The Highest Paying Insurance Jobs

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The insurance industry has a place for nearly everyone. Requiring a wide range of skill sets, the industry can offer an equally wide range of opportunities for career advancement. Better still, getting the best paying insurance jobs often requires transferable skills rather than advanced degrees. But exactly how much can you expect to earn from one of the more lucrative insurance career roles?

Insurance & Risk Management Job Salaries

Because of the diverse range of career paths within the industry, how much you can earn will partially depend on which path you take. Insurance jobs with base pay that is strong are also likely to have considerable opportunities for future career growth.

Top Paying Actuarial Jobs                                       

Perhaps more than any other position, actuaries are essential for the development of new insurance policies. Using a mastery of mathematics, they help to determine the costs of an accident. And several kinds of actuarial careers are needed to both manage everyday operations and oversee the formation of policy, creating much room for career advancement.

Actuarial Associate. Using pricing and risk assessment, an actuarial associate is a support role that focuses on projects of limited complexity. They may work in conjunction with more experienced actuaries to develop probability tables for natural disasters, unemployment, and other risks.
Annual Salary: $61,140+ to $69,431

Intermediate Actuary. The average actuary starting salary is already fairly strong, but having gained experience in the profession, an intermediate actuary is capable of taking on more complex actuarial tasks independently. And the greater responsibility is accompanied by an incremental bump in salary.
Annual Salary: $80,943

Top Actuarial Executive. Responsible for overseeing all of the actuarial functions of an organization, a top actuarial executive organizes the development or insurance plans, and oversees the formation of those plans carried out by subordinates.
Average Salary: $330,880

Top Paying Risk Manager Jobs

Risk management careers involve researching the most effective means of minimizing liability, review existing risk management programs to look for areas to reduce costs. How much do risk managers make? It depends on experience and career track, but even an entry level risk management salary is often formidable.

Risk Management Analyst. Responsible for performing and analyzing risk management studies, a risk management analyst investigates asset losses, forecasts losses, and works towards solutions to lower risk. How much do risk managers make?
Annual Salary: $67,620+ to $72,290

Risk Management Director. Directors are responsible for coordinating the development of an organization’s risk management programs.  Working with attorneys, insurance groups, and individuals, they oversee the development of risk management programs to ensure compliance with best practices and legal regulations.
Annual Salary: $136,159

Top Paying Insurance Underwriting Jobs

An underwriter works to analyze and weigh the risk of any given individual, in order to determine the level and price of insurance they may need. How much do insurance underwriters make? It largely depends on experience because the level of responsibility inherent to underwriting careers provides many paths for career advancement.

Entry-Level Insurance Underwriter: During the start of their career, an entry-level insurance underwriter will review medical, legal, financial, and occupational information to determine insurance rates. An insurance underwriter’s salary partially depends on their niche within the industry, for instance property insurance vs. life insurance.
Annual Salary: $42,260+ to $53,300

Underwriting Operations Manager. Although they are responsible for overseeing day to day operations, an underwriting operations manager will also leverage their previous underwriting expertise to weigh in on more complex cases. That may include issuing credit decisions and policy recommendations where needed.
Annual Salary: $109,000

Discover More High Paying Careers in Risk Management and Insurance

You don’t have to be a math whiz or data analyst to land some of the highest paying risk management and insurance jobs, there are many more lucrative insurance career roles. And if you’re looking to find a job that’s specifically suitable for your own personality and experience, be sure to check out our Career Wizard Tool.