Standards underwriter

Canada Life; London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services company in London is seeking an experienced Medical Underwriter to join their Underwriting Standards team. The role focuses on developing underwriting processes and delivering exceptional service while ensuring compliance with relevant standards. Candidates should have significant medical underwriting experience and strong communication skills. This position offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Bonus scheme

Qualifications

• Experience working within a medical underwriting team.
• Detailed understanding of medical underwriting risk factors.
• Ability to audit underwriting decisions and provide feedback.

Responsibilities

• Provide fair and balanced underwriting decisions.
• Develop and review different underwriting philosophies.
• Implement and review controls to ensure compliance.

Skills

Medical underwriting experience

Knowledge of underwriting philosophies

Excellent communication

Ability to influence and persuade

Education

Diploma in Life and Disability Underwriting or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Job description

Overview

January 2026 Start Date

Canada Life UK looks after the retirement, investment and protection needs of individuals, families and companies. We help to build better futures for our customers, our intermediaries and our employees by operating as a modern, agile and welcoming organisation.

Part of our parent company Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life UK has operated in the United Kingdom since 1903. We have hundreds of respected and supported employees committed to doing the right thing for our customers and colleagues.

Canada Life UK is transforming to create a more customer-focused business by providing our customers with expertise on financial and tax planning, offering home finance and annuities propositions, and providing collective fund solutions to third party customers.

Job Summary

The role holder will become a core member of the centralised Underwriting Research, Development and Standards team of subject matter experts responsible for the development of underwriting philosophy and processes that will apply across the Insurance Division. This includes ensuring the relevant risks and control processes, documentation and approvals processes are in place, communicated across the company's underwriter population and are adhered to.

We are looking for an experienced Medical Underwriter to work within our Underwriting Standards team to help us deliver an outstanding service for our customers.

With an experience in medical underwriting and a recognised underwriting authority, (across Enhanced Annuities, Life, Income Protection or Critical illness), you will be involved in case underwriting and auditing alongside working with other members of the team to develop our underwriting processes and philosophies.

The individual will also work with the operational teams to provide case support and their expert view.

What You'll Do

• Provide fair and balanced underwriting decisions within own authority limits assessing initial applications, additional medical or other underwriting evidence and team referrals
• Develop and review different underwriting philosophies and processes, identifying any improvements and changes required
• Deliver on Underwriting standards, risks and controls
• Implement and review appropriate controls/limits/evidence requirements to ensure risks are accepted in line with company and industry guidelines.
• Lead on relevant team projects and be responsible for their delivery. This may range from small to medium projects that will be allocated based on the strengths and capacity of team members.
• Provide training as required to the operations teams/underwriter population. Identifying areas where they feel training is required to upskill and agree the best way to provide the training e
• Provide guidance and support to the operations teams on processes and complex cases. Being available to provide guidance and coaching to less experienced underwriters as well as being a second opinion and able provide an objective view on cases when appropriate. Using their expert knowledge to provide guidance on more complex cases.
• Review underwriting decisions for quality sampling, assess accuracy and provide appropriate feedback in line with underwriting philosophy. Raising any concerns over standards appropriately. The individual must be capable of providing objective and constructive feedback and know when and how to do so.
• Effectively identify and report risks and risk events in line with agreed polices and be able to suggest ways to measure, monitor and manage.
• Work within and support the UnderwritingRDS team to deliver on team objectives and support the Chief Underwriter as required.
• Manage relationships where appropriate with stakeholders, internal and external, including, reinsurers, third party providers, Chief Medical Officer.
• Maintain a high level of underwriting knowledge to provide advice, guidance, training & support to the operational teams and senior management

Who You Are

Excellent technical medical underwriter:

• Experience of working within a medical underwriting team and making an accurate assessment of medical and other underwriting evidence
• Detailed understanding of medical underwriting risk factors.
• Able to underwrite for multiple product lines, including enhanced annuity products.
• Full understanding of industry standards including the ABI's Statement of Best Practice including genetics, and how they apply.
• Fully conversant with underwriting manuals and processes.
• Ability to develop and review different underwriting philosophies and processes making necessary comments and changes
• Ability to audit underwriting decisions and provide feedback
• To provide fair and balanced underwriting decisions within own authority limits
• Detailed understanding of the company's products which require underwriting input.
• Maintains underwriting knowledge with industry and market changes.
• Proactive approach to your own learning and development is expected to ensure that Underwriting practices and skills are continually improved.

Curious and customer focused with an ability to think innovatively.

Strong communicator who can work collaboratively with a wide network of colleagues across Canada Life and externally, including reinsurers. Able to explain complex situations in simple terms and to people at different levels. Able to influence and persuade and respected as an expert.

Confident presenter as will need to be comfortable providing training and coaching to the underwriting population.

The role holder will have previous medical underwriting experience, ideally a minimum of two years, across underwriting operations and development

Good Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills

Qualifications

• Completion or progress towards Diploma in Life and Disability Underwriting, CII or other industry recognised qualifications are desirable.

Benefits of working at Canada Life

We believe in recognising and rewarding our people, so we offer a competitive salary and benefits package that's regularly reviewed. As a Canada Life UK colleague, you'll receive a competitive salary and comprehensive reward package including a generous pension and bonus scheme, along with, income protection, private medical insurance and life assurance. We have a fantastic number of other benefits and support services as well as regular personal and professional development.

How we work at Canada Life

Our culture is unique and incredibly important to us. We care about doing the right thing for our people, customers and community and helping others to build better futures. Our blueprint behaviours shape and influence how we work, and are central to the relationships we have with others. Every day we are encouraged to be more curious, own the outcome, face into things together and find a way forward.

We want colleagues to have rewarding careers with us so we invest in the development of our people, technology and workplaces. That\'s why we offer a range of training, flexible working and opportunities to grow and develop.

Diversity and inclusion

Building an inclusive workplace with a diverse workforce where everyone can feel they belong and achieve their potential regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic is a key commitment for us. We are proud of the progress we're making in DEI, and we continue for it to be a significant focus.

"At Canada Life we believe in the power of great people from different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives coming together to build better futures. Emerging talent is crucial to our growth and creating an environment that continues to inspire us all." Nick Harding, Chief People Officer, Canada Life UK

We appreciate that everyone has different work and life responsibilities. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements, including part time, for any of our roles should this be a requirement for you.