Underwriter CV Example
Updated 16 July 2026
A strong underwriter CV names your class of business, shows your authority limit, and quantifies the premium book and loss ratio you manage. UK recruiters and ATS filter by line (commercial property, personal lines motor, specialty marine) and seniority markers (Cert CII vs ACII, £50k vs £500k authority), so generic "insurance underwriter" profiles get passed over. This guide shows you how to write an underwriter CV that proves portfolio scale, profitability, and technical judgement.
Underwriter CV examples
Junior Underwriter (Personal Lines)
entryNames class of business, shows growing authority limit, and quantifies case volume and accuracy from day one.
Commercial Lines Underwriter
midSpecifies commercial property and liability, shows £500k authority limit, and quantifies loss-ratio improvement and broker retention.
Senior Underwriter (Specialty Lines)
seniorDemonstrates £2M authority limit, leadership of a team, and strategic portfolio management with strong loss-ratio and GWP outcomes.
How to write an underwriter CV
An underwriter CV is reverse-chronological, two pages, and built around the metrics underwriters are measured on: authority limit, premium volume (GWP), loss ratio, and decision accuracy. Name your class of business in the personal statement and headline so ATS and recruiters can filter you immediately. Then front-load the numbers that prove seniority and profitability.
Format and length
Two pages. Contact details and a Core Skills band at the top, then personal statement, experience (reverse-chronological), education, and professional qualifications. No photo, no date of birth (UK standard). Use clear section headings and enough white space that a recruiter can scan your authority limit and loss ratio in five seconds.
What to include in each section
| Section | Junior | Mid | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Cert CII + class of business + current authority limit + loss ratio | ACII + class of business + authority limit + premium book size + key outcome (loss-ratio improvement or GWP growth) | FCII/Chartered + class of business + authority limit + team leadership + strategic portfolio outcome |
| Core Skills | Class of business, risk assessment, Acturis, FCA compliance, broker liaison, Cert CII | Class of business, portfolio management, Acturis/SSP, RMS/catastrophe modelling, ACII, loss-ratio management | Class of business, strategic underwriting, catastrophe modelling, reinsurance, team leadership, FCII |
| Experience | Case volume, decision accuracy, turnaround time, broker conversion rate | Premium book size, loss ratio, authority limit progression, broker retention | GWP growth, loss-ratio improvement, team leadership, reinsurance structuring |
| Education | Degree (maths, economics, business preferred) | Degree + progression to ACII | Degree + postgrad (risk management, actuarial science) + FCII |
| Achievements | Cert CII, internal awards | ACII, Chartered Insurer eligibility | FCII, industry awards, publications |
Personal statement
Two to three sentences: your CII status, your class of business, your current authority limit, and one headline outcome (loss ratio, premium book size, or a key achievement). Recruiters scan for class of business first, then authority limit, then CII credentials.
Experience
Each role needs: job title, employer, location, dates, and three to four achievement bullets. Every bullet should include a number: premium volume, loss ratio, case volume, turnaround time, broker conversion rate, or claims exposure reduction. Authority limit goes in the first bullet for each role.
Skills
A Core Skills band pairs underwriting competencies with your class of business and the platforms you use. Example: "Commercial Property Risk Assessment | Portfolio & Loss-Ratio Management | Acturis | RMS Catastrophe Modelling | FCA Compliance | Broker Liaison | ACII". This front-loads the exact keywords an underwriting ATS scans before a human reads the CV.
Education and qualifications
Degree first (maths, economics, business, or risk management), then CII qualifications in a separate Achievements section. Cert CII, Dip CII, ACII, and FCII are the UK benchmarks recruiters screen for. ACII plus five years qualifies you for Chartered Insurer status, name it if you have it.
Length and extras
Two pages. No hobbies unless they are directly relevant (e.g. sailing for marine underwriters, or data visualisation for pricing-model work). Volunteering and publications go in if they show leadership or technical expertise; otherwise leave them out.
Personal statement examples
ACII-qualified commercial underwriter with six years' experience in property and liability risk assessment. Delegated authority up to £500k per risk, managing a £12M annual premium book with a 58% loss ratio. Proven expertise in broker relationship management, catastrophe modelling (RMS), and FCA-compliant underwriting across SME and mid-corporate portfolios.
Experienced underwriter with a strong background in insurance and risk assessment. Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to work with brokers and clients. Seeking a challenging role in a dynamic underwriting team where I can use my skills to contribute to business success.
Writing your experience
Underwriting is a numbers-judged role. Every bullet should show the scale of your book (premium volume, case count), the profitability you delivered (loss ratio, claims exposure reduction), or the efficiency you drove (turnaround time, decision accuracy). The result-plus-metric pattern is the standard: what you did, the outcome, and the number that proves it.
The result-plus-metric pattern
Weak: Responsible for underwriting commercial property risks and liaising with brokers.
Strong: Underwrote commercial property risks with delegated authority up to £500k per risk, managing a £12M annual premium book with a 58% loss ratio and achieving 82% broker retention.
Weak: Assessed risk and processed applications in line with company guidelines.
Strong: Processed 850+ motor and household cases annually with 99.2% decision accuracy, maintaining a 62% loss ratio across a £1.8M premium book.
Weak: Improved underwriting processes and reduced turnaround times.
Strong: Cut average case turnaround time from 5 days to 2.5 days by streamlining Acturis workflows and pre-negotiating standard terms with top-tier Lloyd's brokers.
Action verbs for underwriters
Underwriters assess, price, bind, manage, negotiate, and analyse. Use verbs that show judgement under uncertainty and the balance between risk and profitability: underwrote, managed, improved, reduced, achieved, converted, maintained, negotiated, analysed, structured, tightened, refined.
