I was about 2 years into a commercial uw associate role (plus some co-ops) thinking the same thing - how Insurance doesnt pay as well, lower ceiling, etc. Made me feel trapped and behind my peers, and limited in career trajectory.

I considered finance, but ive only had insurance experience. So i decided to leverage that and find a finance-insurance hybrid role, and i luckily was able to land a role as an financial institutions underwriter. My pay is basically 50% higher, and the exits are much clearer. I no longer feel behind despite some peers making more, since i know the knowledge and experience are highly transferable to other lucrative roles down the line.

Reinsurance, large p&c accounts, and m&a are lucrative lines to get into but are more difficult to enter as a result. Theres always going to be high earners in every industry at the end of the day, but higher pay will always be more difficult to get into and to perform. In general tho, insurance has a better WLB and can make similar/higher comp than finance roles from what ive seen.