Glossary
Insurance Underwriter Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential insurance underwriter terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key insurance underwriter vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in insurance underwriter training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Binder
- Temporary proof of coverage.
- Broker
- Agent representing the buyer.
- Declination
- Refusing coverage.
- Deductible
- Amount insured pays first.
- Endorsement
- Policy change.
- Exclusion
- What’s not covered.
- Exposure
- Potential for loss.
- Loss ratio
- Claims compared to premiums.
- Loss run
- History of claims.
- Price of insurance.
- Reinsurance
- Insurance for insurers.
- Renewal
- Continuing a policy.
- Risk appetite
- Risks a company wants.
- Submission
- Application package.
- Underwriting
- Evaluating insurance risk.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Insurance Underwriter practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Insurance Underwriter training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.