What to quantify
- Authority limit: "delegated authority up to £500k per risk"
- Premium volume: "£12M annual premium book" or "£6.5M GWP"
- Loss ratio: "maintained a 58% loss ratio" or "improved loss ratio from 64% to 58%"
- Case volume and accuracy: "processed 850+ cases annually with 99.2% decision accuracy"
- Turnaround time: "reduced average case turnaround from 48 hours to 28 hours"
- Broker metrics: "82% broker retention" or "converted 74% of new-business submissions"
- Claims exposure: "reduced claims exposure by 22% through enhanced risk-selection criteria"
| Weak (duty-focused) | Strong (outcome-focused) |
|---|---|
| Responsible for underwriting motor policies | Underwrote motor policies with authority up to £75k per risk, processing 850+ cases annually with 99.2% decision accuracy |
| Liaised with brokers and assessed risk | Converted 68% of broker submissions to bound policies, balancing competitive pricing against underwriting discipline across 22 regional brokers |
| Maintained compliance with FCA regulations | Maintained 100% FCA compliance across all case files, passing four regulatory audits with commendations for documentation quality and TCF adherence |
| Improved loss ratio through better risk selection | Improved portfolio loss ratio from 64% to 58% over two years by refining pricing models and tightening terms on high-exposure construction and hospitality risks |
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
UK underwriting is a CII-credentialed profession. Cert CII is the entry-level benchmark, ACII (Advanced Diploma) is the mid-career standard, and FCII (Fellowship) plus five years qualifies you for Chartered Insurer status. Recruiters screen for these before they read the rest of your CV, so put them in an Achievements section immediately after Experience.
CII qualifications
- Cert CII (Certificate in Insurance): Entry-level. Shows you understand insurance principles, regulation, and customer service. Most junior underwriters complete this within their first year.
- Dip CII (Diploma in Insurance): Intermediate. Demonstrates deeper technical knowledge in a chosen specialism (e.g. personal lines, commercial, claims).
- ACII (Advanced Diploma in Insurance): The UK benchmark for experienced underwriters. Signals technical expertise and is a screening requirement for many mid-level and senior roles. ACII plus five years' experience qualifies you for Chartered Insurer status.
- FCII (Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute): The highest CII credential. Shows strategic and leadership capability. Common among heads of underwriting and senior technical specialists.
List your CII status in the Achievements section with the year you qualified. If you are working towards ACII or FCII, state "Working towards ACII (3 of 5 modules complete)" in the personal statement or achievements.
Degree
Most underwriters have a degree in maths, economics, business, or a related field. Actuarial science, statistics, and risk management degrees are particularly valued for technical underwriting roles. If your degree is unrelated, lead with your CII credentials and underwriting experience instead.
Other certifications
Catastrophe-modelling certifications (RMS, RiskIQ) and Excel/data-analysis courses are worth listing if they are recent and relevant. FCA-compliance training is expected rather than a differentiator, so only list it if you hold a formal qualification (e.g. CII CF1 or CF6 modules).
Format
Degree first (institution, qualification, subject, dates, and any honours or distinctions). Then a separate Achievements section for CII qualifications and any industry awards. Keep it concise: recruiters care about ACII/FCII status and the year you qualified, not a full module breakdown.
Common mistakes to avoid
Writing a generic "insurance underwriter" profile with no class of business named
Name your line explicitly in the personal statement and headline: commercial property, personal lines motor, specialty marine, life and health. Recruiters and ATS filter by class of business, so a generic profile gets passed over.
Listing duties instead of portfolio scale and profitability outcomes
Replace "responsible for underwriting commercial risks" with "underwrote commercial property risks with delegated authority up to £500k per risk, managing a £12M annual premium book with a 58% loss ratio."
Omitting your underwriting authority limit on each role
State your delegated authority limit in the first bullet of every role. It is the clearest signal of seniority and the size of risks you can bind without referral.
Using "underwriting software" instead of naming the actual platforms
Name Acturis, SSP, RMS, RiskIQ, or whatever rating and catastrophe-modelling tools you have used. Generic "software" is weaker than the specific platform an employer uses.
Burying your CII credentials in the Education section or omitting them entirely
Put Cert CII, ACII, or FCII in a separate Achievements section immediately after Experience. ACII is a screening requirement for many mid-level roles, so make it visible.
Writing "liaised with brokers" with no outcome or metric
Show broker relationship outcomes: "converted 74% of new-business submissions" or "achieved 82% broker retention rate across 35 brokers."
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Cert CII, class of business, current authority limit (e.g. £75k), and case volume or decision accuracy | FCII/Chartered, class of business, authority limit (e.g. £2M), team leadership, and strategic portfolio outcome (GWP growth or loss-ratio improvement) |
| Authority limit | £50k to £100k per risk, with most cases referred to senior underwriters | £500k to £2M+ per risk, with full delegated authority and minimal referrals |
| Premium book size | £1M to £3M annual GWP, processing high case volumes with standard risks | £20M to £50M+ annual GWP, managing complex portfolios and strategic broker partnerships |
| Loss ratio and profitability | Maintains loss ratio close to team average, focuses on decision accuracy and turnaround time | Drives loss-ratio improvement (e.g. 64% to 54%), refines pricing models, and structures reinsurance treaties |
| Broker relationships | Converts broker submissions to bound policies, builds relationships with regional brokers | Manages strategic partnerships with Lloyd's and wholesale brokers, negotiates terms, and drives retention and new-business growth |
| CII credentials | Cert CII or working towards Dip CII | ACII or FCII, often with Chartered Insurer status and industry publications or speaking engagements |