Ageas Federal - Chief Underwriter

JOB DESCRIPTION: Chief - Underwriting

Job Purpose:

- Ensure the delivery of all Underwriting processing activities to the business.

- Responsible for further development of our Automated Underwriting Solutions.

- Liaison with reinsurers, actuarial and risk team to monitor the underwriting grids and ensure the grid is competitive with the industry.

- Initiate and develop the strategic and operational plan for Underwriting to enable achievement of business goals by fostering innovation & continuous process improvements.

- To successfully manage the underwriting team within the organization to ensure a good underwriting profit and minimal claims loss.

- Actively contribute to the success of our Transformation Journey by leading and/or participating in critical projects

Key Responsibility:

1. Reinsurance Management:

- Maintain relationship with reinsurers especially for high-net-worth business. Adequately deal with reinsurers for new updated guidelines and adequate decisions suiting all / relevant stakeholders

- Coordinate with risk and actuarial team wherever required during discussion with the reinsurers. Negotiate best rates on the merits for case-to-case basis.

2. TAT & Auto underwriting rules Management:

- Get the life insurance applications underwritten for Individual and Group business as per companys board approved underwriting guidelines within pre-defined TATs for medical and non-medical cases separately & ensure proper risk selection in the applications submitted so that the business is placed within the actuarial assumptions.

- Development of Auto underwriting rules (Spark) to ensure faster TAT across all channels and update the same.

3. Quality Management:

- Ensure adequate quality is maintained by all underwriters in the process of risk assessment and minimal error percentage is encouraged and adequate action to be taken on the poor quality underwriting noted through regular trainings and Audits.

4. TPA management:

- Liaison with Third Party Administrator (TPA) for medicals tests, resolving issues and escalations, have review meetings in order to ensure that agreed SLAs are met & the process becomes smooth & hassle free for all applicants who have to undergo a medical examination as well as to ensure quality & timeliness of medical reports received.

5. MIS reporting- internal and Regulatory:

- Ensure timely & accurate generation of MIS Reports as per pre-defined frequency for internal teams & external stakeholders as and when required.

6. Managing customer queries and channel complaints:

- Ensure all complaints & escalations from sales channels & sales support team are responded to within predefined timelines & endeavour to resolve the complaints using appropriate solutions, follow ups etc. Ensure regular meetings & discussions with sales channels in order to increase quality & timeliness of service levels of Underwriting resulting in customer delight.

7. Underwriting Projects and Process improvements:

- Manage the new projects related to ease & automation of underwriting.

- Periodically review & modify various policy documents, processes & guidelines for Underwriting as per the Change Management process to keep up with changing business needs.

- Recommendations to be made to Underwriting committee on changes to improve Auto underwriting.

- System changes and implementation of projects to enhance operational efficiency by being involved in UAT.

8. Team management:

- Lead a team of Managers and their respective Underwriters by imparting underwriting training, ensuring cases are underwritten as per companys underwriting guidelines.

- Review and approve underwriting recommendations of underwriters, perform quality checks on cases underwritten by the team.

- Build in-house underwriting capability by training underwriters, nominating them to workshops/seminars/conferences, addressing training needs & supervise and lead team members on underwriting projects as & when required.

9. Adherence to Regulatory guidelines and Risk framework:

- Managing the underwriting processes to ensure 100 % compliance to regulatory and internal guidelines and ensure no deviations.

- Incorporate the newer regulations after adequate discussions with the relevant stakeholders.

- Ensure no overdue audit points related to Underwriting department beyond the timelines.

10. Claims support:

- Support the Claims team for investigation of the claims involving Medicals and underwriting inputs on the same.

11. Product Development:

- Ensure adequate support, market research, existing UW, Claims and reinsurer experience sharing with Product team for fruitful discussion related to fresh and newer products discussions and provide relevant feedback related to the same.

Required Experience:

- MBBS Doctor or Post Graduate in Medical /Pharma field preferably with 15-20 years of experience in life, health and general insurance Underwriting with team management experience. Additional qualifications like III, LOMA, and ALU will be an added advantage.

Interdependencies/Interactions:

Internal: Sales channels, Operations, Legal & Compliance & Risk, IT, Actuarial & product

External: Reinsurers, Third Party administrators for Medicals, Distributors, Customers, Ageas colleagues

Core Competencies:

- Leadership, Developing & Coaching, Communication, Business Focus, Customer Focus, Planning & Organising, Teamwork & Collaboration, Change / Innovation Orientation, Ownership of Result, Problem Solving, Creativity and ability to come out with out-of-the box idea