As people's assets grow and their family responsibilities get bigger, the need for life, health and property insurance grows. That's where an insurance underwriter comes in.

More information Rochester Life Underwriters Inc. 312 West Commercial St. P.O. Box 227 East Rochester, N.Y. 14445 (716) 383-1060 Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society P.O. Box 3009 720 Providence Road Malvern, Pa. 19355 (800) 932-2728

"We're in the business of protecting people's money,'' says Carol A. Merkel, vice president of KAFL Inc. in Rochester, and president of Rochester Life Underwriters Inc.

Insurance underwriters identify and analyze the risk of loss from their company's policyholders, establish premium rates and also write policies which cover risk. Merkel says agents in the field help companies by conducting preliminary evaluations of prospective clients as well.

Most underwriters work with both group or individual policies specializing in one of three categories: life, property and casualty, or health.

Today, computer technology is playing a larger role in the insurance industry. Underwriters enter information about a person or organization into computer programs which analyze insurance applications and make recommendations which help underwriters avoid higher policy risk.

According to the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Association, professionals can earn the CPCU designation by successfully completing 10 national essay examinations on such subjects such as economics, law, accounting and ethics.

A candidate must also meet certain experience requirements. In all, the process usually takes approximately five years. Life underwriters work toward the Chartered Life Underwriter designation in a similar fashion.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, companies prefer college graduates with degrees in business administration or finance, and, of course, excellent computer skills.

In order to be licensed a person must have 40 hours of classroom training, says Merkel. License renewal is required every two years in New York state.

The Handbook indicates that the field of insurance underwriting will grow at a rate of less than 10 percent over the next eight years, slower than the average rate for all careers. This will be due to the increased computerization in the industry. Median earnings in 1996 were around $31,400.