Occupational Certificate: Insurance Underwriter (NQF Level 5)
Are you ready to take the next step in the insurance and finance sector? The Occupational Certificate: Insurance Underwriter (NQF Level 5) is an advanced qualification that prepares you to assess and manage risk, evaluate applications, and make informed underwriting decisions.
This programme is perfect for individuals aiming to specialise in insurance, gain leadership experience, or even learn how to start a business in the financial services industry.
What Does an Insurance Underwriter Do?
An insurance underwriter is a specialist who reviews insurance applications, evaluates potential risks, and decides whether to approve or decline cover—and at what cost. You’ll play a key role in protecting the company while meeting customer needs fairly and responsibly.
Key tasks include:
Analysing applications and verifying documents
Assessing risks using data and industry guidelines
Calculating premiums and setting conditions for cover
Liaising with brokers, clients, and sales teams
Keeping accurate records using office administration systems
Why This Qualification Matters for Career Growth
This certificate is ideal if you:
Work in an insurance support or claims role and want to move up
Want to become a fully qualified underwriter
Aspire to lead teams or departments in the insurance industry
Plan to launch your own insurance consultancy or brokerage
It’s a powerful step forward if you want to move from admin roles to leadership or entrepreneurship within financial services.
How This Course Supports Business Start-Ups
If you’re learning how to start a business, this qualification gives you the technical and business foundation to eventually:
Open your own independent underwriting consultancy
Provide risk evaluation services to brokers or SMEs
Offer client training on insurance best practices
Manage underwriting for niche sectors (e.g. medical, automotive, or tech)
Understanding how to balance risk with opportunity is a valuable skill—both in established companies and entrepreneurial ventures.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as an insurance underwriter. An insurance underwriter evaluates and interprets information to protect stakeholders’ interests using specialist technical knowledge to determine, price, manage and transfer risk.
A qualified learner will be able to:
- Apply and adhere to operational and administrative procedures and practices
- Evaluate the risk information to determine risk profile and manage risk exposure
- Apply basic legal and insurance principles to underwriting recommendations
- Apply knowledge of product and pricing to arrive at an equitable underwriting decision
COURSE CONTENT
- Application of legal and insurance principles
- Apply basic legal and insurance principles to underwriting recommendations
- Application of legal and insurance principles to underwriting processes
- Administration and record keeping in insurance
- Apply and adhere to operational and administrative procedures and practices
- Exposure to operational and administrative underwriting procedures and practices
- Rating and pricing of insurance risks and products
- Knowledge of product and pricing to underwrite profitable risks
- Exposure to processes and factors leading up to final underwriting decision
- Insurance risk management for underwriters
- Evaluate risk information to determine risk profile and manage risk exposure
- Evaluation and management of risk profile and/or exposure
- Duration: 24 Months
- Delivery: Classroom/Online/Blended
- NQF Level 4 qualification
Qualifying learners could follow a career in:
- Insurance Underwriter
- Senior Underwriter
- Underwriting Manager
- Risk Analyst
- Occupational Certificate: Insurance Underwriter
- Accreditation: QCTO
- SAQA ID: 117329
- NQF Level: 5