Lead Technical Underwriting Manager for Complex Commercial

Hollard Insurance Company; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Hollard Insurance Company is seeking a Technical Underwriting Manager to lead specialist underwriting across our mid-corporate portfolio. You will assess, price, structure, and manage complex risks while supporting underwriting excellence through referrals, governance, and broker engagement.

You will own the technical aspects of underwriting, provide guidance to regional teams, and develop capability through coaching and case reviews.

Responsibilities

• Assess new business, renewals, mid-term adjustments, and referrals for complex commercial risks, with a particular focus on property damage and business interruption exposures.
• Evaluate construction, occupancy, fire protection, catastrophe exposure, accumulation risks, and other material underwriting considerations.
• Review claims experience, loss trends, exposure changes, and risk improvement measures to support sound underwriting decisions.
• Determine appropriate terms, conditions, deductibles, warranties, exclusions, and subjectivities aligned to risk quality and underwriting appetite.
• Apply approved rating methodologies and technical pricing principles to maintain portfolio profitability and premium adequacy.
• Identify concentrations, adverse trends, pricing anomalies, and emerging risks across the portfolio.
• Interpret engineering surveys and risk improvement recommendations, ensuring material vulnerabilities are appropriately addressed.
• Oversee referrals, capacity management, facultative reinsurance requirements, and treaty eligibility considerations.
• Ensure policy wordings, endorsements, schedules, deductibles, and coverage structures accurately reflect underwriting intent and reinsurance requirements.
• Provide technical guidance and support to regional underwriting teams, brokers, and internal stakeholders.
• Build and maintain strong broker relationships while ensuring underwriting independence and consistency of decision-making.
• Coach and develop underwriting capability through training, technical guidance, case reviews, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
• Contribute to product enhancements, wording development, underwriting frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitor portfolio performance, premium adequacy, retention, loss experience, referral trends, and accumulation exposures.
• Deliver quality reporting, governance oversight, and audit-ready underwriting documentation.

Skills

Technical underwriting

Complex commercial risks

Pricing techniques

Governance

Broker relationships

Portfolio management

Risk assessment

Underwriting training

Job description

Hollard Insurance Company is seeking a Technical Underwriting Manager to lead specialist underwriting across our mid-corporate portfolio. You will assess, price, structure, and manage complex risks while supporting underwriting excellence through referrals, governance, and broker engagement.

You will own the technical aspects of underwriting, provide guidance to regional teams, and develop capability through coaching and case reviews.