Specialist Technical Underwriting: Corporate

Job Description

Division: Underwriting

Reports to: Manager: Technical Underwriting

Purpose:

  • To develop underwriting criteria, underwriting guidelines and resolve technical referrals across the internal and external platforms for assigned product lines

Relationships /Stakeholders:

Sales/ Brand, Customer & Transformation/ Underwriting/ Claims/ Operations/ Change & Strategy/ Finance/ HR/ Risk/IT

Level of work

Time-span 6 to 12 months.

  • Various concrete variables, requiring an understanding of the theory or practices underpinning inter-related functional processes within a multi-procedural environment. 
  • Accountable for maintaining quality, standards, service and desired outputs within inter-related functional areas of responsibility. May be responsible for ensuring the adherence of others to a set framework of policies and procedures.
  • Proactive identification of functional problems that do not have predetermined guidelines, routines or procedures for solution, determine cause and impact, and choose the best alternative to solve the problem based on previous experience and an understanding of the theory or practices underpinning the problem.
  • Gather relevant information related to particular functional activities, collate and integrate into written reports for assessment or appraisal, and to serve as input to managerial reporting or decision making.
  • The role requires some judgement despite being governed by clear processes, policies and procedures, and may have a direction changing impact across several departments.
  • Maintain control over the short-term, internal operations of the department through decisions based on functional requirements, operational outputs and service delivery.
  • Schedule, allocate and effectively manage resources within own area of responsibility in line with specified constraints or parameters.
  • Manage effective cost control in the core processes and ensure adherence to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduce wastage related to time of subordinates and utilisation of materials or equipment.
  • Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change, and provide guidelines to direct reports defining the impact of change, the change itself, and the new requirements as a result of the change.
  • Planning and organising multiple work outputs through assigning priorities according to given criteria in light of a specific context or situation.

Accountability

Development and Maintenance of TUW Requirements

Technical Underwriting Mandates, Policy wording , Constant review

Activities

  • Design and draft policy wording and coverage ensuring legal compliance, absence of any ambiguity, scope within treaty coverage and company philosophies, competitive, relevant to channel and target market, innovative
  • Continual monitoring ; identifying problem areas and ensuring corrective actions are implemented to ensure effective product financial management
  • Provide technical support as required including resolving queries.
  • Define technical standards for application.
  • Provide input into the technical reviews and QA on the personal lines book.
  • Ensure standards are upheld and fulfilment of the technical underwriting controls.
  • Provide input into setting of national rules (risk acceptance standards), guidelines and mandates levels for operations.

Drafting of

  • Products (wordings and coverage), risk acceptance and underwriting rules and philosophies that are not in contravention of the laws of the land
  • Products (wordings and coverage), retention limits, risk acceptance and underwriting rules and philosophies are not in breach of the coverage / protection provided by the negotiated treaties  ensuring that the risk to Mutual and Federal  within  the respective product  lines is eliminated or minimised
  • Contributing to the setting of rules and scope of underwriting auditing requirements to be performed by Insurance Operations support
  • In conjunction with actuarial department formulate appropriate rating structures for the specific product being developed
  • In conjunction with training department provide input into appropriate training material as required
  • In conjunction with the Business Analysis department and Manager TUW contribute to the preparation of detailed business requirements and rules (including claims loss codes) for use in IT system  specifications

Service delivery to ensure customer satisfaction

Manage effective customer service and relations to drive service excellence

Maintain service, quality and desired outputs within a specific functional process through ensuring compliance to tactical policies, procedures and standards.

  • Resolve escalated technical referrals and provide feedback to customers on matters resolved.
  • Develop work routines in line with operational plans / schedules in order to manage achievement of service delivery goals
  • Measure and monitor service delivery compliance of team.
  • Share knowledge on, and participate in the creation of new standards, control systems and procedures to maintain service delivery.

Maintain effective people practices

Maintain people practices in line with organisational guidelines, policies, culture and values

  • Align own behaviour with the organisation culture and values.
  • Share and transfer product, process and systems knowledge to colleagues.
  • Collaborate and work with the HR team to ensure required service levels are delivered.
  • Actively participate in the HR team to ensure functional balanced scorecard objectives are achieved.
  • Ensure achievement of own performance objectives.
  • Actively share information with other team members regarding successes, issues, trends and ideas.
  • Actively participate in own professional development and career path.
  • Track and resolve operational and performance variations
  • Develop and encourage strong team work
  • Identify potential inter-departmental problems and escalate them to higher levels
  • Engage regularly in team or group problem-solving
  • Manage areas of critical compliance and actively manage non-conformance
  • Actively manage non-performance
  • Ensure the work environment enables employees to “live” the organisation culture and values.
  • Growth and development of self

Ensure effective cost control and governance compliance

Manage effective cost control in the core processes and ensure adherence to financial and corporate policies and procedures

Comply with governance controls to reduce risks.

