Role overview
To develop and manage a strategy and operating model for the Technical Underwriting department that supports the growth and development of the Mutual & Federal business through developing, implementing and managing a fit-for-purpose technical underwriting governance framework across all product sets.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, plan for, implement and take accountability for the strategy and operating model of the Technical Underwriting Department, partnering with the Executive: Underwriting in response to the business model and Mutual & Federal strategy.
- Establish an aligned departmental Balanced Scorecard focused on the implementation, measuring and management of the departmental strategy.
- Determine the business value chain for the Technical Underwriting Department and ensure that this value chain is aligned and integrated with the Underwriting Division value chain.
- Set underwriting rules, criteria, guidelines and mandate levels across products, lines of business. platform, distribution and all geographies.
- Develop technical underwriting framework including product wording, risk acceptance criteria and underwriting rules & guidelines, retention limits, survey standards, risk classification guide, EML calculation rules & delegated authority mandates.
- Review reinsurance wordings to ensure no unplanned gaps exist.
- Responsible for technical reviews in the specialist classes segments.
- Set the rules and scope of underwriting auditing requirements.
- Ensure that risk is managed optimally within the technical framework particularly in risk acceptance and underwriting appetite
- Review current business practices and technical underwriting procedures to identify key risk and alignment to the market if appropriate.
- Develop, implement and manage a product management framework that identifies and corrects loss trends and problem areas and provides remedial solutions for implementation by branch sales and underwriting teams
- Contribute to strategies and related processes to continuously grow the target market. Influence new business, marketing and communication processes incorporating product development and client services to improve understanding and acceptance of product mix in the market.
- Actively participate in the research and monitoring of the industry, target market and competitors to identify opportunities and threats as well as areas for improvement in operations.
- In conjunction with the Risk & Actuarial department, facilitate the development and implementation of technical rating solutions that satisfy the company’s stated financial objectives.
- Co-design, co-implement and co-manage an online quoting capability.
- Provide wording design and drafting which is legally compliant, free of ambiguity and within scope of reinsurance and underwriting appetite
- Liaise with reinsurance dept to ensure adequate reinsurance in place to support technical underwriting appetite and product sets within risk based capital structure defined by corporate actuarial
- Prepare business specifications for systems development teams with respect to all product sets
- Provide technical guidance on referrals.
Experience required
- 5 – 10 years’ experience in financial sector
- 3-5 years’ experience in field of technical underwriting or short-term actuarial experience
- 3-5 years’ experience in the management of people, at least at manager of manager level
- FIISA or FCII or working towards FIA or FASSA
- And/or Actuarial degree
- And/or BCom degree
Please note, interviews for this position will take place at our Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit in London, 16- 18th of May 2014. Relevant candidates will be contacted and invited to attend the event.