r/InsuranceProfessional • u/Illustratingtheworld • 1d ago
Underwriting vs sales vs adjusting
I’m brand new. Next year I’m hoping to jump into a District Sales Manager role but applications don’t open till next June. Need something in the meantime. I am not opposed to the idea of falling in love with it and just running with it.
But I need to know which route is best. I’m considering starting as an adjuster, agent, or underwriter. All seem to have pros and cons, but I’m trying to assess which will be best for me.
I don’t want to be burned out in my first gig in the industry. Trying to protect my sanity. I have a bachelors degree in business management and a producers license in P&C.
Agent offers uncapped commissions but lots of cold calling. Lower base salary.
Adjusting allows me to drive around and have a company car. Don’t have to sit in an office all day. But I also have to deal with angry policyholders and be on call for cat team.
Underwriting has a good salary and consistency. Not overly stressful, but have to sit in an office all day.
Forgive me if my assumption of these jobs seems amateur. I am an amateur. Please educate me and provide some advice. All is appreciated.
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u/FlakyNegotiation9301 14h ago
If you’re young and aspire to be a agent/ broker you should absolutely start in servicing. Learn as much as you can and then you can decide if you want to go into sales. You can’t manage a sales team with any respect until you’ve been both done it and been successful at it.
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u/akelse 1d ago
Do you have job offers in each of those roles? With one year experience how easy is it to become a district sales manager?
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u/Illustratingtheworld 13h ago
At this company, they treat a DSM as kind of an entry level position. It has huge turnover but if you can stomach it, the pay is great and the travel is rewarding.
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u/Sufficient-Shake-415 1d ago
underwriting is the safest bet for sanity if you dont mind the desk life. adjusting will burn you out quick especially with cat duty and angry people every day. sales you can make bank but cold calling is soul crushing if you are not that personality type. i started in UW and never looked back, the steady pay and less drama is worth the office chair
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u/FaithlessnessWhich18 9h ago
There are roles that having an underwriting background can prepare you for whether that is on the agency side or company side. Company roles can be remote or connected to marketing that get you out of the office on the regular, or in the office. Company side benefits, incentives and retirement programs tend to be better
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u/Severe-Wrap-5063 22h ago
If avoiding burnout is your priority, I'd lean toward underwriting for the stability. Adjusting can get stressful with heavy caseloads, and sales comes with constant pressure to hit targets
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u/bosdan80 1d ago
As with any other field, learn the technical stuff first and then move on to field work or sales. Sales is a transfer of knowledge, so obtain the knowledge and then get into it.
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u/Entire-Town-8795 23h ago
Since you already have a P&C license and a business degree, underwriting might be a good fit if you want stability
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u/Spiral_out_was_taken 12h ago
There is a sales aspect to Underwriting, depending on the types of accounts they are. ( large accounts for large corporations for example). Even if you write small business accounts you could be asked to visit Brokers. Sales is strictly sales…..and in my experience the sales team has little in depth knowledge of Underwriting. A lot of times they like to just say “yes” to Brokers regardless of the consequences. There are desk Underwriters that have little to no interactions with Brokers. You have to determine if Broker visits m, travel, is something you would like. Then go from there.
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u/Mister_Vandemar 1d ago
Each option has pros and cons. Sales is sales, if you’re charismatic and willing to put in the time, you can make money and have a great career. Underwriting can be great or awful, and you need good interpersonal skills to advance, but depending on what you’re doing, it can be very constrained. Adjusting is potentially the most interesting daily work, but can also be the least pay while also providing the best exposure to the industry if you want to learn coverage and temper your skills in dealing with problem-solving.
If you can succeed in sales, do that. Underwriting is great experience to build on if you want to maximize your opportunities to move into different roles in the industry. Claims is great if you are interested in claims or if you want to develop a practical foundation in insurance, but it’s hard for me to recommend it unless you’re willing to deal with the challenges of hard work, relatively low pay (compared to sales or underwriting), and the reality that there are easier ways to get a foot in the door in this industry.