  • Ensure adherence to financial and corporate policies and procedures, and reduce wastage related to area of accountability.
  • Take accountability for the management of business related risks within own area.
  • Operate within agreed mandates as documented in the business rules.
  • Budget timeframes adhered to
  • Accuracy
  • Targets

Comply with governance controls to reduce risks.

  • Take accountability for the management of business related risks within own area.
  • Operate within agreed mandates as documented in the business rules.
  • Risks mitigated and costs minimised within area.
  • 100% compliance to mandates

Continuous improvement to ensure effective service

Initiative change and continuous improvement in work processes, procedures and schedules

  • Ensure adherence to organisational policies, practices and procedures.
  • Identify and recommend areas / ways to improve processes.
  • Optimised business process and operating procedures.
  • Efficiency measures.

Accountability

  • Is responsible for results expected and all resources that have been placed under one’s care. Is open to sharing results and resources with others
  • Takes responsibility for own work
  • Approaches own work with dedication and high sense of responsibility.
  • Provides support to others in accomplishing their work
  • Takes responsibility for the welfare of the entire portfolio under one’s lead

Product Development

  • Stays attuned to the needs of the market and developments in the finance sector. Translates market knowledge into product innovations and new designs that are responsive to the needs of the clients.
  • Influence existing and new product design based on market trends and client needs
  • Applies developments in technology or brings in new developments in technology to make product innovations or improvements
  • Anticipates trends in the industry that will lead to the development of new products to better respond new market segments or new market needs
  • Ensures trends and client speciation’s are implemented and evaluated against strategic objectives and cost-fit analysis.

Product Knowledge

  • Provide a service/sell a product through an awareness of the product/service
  • Detailed understanding of complex product features, benefits & application
  • Detailed understanding of more complex product features and benefits and their application to various situations.
  • Demonstrate strategies to maximize sales opportunities through the use of product knowledge.

Understanding of applicable regulatory requirements

  • Working knowledge of and compliance with relevant regulatory requirements (e.g. FICA, KYC, EXCON etc.)
  • In-depth knowledge and application of compliance and regulatory requirements
  • Demonstrates ability to apply advanced knowledge of actions required to comply with relevant current and future regulatory requirements (e.g. FICA, KYC, EXCON etc.) and when to escalate issues
  • Develop and Implementing Standardized Policies and Procedures
  • Formulate and integrate policies to ensure best practice implementation.
  • Integrates best practices into policies and procedures.
  • Facilitate the implementation of an appropriate communication action plan through high level engagement with critical stakeholders and policy owners.
  • Ensures that policies and procedures form part of an integrated framework to promote a common goal and business objectives.
  • Developing a measure to quantify the usefulness of the policies and for critical issues, conduct internal or external audit to provide feedback on the extent of compliance with the policy or procedures.

Decision making and problem solving

  • Obtaining information and identifying key issues and relationships relevant to a long-term goal or vision; considering alternatives and developing actions to accomplish important objectives
  • Anticipate obstacles and overcome challenges in highly complex situations
  • Gathering width and depth information about issues
  • Synthesise and integrate information to make sense in a logical manner
  • Develop alternative solutions
  • Have a medium to long term perspective of the impact of decisions
  • Consider the impact of any changes or decision making in the broader organisation
  • Provide solutions that will solve future organisational problems that will result in long term benefits
  • Includes others in decision making processes to ensure buy-in and understanding of decisions
  • Balances risk and return and the implications of actions taken

External Awareness

  • Understands and keeps up-to-date on local, national, and international policies and trends that affect the organisation and shape stakeholders’ views; is aware of the organisation’s impact on the external environment.
  • Predict the impact of external factors on the organisation and its operations.
  • Gathers and summarises information to predict stakeholder views on a new policy
  • Considers external policies and trends when reviewing correspondence, reports, and policy documents
  • Experience
  • 3-5 Years in underwriting or short-term actuarial experience.

Career Path

  • Potential Position 1: Manager : Technical underwriting
  • Potential Position 2: Head: Technical Underwriting