Careers in life insurance: agents, underwriters and actuaries

The three core careers in life insurance are selling it, deciding who gets it and pricing it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), insurance sales agents had a median pay of $62,280 in May 2025, underwriters $81,370 and actuaries $130,000. Their outlooks differ sharply: agent jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, underwriter jobs to shrink 4% and actuary jobs to grow 9%.

The BLS numbers side by side

All figures below come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook pages for each occupation, last modified August 27, 2026, using May 2025 pay data and 2025-2035 projections. Each occupation covers all insurance lines, not just life, so treat them as the closest public proxy.

A median means half the workers earned more and half less. For agents in particular, the median hides a wide spread, because pay is mostly commission.

Insurance sales agents (producers)

Agents sell policies to individuals and businesses. In insurance regulation they are called producers. BLS says commissions are the most common form of pay, especially for experienced agents, and that independent agents often work on commission alone; some agents get a salary plus commission or bonus.

What you need:

• A high school diploma is typical, and some employers prefer a bachelor's degree.
• A state license in every state where you sell. Life and health are licensed separately from property and casualty. You can check any agent through the state regulator; see how to check that an insurance agent is licensed.

How the job is structured depends on who you work for:

• Captive agents sell one company's products and often get training, an office and sometimes a starting stipend. See captive vs independent life insurance agents.
• Independent agents and brokers shop several carriers, usually paid on commission only, and often work through a general agent or BGA.
• Direct and online sellers handle inbound leads, often with a salary and bonus.

First-year income is the hard part: commission-only work means building a client base before earning steadily. How that pay works, including first-year versus renewal commissions, is in how life insurance agents are paid.

Underwriters

An underwriter evaluates applications and decides whether to approve them and at what price. BLS says most underwriters specialize in health, life, or property and casualty, work in an office, and typically need a bachelor's degree, with business, finance, economics or math coursework helpful. Employers may expect certification through coursework.

In life insurance the work is judging mortality risk from application answers, lab results, prescription histories, the MIB and medical records; the result is a rate class. See how life insurance underwriting works for the process from the applicant's side.

BLS attributes the projected 4% decline to automation, noting that automated underwriting software lets workers process applications quickly. That matches what consumers see in accelerated underwriting: approval without an exam, where many healthy applicants are approved without an exam. The 6,800 yearly openings still expected come mainly from retirements and people changing careers. The automation trend is covered in jobs in life insurance: hiring, layoffs and automation.

Actuaries

An actuary uses statistics and mortality data to price products, set reserves and test whether a company can pay future claims. BLS says entry requires a bachelor's degree in mathematics, actuarial science, statistics or a similar field, plus a series of professional exams: the Society of Actuaries (SOA) covers life, pension and health work, while the Casualty Actuarial Society covers property and casualty. Associate-level credentials can take up to seven years, with more years for fellowship. Pension actuaries must also be enrolled through the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries.

The exam path is a long commitment on top of a full-time job, which helps explain why the field is small.

Other roles worth knowing

BLS does not break these out for life insurance, but a life insurer also employs:

• Claims examiners. For the broader claims adjuster, appraiser, examiner and investigator group, BLS projects a 6% decline from 2025 to 2035 and median pay of $78,020, citing software and AI.
• Policy service and new business staff, who process applications, payments and beneficiary changes.
• Product, compliance, investment and technology staff. Insurers are big bond investors; see how life insurers invest your premiums.

Choosing a path: a quick checklist

1. Do you want income tied to results (agent) or a salary at a desk (underwriter, actuary)?
2. Are you comfortable with exams? Actuarial credentials are exam-driven; agent licensing is a state exam and continuing education.
3. Do you prefer people or analysis? Sales is relationship work; underwriting and actuarial work are analytical.
4. How exposed is the task to software? Rules-based screening is the most automatable; judgment on complex cases and client trust are harder to replace.
5. Before accepting an agent job, ask what the company pays during the first year, what it charges for licensing and leads, and whether you may sell other carriers' products.

Key takeaways

• BLS (August 2026 edition) reports May 2025 median pay of $62,280 for insurance sales agents, $81,370 for underwriters and $130,000 for actuaries.
• Projected 2025-2035 growth: agents +3%, actuaries +9%, underwriters -4%, with the underwriter decline tied to automation.
• Agents need a state license and are mostly paid on commission; underwriters and actuaries typically need a bachelor's degree, and actuaries must pass professional exams.
• BLS figures cover all insurance lines, not life insurance alone, and medians do not predict any one agent's first-year income.