Job Description

• Accountable for the development, implementation and maintenance of technical underwriting strategy with a clear focus on growth, profitability, efficiency and customer satisfaction. Determine, implement and monitor the effectiveness of retail products range in line with the company risk appetite and business strategy. 
• Responsible for risk evaluation and selection/rejection of new and renewal business to ensure profitability across all assigned accounts within the portfolio.
• Manage the underwriting on the Personal Lines product sets.
• Lead a high-performing team of Personal Lines Technical Underwriting Specialists.
• Foster a strong culture of excellence, collaboration, delivery, continuous improvement, innovation and technology adoption.
• Lead and development of tools to support the underwriting framework including but not limited to product wording, risk acceptance criteria, underwriting rules & guidelines, retention limits, ensure efficiency of Greenbox and other available and relevant system tools (TIA/ MYOMI), survey standards.
• Monitors the Personal Lines market conditions, competitive landscape regulatory and technological changes.
• Up-to-date knowledge of current and emerging technical underwriting trends and emerging risks.
• Provides feedback on complaints via various internal and external sources to ensure the product offering remains relevant and competitive.
• Lead and manage the process of implementing any product or underwriting changes (e.g. setting up business requirements, obtain signoffs, and testing).
• Provide the relevant training.
• Set and manage the underwriting framework and guidelines in line with business strategy and implement into the various Third-Party policy administration systems.
• Ensure timeous technical underwriting signoffs as per requirements, including record-keeping of all product documentation.
• Define underwriting compliance metrics, monitor and track compliance to underwriting guidelines and make recommendations to senior management to mitigate any risks identified.
• Collaborate with the business to facilitate the process of product procurement approvals, on-boarding and launch to market.
• Assist business with the relevant onboarding, due diligence and compliance requirements of Personal Lines business.
• Accountable to provide technical underwriting expertise with a clear focus on growth, profitability, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Manage a team of Personal Lines underwriters that resolves day-to-day technical referrals.
• Provide training to the larger underwriting teams working in the business environment on Personal Lines products, changes, upgrades, limitations, etc. Assist with training for all stakeholders, internal and external.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and leverage technology and data to enhance and drive technical underwriting capabilities, efficiency, effectiveness, and to improve underwriting decision-making and risk assessments.
• Responsible for risk evaluation and selection/rejection of new and renewal business to ensure profitability.
• Perform risk evaluation on new and renewal business using experience information (e.g. premium, claims, reserves, and rate history and average exposure) for all assigned accounts.
• Monitor, evaluate and manage profitability as measured by loss ratio improvement together with the Profitability Team. 
• All exposed risks above Risk Appetite thresholds which accumulate to a total risk exposure are properly assessed and mitigated.
• Work with the Profitability Team and Actuaries to analyse and implement an action plan for moving accounts to profitability and complete assessment of claim trends and services.
• Accountable for the accuracy and completeness of renewal data for assigned cases.
• Participate in interdepartmental discussions on Personal Lines business issues and make recommendations regarding policy, product, systems (incl. Greenbox) to align business units.
• Approve above mandate referrals by combining research outcomes, experience, intuition and business acumen to fully understand the risk and the impact of the referral.
• Continuous improvement and service delivery to ensure effective service, customer experience, communication and compliance.
• Ensure statutory and legislative knowledge is always current to resolve customer complaints and to advise the business on corrective solutions to mitigate risks and to improve the customer experience whilst complying with governance requirements.
• Maintain and adhere to the relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
• Ensure adherence to organisational policies, practices, guidelines, mandates and procedures.
• Understand and unpack compliants data and other insights to inform product enhancements and improvement to existing products.
• Identify solutions to enhance cost effectiveness and increase operational efficiency.
• Service delivery to ensure customer satisfaction.
• Manage service, quality and desired outputs within a specific functional process through ensuring compliance to Personal Lines policies, procedures and standards.
• Establish productive operational relationships with key stakeholders in the various channels and administrative teams across the business.
• Develop routines in line with operational plans / schedules to manage achievement of service delivery goals.
• Share knowledge on, and participate in the creation of new standards, control systems and procedures to maintain service delivery.
• Collaborate, develop and maintain the referral framework for queries emanating from the Office of the Internal Ombud Office, National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO) and Claims.
• Cost control and governance adherence
• Proactively ensure use of time, resources, money, materials and/or equipment is in line with policies and procedures.
• Comply with corporate governance policies, procedures and standards.
• Operate within agreed mandates.
• Quality people practices
• Align own behaviour with the organisation culture and values.
• Share and transfer product, process and systems knowledge to colleagues.
• Ensure achievement of own performance objectives are aligned with Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).
• Actively share information with other team members regarding successes and failures, issues, trends and ideas.
• Actively participate in your own and your teams’ professional development and career path.
• Actively promote a culture of learning and high-performance culture amongst team members in an Agile business environment.

Experience, knowledge & skills required

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent NQF Level 7 qualification in general insurance.
• 5 – 8 years’ experience in technical underwriting or product development.
• 8 – 10 years+ of experience in leading a team of specialist underwriters, with a proven track record of success developing high-performing teams.
• Understanding of tech enablers and emerging underwriting trends an advantage.

Competencies

• Balances Stakeholders
• Builds Effective Teams
• Business Insight
• Communicates Effectively
• Ensures Accountability
• Financial Acumen
• Instills Trust
• Manages Ambiguity

Education

• Bachelors Degree (B)  (Required)

Closing Date

• 21 January 2025 , 23:59