Senior Underwriting Officer

JOB PURPOSE

Responsible for assessing, analyzing and making decisions on medium to high risk insurance claims, ensuring accuracy, fairness, transparency and compliance with legal regulations

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Key Accountabilities (1)

1. Underwriting insurance applications

- Assess life insurance applications involving elevated risks such as critical illnesses, high-value financial coverage, hazardous occupations, or complex products.

- Analyze medical, financial, and behavioral disclosures using internal guidelines, international standards, and reinsurer consultations when necessary.

- Recommend appropriate underwriting actions including premium loading, benefit exclusions, coverage limits, or declinations.

- Ensure timely, transparent, and compliant processing of cases with thorough documentation.

- Record exceptional cases for internal training and process improvement purposes.

Key Accountabilities (2)

2. Mentoring and Technical Guidance

- Support junior underwriters by reviewing cases, clarifying underwriting principles, and guiding risk classification practices.

- Develop training materials and lead regular knowledge-sharing sessions to enhance team expertise.

- Conduct peer reviews to ensure consistency and quality across underwriting decisions.

- Collaborate with product, legal, and operations teams to align underwriting processes with new product launches.

- Participate in internal projects related to system upgrades, process optimization, and quality control.

Key Accountabilities (3)

3. Reinsurance Coordination and Compliance Oversight

- Liaise directly with reinsurers to manage cases beyond internal authority or with unique risk factors.

- Ensure all underwriting decisions comply with legal regulations, ethical standards, and internal policies.

- Contribute to internal audits and operational performance reviews.

- Propose enhancements to workflows, systems, and documentation to improve accuracy and efficiency.

- Address system errors, process gaps, and feedback from clients or advisors to refine underwriting practices.

- Prepare periodic reports on approval rates, decline ratios, and other performance metrics.

Qualifications and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Insurance, Business Administration, or related fields.

• Minimum 5 years of experience in life insurance underwriting or policy operations.

• Familiarity with medical terminology, financial analysis, and insurance principles.

• Preferred certifications: LOMA, ALU, FALU or equivalent.

• Proficient in underwriting software, risk assessment tools, and basic Excel functions.