempt in several courts: their work is tied to the core lending product. If your opening is about deciding risk rather than originating loans, underwriter is the right title.
Should I hire a mortgage underwriter as salaried or hourly?
For many small lenders, hourly and non-exempt is the safer default, though the right answer depends on actual duties and your jurisdiction. The reason is the FLSA case law: the Ninth and Second Circuits have held that mortgage underwriters are non-exempt production employees entitled to overtime, and the Sixth Circuit disagreed, leaving a genuine split. If your jurisdiction follows the non-exempt view, or if you simply want to avoid the risk, classifying the role as hourly non-exempt and paying overtime past forty hours removes the misclassification exposure that can otherwise produce years of back-pay liability. Some lenders do classify mortgage underwriters as salaried-exempt, but only after a careful, documented duties analysis confirming the role genuinely meets the administrative exemption, which is not a given for this position. Whichever way you go, base the decision on the actual day-to-day duties rather than the title, document your reasoning, and apply the current federal salary threshold for any exempt classification. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm with an employment attorney before classifying the role.
What happens after I hire an underwriter?
Run a structured onboarding that handles both the standard paperwork and the credential tracking this role needs. Start with the spine: send the offer with the pay and the FLSA classification you have confirmed, collect the signed offer, complete Form I-9 within the first days, and gather the W-4 and state tax forms. Then handle the underwriting-specific items: document the classification decision and the duties analysis behind it, collect and store the underwriter's designations and any lending authority letters such as CPCU, CLU, DE authority, or VA SAR, set up access to your underwriting or loan-origination systems, and record the renewal dates for every credential so none lapses. For a small lender or agency, that credential tracking is the part that quietly breaks without a system. FirstHR handles this end to end: e-signature for the offer and the I-9 and W-4 without printing, an onboarding workflow that runs the same steps for every hire, document management to store signed acknowledgments and authority letters, and HRIS records to track designation and authority renewals. Because pricing is flat rather than per seat, a small agency or lender pays one rate regardless of headcount changes. FirstHR does not run payroll, administer benefits, or determine FLSA classification for you, so connect your payroll and compliance providers. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.