underwriter

[uhn-der-rahy-ter]

noun

1. a person or company that underwrites policies of insurance or carries on insurance as a business.

2. a person or company that underwrites shares or bonds.

3. a person or organization that finances something; backer.

   the underwriters of the ballet company.

underwriter

/ ˈʌndəˌraɪtə /

noun

1. a person or enterprise that underwrites public issues of shares, bonds, etc

2. 1. a person or enterprise that underwrites insurance policies

   2. an employee or agent of an insurance company who assesses risks and determines the premiums payable

Word History and Origins

Origin of underwriter¹

First recorded in 1610–20; underwrite + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The clubby Lloyd’s market connects thousands of buyers and sellers of risks daily, with deals struck in a cavernous underwriting room or the nearby bars, thronged by underwriters and brokers every lunchtime.

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Palantir’s direct public offering — meaning that the company sold its stock straight to the public without a Wall Street middleman underwriter — is a particular source of pride for Karp.

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“There are fundamentally good underwriters of credit and there are less good underwriters of credit.”

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Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are lead underwriters of the IPO.

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Dozens of private insurers have joined the flood market in the past decade, writing policies directly or through specialized underwriters such as Neptune.

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Related Words

• backer 
• benefactor 
• guarantor 
• promoter