How to Be a Brilliant Underwriter: Skills, Career Tips & Industry Insights

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Looking to grow your underwriting career in insurance? At iCAN’s Underwriting Skills Masterclass, underwriters at all levels—from junior talent to Chief Underwriting Officers, shared their best career advice, technical tips, and what it takes to stand out in today’s evolving market. 

Dr. Ana Mata PhD, ACAS - Managing Director, MatBlas Ltd
David Ovenden - Chief Underwriting Officer, AXA UK
Mwango Hwalima - Management Liability UW, Aviva
Tariq Jawaheer - Crisis Managment and Specialty Risks, AXA XL
Razwan Dar - Portfolio Manager, QBE Insurance 

Here’s a breakdown of their top insights under, to help you succeed in underwriting roles across the industry. 

1. Curiosity is Your Superpower

Every speaker echoed one truth: the best underwriters are relentlessly curious. Whether it’s digging into financial statements, visiting sites, or asking “why?” one more time — curiosity fuels better judgment, stronger decisions, and a deeper understanding of risk. 

• Great underwriters ask “why?”, and then dig deeper. 

• Curiosity fuels better decisions, especially when assessing complex risks. 

• Understanding clients and context leads to stronger commercial outcomes. 

• Continuous learning is essential to stay sharp and relevant. 

2. Master Technical Skills – But Learn the Business Too

Understanding pricing, risk modelling, reinsurance, and wordings was described as non-negotiable. But that knowledge becomes more powerful when combined with commercial awareness, client needs, and empathy. 

• Learn how your organisation works end-to-end. Know your numbers, but don’t forget the people and politics behind the process 

• Get confident with pricing, claims, reinsurance, and wordings. 

• Understand the wider business strategy, not just your silo. 

• Know how your underwriting decisions impact profit, capital, and client retention. 

• Balance technical precision with commercial understanding. 

3. Listen More Than You Speak

One panellist shared advice from their broker days: “The moment the underwriter picks up the pen, stop talking.” Listening well — to clients, brokers, colleagues — was repeatedly cited as a skill that sets top underwriters apart. 

• Listening well builds trust with brokers, clients, and colleagues. 

• Don’t rush to speak or sell—understand what people are really saying. 

• Ask insightful questions, and always follow through. 

• Good underwriters make others feel heard and understood. 

• Clarify what success means to the client or broker.  

• And follow up with what you said you’d do — every time.

4. Build Career ‘Blocks’ — Not Just Promotions

From junior underwriter to CUO, growth isn’t always linear.  

• Think of your career as building blocks: technical, leadership, commercial, and industry knowledge. 

• Gain exposure to claims, broking, and reinsurance whenever possible. 

• Don’t wait for a formal promotion to grow—stretch through projects or rotations. 

• Be proactive about your learning and career path. 

• Be the underwriter others trust to understand the full picture 

5. Relationships Drive Repeat Business

Underwriting is still a relationship-driven industry. From walking the floor at Lloyd’s to grabbing coffee with a broker, those connections drive repeat business, better deals, and trust — especially when things go wrong. 

• Know your brokers, reinsurers, and clients. Ask them what success looks like — and deliver on your promises 

• Strong broker and client relationships lead to better deals and long-term trust. 

• Meet people in the market, build your reputation, and stay visible. 

• Relationship skills are just as important as technical ones. 

6. Use Technology, Don’t Fear It

AI is already streamlining tasks like document review, data extraction, and internal research. But it won’t replace human judgment, empathy, or trust. 

• Learn how tools like data extraction, risk modelling, and GenAI can help you make faster decisions. 

• Embrace digital tools that improve productivity, but stay close to the client and context. 

• Future-ready underwriters are both tech-savvy and relationship-led. 

7. Stay Open to Unexpected Growth

Several panellists spoke about building their careers not through rigid plans, but by staying open to unexpected opportunities, even those that felt scary. One said: “Keep your head up and eyes open, and have the courage to say yes when the opportunity appears.” 

• Opportunities often show up sideways, not upward. 

• Keep learning, stay visible, and say yes to challenges. 

• Ask for feedback, mentorship, and development support regularly. 

• Build credibility and put yourself forward. 

8. Cultural Intelligence = Competitive Advantage

Working across global markets means understanding how decisions, negotiations and expectations differ, not just by company, but by culture. Whether you're dealing with US brokers or Japanese clients, understand the nuances. Respect goes a long way. 

• Different markets = different expectations. Tailor your approach. 

• Cultural awareness helps build trust with international clients and brokers. 

• Adapt your style to global business etiquette while staying authentic. 

• Diverse experience = broader perspective and stronger decisions

Final Tips from Underwriting Leaders

• Be bold about your goals, know what you want and say it. 

• Stop comparing, bring your unique style to the table and own what makes you different. 

• Build strong internal and external networks to open up opportunities. Seek people you can learn from and grow with. 

• Never stop learning; underwriting evolves, and so should you. 

Want More Like This? 

• Browse underwriting roles on the iCAN Job Board 

• Connect with industry mentors through the iCAN Mentoring Platform 

• Sign up for the next iCAN Skills Masterclass Series 

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