L&H Underwriter

Swiss Re; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 88,000 - 144,000; Full time

Job summary

Swiss Re is seeking a sharp Life & Health Underwriter to join the U.S. underwriting team. You will apply evidence-based risk selection across medical, financial, and governance factors while delivering exceptional service to clients.

Collaboration with cross-functional teams and ongoing learning are core parts of the role. You will promote the Life Guide, participate in seminars, and stay current on underwriting tools and regulations.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Life & Health Underwriting experience on insurance or reinsurance.
• FLMI and/or FALU designation, or progress toward earning one.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills for complex risk factors.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled underwriting tools and digital resources.
• Excellent communication and conflict resolution skills; strong client relationships.

Responsibilities

• Apply disciplined, evidence-based risk selection across medical, non-medical, financial, product, market, and governance factors, meeting service standards and production goals.
• Escalate complex or unusual matters and apply Swiss Re guidelines to support clients and portfolio.
• Partner with clients and internal teams to provide underwriting expertise for projects via phone and email within service standards.
• Promote Life Guide and stay current on updates to help clients apply its guidance.
• Contribute to annual client underwriting seminars, webinars, and industry discussions to strengthen relationships.

Skills

Life & Health Underwriting

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Time management

AI-enabled underwriting tools

Collaboration

Education

FLMI/FALU designation

Tools

AI-enabled underwriting tools

Job description

Locations:

Fort Wayne, IN, US | Windsor, CT, US | Armonk, NY, US | Chicago, IL, US | Kansas City, MO, US | Alpharetta, GA, US

Swiss Re is looking for a sharp, curious, and collaborative L&H underwriter. If you thrive on complex risk decisions, client partnerships, and continuous learning - this role was built for you.

About the Role

You will be at the heart of our U.S. Life and Health underwriting, applying evidence-based risk selection and delivering exceptional service to our clients. You'll work across a rich variety of cases - from medical and financial risk to product and governance considerations - while collaborating with clients and cross-functional teams to drive meaningful outcomes. This is a role where your judgment, expertise, and curiosity will make a real difference every day.

Key Responsibilities

• Apply disciplined, evidence-based risk selection across medical, non-medical, financial, product, market, and governance considerations, consistently meeting established service standards and production goals
• Escalate complex or unusual matters appropriately and apply Swiss Re guidelines in a commercially sound way that supports both clients and Swiss Re's portfolio
• Partner with clients and internal cross-functional teams to provide underwriting expertise for projects, responding to inquiries by phone and email within communicated service standards
• Promote Life Guide, Swiss Re's underwriting manual, staying current on updates and helping clients effectively apply its guidance
• Participate in annual client underwriting seminars, webinars, thought leadership discussions, and appropriate social media engagement to strengthen client relationships and industry presence
• Support a culture of continuous learning by regularly attending internal training programs, forums, and meetings
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of core insurance products, industry legislation, taxation, medical and non-medical risk selection principles, underwriting tools, digital resources, AI-enabled capabilities, and system enhancements
• Travel as needed (expected 10% or less) for internal meetings at Swiss Re offices in the Americas, industry conferences, and client meetings

About the Team

The U.S. Life and Health Underwriting team is an experienced, dedicated, and geographically diverse group with colleagues based across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. We are proud of the strong facultative services we deliver and the culture we've built - one grounded in collaboration, consistency, knowledge sharing, and genuine partnership. Whether you're working on a complex case or contributing to a broader initiative, you'll find a team that's invested in each other's success and committed to excellence across the Americas.

About You

You are a technically strong underwriter who brings both analytical rigor and a collaborative spirit to everything you do. You're comfortable working independently while also knowing when to engage your team and stakeholders. You approach complex problems with curiosity and confidence, communicate clearly and constructively, and are genuinely committed to growing your expertise. You take ownership of your work, manage your time effectively, and bring energy and professionalism to every client and colleague interaction.

We are looking for candidates who meet these requirements:

• 5+ years of Life & Health Underwriting experience on the insurance or reinsurance side, with demonstrated proficiency in risk selection and case management
• FLMI and/or FALU designation, or active and meaningful progress toward earning one
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to assess complex medical, financial, and non-medical risk factors and make sound, well-reasoned underwriting decisions
• Familiarity with AI-enabled underwriting tools, digital resources, and a demonstrated interest in process innovation and system enhancements
• Excellent communication and conflict resolution skills, with a track record of building strong relationships with clients and internal stakeholders
• Demonstrated time management and organizational skills, with the ability to balance a high-volume workload independently and collaboratively

Additional nice to haves:

• Experience working within a reinsurance environment and familiarity with facultative underwriting processes
• Enthusiasm for thought leadership and industry engagement, including participation in seminars, webinars, and professional forums
• Knowledge of industry legislation, taxation, and core insurance product concepts relevant to U.S. Life and Health markets

Our company operates under a hybrid work model, with the expectation that employees will work from the office three days per week every week.

However, for an exceptional candidate, the role can be remote.

Please note that this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship/visa transfers/visa extension or relocation support.

The estimated base salary range for this position for Armonk, NY is $96,000 to $144,000 and for Fort Wayne, IN; Alpharetta, GA, Windsor, CT, Chicago, IL and Kansas City, MO; the range is $88,000 to $132,000. The specific salary offered for this, or any given role will take into account a number of factors including but not limited to job location, scope of role, qualifications, complexity/specialization/scarcity of talent, experience, education, and employer budget. At Swiss Re, we take a "total compensation approach" when making compensation decisions. This means that we consider all components of compensation in their totality (such as base pay, short-and long-term incentives, and benefits offered), in setting individual compensation.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. We cover both Property & Casualty and Life & Health. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting-edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 15,000 employees across the world.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

Swiss Re is an equal opportunity employer. It is our practice to recruit, hire and promote without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, pregnancy, sexual orientations, marital status, military status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Decisions on employment are solely based on an individual's qualifications for the position being filled.

During the recruitment process, reasonable accommodations for disabilities are available upon request. If contacted for an interview, please inform the Recruiter/HR Professional of the accommodation needed.

We may use AI-powered tools to support the review and evaluation of applications for this position. These tools provide additional insights to our recruitment teams, but all hiring decisions are carefully reviewed and made by people. To learn more about how we use AI in recruitment and how we handle your personal data, please review our Data Privacy Statement before applying.

Reference Code:

139319

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