What is an "underwriter"?

What is an "underwriter"?

Elliot Matloff (President and Broker, The Matloff Company) gives expert video advice on: What is an "underwriter"?; What is "coverage"? and more...

An underwriter is a person that works inside the insurance company who looks at you, and looks at the risk, and decides whether or not you're insurable. For example, let's say that you're looking to buy a health insurance policy, and you are 5' 3" and you weigh 200 lbs. You're taking all kinds of medications and you have all kinds of serious health problems, and aren't doing well. The insurance underwriter at the home office of that insurance company has to make a decision. Sometimes it's a painful decision, they say, "You're insurable, or you're insurable at a higher premium than the normal", or they say you're non-insurable at all. The underwriter is the person that makes that decision.