I'm rather new to SEO and I have a question about out going links. Does it hurt your site to have outgoing links to websites which dont link back to yours? These sites are related to my site of course.


Also my client currently has a large link section on his site. It has numerous categories:
International Students
Expatriates and Offshore Companies
Financial Services
Health and Medical
Online Pharmacies
Insurance
Insurance - Health and Medical
Insurance - Automobile and Home
Insurance - Life
Insurance - Travel
Property:Investment & Relocation
TESOL/TESL/TEFL Teacher Links
Travel
Others

The site is an international insurance broker. The links in each category are on topic with their category, and are reputable companies. What i'm worried about however is that some will be considered off topic with the site as a whole and bring down its ranking. Again most of the links within these categories don't link back to my client's site at all.