VP, HNW Underwriting

Singlife Group; Singapore; On-site; SGD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Singlife Group in Singapore seeks an experienced Life/Health Underwriter to assess large complex cases for affluent clients. You will ensure sound risk evaluation, pricing adequacy and clear documentation, while aligning with MAS guidelines and internal underwriter philosophy.

You will collaborate with private banks, wealth advisers and distribution partners to structure bespoke solutions, review wealth structures, and monitor risk indicators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Actuarial Science, or related discipline.
• ACII/FLMI professional certifications preferred.
• 5–12+ years of underwriting experience in HNW/affluent segments.
• Experience with private banks or HNW distribution channels in Singapore or Asia preferred.

Responsibilities

• Risk assessment and underwriting of large, complex life and health cases with careful documentation and adherence to MAS requirements.
• Financial and due diligence review of source of wealth, income sustainability, and insurable interest; ensure AML/CFT compliance.
• Collaborate with distribution partners (Private Bankers, Wealth Managers, Brokers) to provide underwriting inputs for pre-sales and risk reviews.
• Structure bespoke underwriting solutions aligned to client needs, supporting wealth management objectives and balance execution.
• Stay updated on market trends in HNW segments and contribute to product development and competitive benchmarking.

Skills

Underwriting

HNW

Risk assessment

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

ACII/FLMI preferred

Job description

Singlife is a leading homegrown financial servicescompany, offering consumers a better way to financial freedom. Throughinnovative, technology-enabled solutions and a wide range of products andservices, Singlife provides consumers control over their financial wellbeing atevery stage of their lives.

In addition to a comprehensive suite of insurance plans,employee benefits, partnerships with financial adviser channels andbancassurance, Singlife offers investment and advisory solutions through itsGROW with Singlife platform. It also offers the Singlife Account, an mobile-first insurance savings plan.

Singlife is the exclusive insurance provider for theMinistry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Officers GroupInsurance Scheme. Singlife is also an official signatory of the United NationsPrinciples for Sustainable Insurance and the United Nations-supportedPrinciples for Responsible Investment, affirming its commitment to finding abetter way to sustainability.

The merger of Aviva Singapore and Singlife was announcedin September 2020 and created one of the largest homegrown financial servicescompanies in Singapore in a deal valued at S$3.2 billion. It was the largestinsurance deal in Singapore at the time. Singlife was subsequently acquired bySumitomo Life in March 2024, one of Japan’s leading life insurers, which valuedSinglife at S$4.6 billion, making the transaction one of the largest insurancedeals in Southeast Asia.

Key Appointments

The role is responsible for underwriting complex,high-value life and health insurance risks for affluent and high-net-worthclients. The role ensures sound risk selection, pricing adequacy, cleardocumentation of underwriting rationale and tailored underwriting solutions infull compliance with MAS regulatory expectations, internal underwritingphilosophy, reinsurance treaty limits and AML/CFT requirements, while enablingsustainable business growth through close partnership with private banking,wealth, broker and adviser distribution channels.

Key Responsibilities

Risk Assessment & Underwriting

• Assess large and complex life cases (e.g., USD multi-million sum assured, jumbo cases) and cases assigned by immediate manager
• Evaluate underwriting risks including:
• Medicalrisk (including non-standard impairments, global medical records)
• Financialrisk (income, net worth, liabilities)
• Apply appropriate underwriting actions:Loadings, exclusions, ratings, postponements, or declines
• Exercise judgment within delegated underwriting authority limits.
• Refer cases above delegated authority or outsidetreaty parameters to the appropriate approver or reinsurer, with complete caseanalysis and recommendation.
• Maintain complete underwriting notes, evidencetrails and decision rationale for audit, quality assurance, reinsurance and regulatory review purposes.

Financial & Due Diligence Review

• Assess source of wealth, income sustainability,and insurable interest.
• Review financial documents (e.g., auditedstatements, trust structures, investment portfolios).
• Ensure compliance with AML/CFT requirements andinternal policies.
• Assess beneficial ownership, complexshareholding, trust, family office and cross-border structures where relevantto insurable interest and financial justification.
• Identify and elevate unusual financial,residency, sanctions, tax, source-of-funds or reputational risk indicators inline with internal procedures.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Partner closely with Distribution (PrivateBankers, Wealth Managers, Brokers, HNW Advisors).
• Provide underwriting inputs to pre-sales activities.
• Engage reinsurers for underwriting support, andnegotiating terms where required.
• Engage and consult Pricing team on cases thatrequire further interventions.

Client-Centric Solutions

• Structure bespoke underwriting solutions alignedwith client needs (e.g., estate planning, wealth preservation).
• Support HNW business growth and commercialobjectives through Balance appropriate execution of underwriting risk assessmentbased on established underwriting guidelines and procedures.
• Deliver timely and high-quality underwritingdecisions to enhance client experience.
• Provide clear, commercially balancedexplanations of underwriting decisions to distribution partners whilemaintaining confidentiality and fair customer outcomes.
• Contribute to underwriting guidelines, riskframeworks, and product development.
• Support audits, regulatory reviews, and internalgovernance processes.
• Leverage on data and tools to identify riskexposures, enhance underwriting quality, and improve competitiveness.
• Support quality assurance reviews, peer reviewsand case calibration to ensure consistent application of underwritingphilosophy and delegated authority.
• Monitor HNW underwriting experience, referralpatterns, exception cases and reinsurance outcomes to identify improvements inguidelines, evidence requirements and case handling.

Market & Product Expertise

• Stay abreast of market trends in HNW segment(e.g., family offices, luxury assets, global mobility).
• Provide input into product innovation andcompetitor benchmarking.
• Maintain awareness of emerging HNW planningneeds including legacy planning, estate equalisation, business continuity,family office structures and cross-border mobility.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business,Actuarial Science, or related discipline
• Professional certifications preferred: ACII,FLMI
• 5–12+ years of underwriting experience, withstrong exposure to HNW / affluent segment
• Strong case authority experience handlinglarge-sum assured, jumbo, facultative or non-standard life and health cases,with ability to justify decisions clearly and independently.
• Experience working with private banks or HNWdistribution channels in Singapore or Asia is highly preferred
• Experience engaging reinsurers, medicalconsultants, compliance, financial crime and actuarial stakeholders on complexcases is preferred.
• Strong financial underwriting expertise (incomemultiples, HNW balance sheet analysis)
• Deep understanding of Singapore regulatoryenvironment (MAS)
• Ability to assess complex ownership and wealthstructures
• Commercial acumen with strong stakeholdermanagement (private bankers, advisors)
• High judgment capability in ambiguous, bespokecases
• Strong communication skills to articulateunderwriting decisions clearly
• Strong documentation discipline, with ability torecord underwriting rationale, assumptions, evidence gaps and escalationdecisions clearly.
• Strong governance mindset, including comfortwith audit, QA, reinsurance review and regulatory scrutiny.