What does it cost to hire an insurance underwriter in St. Louis?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $82,270 median wage in the St. Louis, MO-IL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $16,454 to $24,681 on the first year salary alone.

Is the talent for this role already in St. Louis?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 40.2% of St. Louis adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Hiring an insurance underwriter in St. Louis, MO

Employers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area pay insurance underwriters a median of $82,270 a year, with the middle half of the market between $65,080 and $99,660 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2053). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do St. Louis residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area pay?

St. Louis residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $68,008 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $78,805 as the median of the 28 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the St. Louis, MO-IL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 14%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole business and financial operations group, not this one role. In the St. Louis, MO-IL area the group covers 28 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from credit counselors at $49,550 to personal financial advisors at $103,690 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with insurance underwriters at $82,270 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 28 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what St. Louis residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does an insurance underwriter earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to insurance underwriters by employers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 13-2053.
25th percentile	$65,080
Median	$82,270
75th percentile	$99,660

Half of insurance underwriters in this area earn between $65,080 and $99,660 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $65,080 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 13-2053 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What St. Louis residents earn

$68,008

Median annual earnings of St. Louis residents working in business and financial operations occupations, 9,632 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Examine documents to determine degree of risk from factors such as applicant health, financial standing and value, and condition of property.
Decline excessive risks.
Write to field representatives, medical personnel, or others to obtain further information, quote rates, or explain company underwriting policies.
Evaluate possibility of losses due to catastrophe or excessive insurance.
Review company records to determine amount of insurance in force on single risk or group of closely related risks.

Task statements for SOC 13-2053, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, C++, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Windows.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 13-2053 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in St. Louis?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 13-2053.

That matters here, because 40.2% of St. Louis adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of St. Louis aged 25 and over.

The average St. Louis commute runs 22.2 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 15% of St. Louis workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for St. Louis.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In St. Louis city, accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services employs 1,680 and turns over 7.8% a quarter, with 214 hires against 152 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $8,154 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5412.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about insurance underwriters. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $82,270 median in the St. Louis, MO-IL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $16,454 to $24,681 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring an insurance underwriter in St. Louis

What does it cost to hire an insurance underwriter in St. Louis?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $82,270 median wage in the St. Louis, MO-IL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $16,454 to $24,681 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for an insurance underwriter in St. Louis look like?: Employers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area pay insurance underwriters a median of $82,270, with the middle half of the market between $65,080 and $99,660 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $65,080 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do St. Louis residents in business and financial operations work earn more than employers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area pay?: St. Louis residents working in business and financial operations occupations earn a median of $68,008 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $78,805 as the median of the 28 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the St. Louis, MO-IL area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 14%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in St. Louis?: This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 40.2% of St. Louis adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a workable pool, though the search will reach beyond the city line.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring an insurance underwriter somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other business and financial operations roles in St. Louis

St. Louis is the 2nd largest of 2 Missouri cities in this dataset.