Underwriter

Partners Life Limited; Devonport-Takapuna; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Partners Life Limited in Auckland seeks an experienced underwriter to assess new business applications and communicate decisions to advisers. You will request information from advisers, clients, and doctors, and liaise with senior staff, our CMO, and reinsurers to support prudent risk assessments.

This role involves maintaining strong relationships with advisers and clients, handling administration accurately and on time, and keeping up to date with insurance products and underwriting standards.

Qualifications

• At least one year of experience in an insurance underwriting role.
• Experience with life insurance is advantageous.
• Strong decision-making and risk assessment abilities.
• Proven leadership and mentoring capabilities.
• Familiarity with Sonata/web apps is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Underwrite new business applications per underwriting standards.
• Communicate underwriting decisions to advisers and clients.
• Request additional information from advisers, clients, and doctors.
• Maintain accurate administration and case progression.
• Liaise with senior staff, the CMO and reinsurers.
• Mentor junior roles and support team collaboration.

Skills

Insurance underwriting

Leadership

Communication

MS Office

English proficiency

Sonata

Policy administration systems

Tools

Sonata

Policy administration systems

Job description

Far too many Kiwis float through life unprepared for a possible interruption. At the heart of Partners Life is a desire to get everyday Kiwis covered and covered properly. We will continue to innovate and raise both our standards and as a result, the entire industry. Never afraid to ruffle feathers, we have always said we’d do things differently – and we do. We have a clear strategy to set ourselves apart from competitors by being bold and challenging the conventional traditions of our industry.

Role Purpose

The primary objective of this position is to underwrite new business applications and communicate underwriting decisions to advisers. This role will include requesting additional information from advisers, clients, and third parties (such as doctors), and liaising with senior staff, our CMO, and reinsurers to facilitate prudent risk assessments. It will also involve managing relationships with our advisers and clients to ensure they are fully informed of underwriting progress and clearly understand the reasons for our decisions. There is a moderate amount of administration involved in this role and all admin tasks must be done accurately and in a timely fashion.

Key Accountabilities

Financial

• Underwriting new business applications and medical information in accordance with Partners Life’s underwriting standards and personal underwriting limits.
• Underwriting productivity is consistently within agreed levels.
• Accurate and timely completion of all communications with advisers and clients.
• Accurate and timely completion of all administration procedures within service standards.

Customer

• Customer Satisfaction
• Develop and maintain good relationships with internal and external customers.
• Interview clients and work with advisers to understand client insurance needs, priorities and risk requirements.
• Explain relevant policy details, conditions, risk cover, premiums and benefits in a clear and client-focused way.
• Assist clients and advisers to identify the appropriate type and level of insurance cover required.
• Review client circumstances where required to confirm that the level and scope of insurance cover remains appropriate.

Process

• Underwriting standards for quality are met.
• Action all Underwriting tasks in line with Service Level Agreements.
• Record and maintain accurate information about clients, applications, claims and policy details.

Quality Assurance / Continuous Improvement

• Contribute to the process of quality assurance and continuous improvement within Partners Life.
• Keep up to date with changes and developments in the insurance industry and share relevant updates with clients, advisers and internal stakeholders where appropriate.

People

• Contribute positively to the team culture by living the company values
• Actively mentor and coach junior roles and countersign underwriting decisions required
• Contribute effectively both individually or as part of a team and promote cross-team collaboration
• Have an in-depth understanding of insurance and keep up to date with Partners Life products and processes

Risk/compliance/behaviours

• Report any incident that could potentially affect Partners Life brand, reputation and/or financial reporting/performance
• Adhere to all Risk and Compliance requirements and policies including but not limited to the personal trading policy, review of compliance manuals and adherence to the Partners Life Rules and Policies Handbook.
• Effectively manage confidential information
• Adhere to Partners Life ‘clear desk policy’ within the business

Skills, knowledge and experience

• For the position, candidates will need at least one year of experience in an insurance underwriting role. Other relevant experience in strategic decision-making, client-focused work and people-focused work will also be advantageous.
• Confidence in making underwriting decisions by internal standards and experience working within delegated underwriting authorities to documented quality assurance standards.
• Must have some experience in life insurance underwriting roles. Can clearly demonstrate/articulate and justify decisions when required. Proven leadership skills when undertaking mentoring.
• Recent experience using Sonata web applications and policy administration systems, or a comparable life insurance platform, is strongly preferred. Candidates must demonstrate practical experience managing digital underwriting workflows, evidence requests, adviser communications and case progression through to issue.
• Actively contribute to and participate in internal education sessions and contribute to the development and success of Partners Life underwriting service.
• Challenging the way we do our business (why and how), being open to new information and ideas, encouraging a diversity of perspectives, suggesting ways of improving how things are done and sensibly managing and taking risks. Learning from unsatisfactory outcomes.
• Being committed to an open and trusting workplace, setting a high priority to relationship building, supporting my colleagues, providing strong encouragement and constructive feedback to fellow team members and colleagues and taking personal responsibility for sharing information
• Strong problem-solving skills, results orientated, ability to work under pressure and work with minimum supervision and excellent time management skills
• Working knowledge of MS Office Products (Word, Excel), an excellent command of English including spelling and grammar, excellent interpersonal skills, and proven ethic of ‘exceeding customer expectations’

Employment details

• Salary: $70,000 to $75,000 per annum
• Remuneration structure: base salary only. No commission, piece-rate or non-guaranteed bonus component applies
• Hours of work: 37.5 guaranteed hours per week, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm
• Location: Takapuna, North Shore, Auckland