Life & Health Underwriter

Crossell; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 700,000 - 1,160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model (3 days in office)

Performance-based bonus

Pension fund contributions

Discovery Medical Aid

Job summary

Swiss Re Africa is seeking an experienced Life & Health Underwriter to lead complex risk evaluations for the Sub-Saharan market. Based in Cape Town or Johannesburg, you will influence pricing, product development and client partnerships while mentoring junior underwriters.

You bring 8–10 years of Life & Health underwriting expertise, strong local market knowledge, and a collaborative approach to drive profitable portfolio outcomes in a dynamic reinsurance environment.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of Life and Health Underwriting experience, with strong knowledge of complex mortality and morbidity risk assessment.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate complex mortality, morbidity, and financial risks for life and health reinsurance across Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Collaborate with pricing, actuarial, and claims teams to ensure profitable portfolio outcomes.
• Act as a technical underwriting consultant to cedants, supporting best practices, audits, and process improvements.
• Provide underwriting expertise during treaty negotiations and product development initiatives.
• Lead and mentor colleagues to develop underwriting capability within the team.
• Represent Swiss Re at industry conferences, seminars, and client workshops.
• Deliver risk assessment insights to internal stakeholders to support strategic decisions.

Skills

Life & Health underwriting

Job description

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Are you a seasoned Life & Health Underwriter ready to make a meaningful impact in one of Africa's most dynamic reinsurance markets? If you thrive on complexity, love building client relationships, and want to be part of a team that truly makes a difference — this could be your next great move.

About the Role

This is a rare opportunity to step into a high‑impact senior underwriting role at Swiss Re, one of the world's leading reinsurers. Based in our Cape Town or Johannesburg office, you will be at the heart of evaluating complex mortality, morbidity, and financial risks for life and health reinsurance business across Sub‑Saharan Africa. You will play a pivotal role in supporting Swiss Re's strategic objectives by delivering high‑quality underwriting decisions, risk assessments, and technical expertise to both clients and internal stakeholders — all while helping shape the future of reinsurance in the region.

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate complex risks: Assess intricate mortality, morbidity, and financial risks for life and health reinsurance business with precision and confidence
• Drive portfolio performance: Collaborate with pricing, actuarial, and claims teams to ensure sustainable and profitable portfolio outcomes
• Be a trusted client partner: Act as a technical underwriting consultant and partner to cedants, supporting them with best practices, training, audits, and process improvements
• Contribute to business growth: Provide underwriting expertise during treaty negotiations and product development initiatives
• Share your knowledge: Lead and mentor colleagues, contributing to the development of underwriting capability within the team
• Represent Swiss Re externally: Attend and present at industry conferences, seminars, and client workshops, elevating Swiss Re's profile in the market
• Deliver risk assessment insights: Provide portfolio management insights and technical guidance to internal stakeholders to support strategic decision‑making

About the Team

Swiss Re Africa is a leading reinsurer in the Sub‑Saharan Africa market, across both short‑term and long‑term insurance sectors. We are a dynamic, collaborative team with a strong client focus, committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all employees. Joining this team means being part of a group that is passionate about innovation, excellence, and making a real difference in the African insurance landscape.

About You

You are a curious, driven, and technically strong underwriting professional who takes ownership and leads with confidence. You bring a collaborative spirit, a genuine passion for client engagement, and the ability to navigate complexity with clarity. You are comfortable working in a fast‑paced, ever‑evolving environment and are energised by the opportunity to mentor others, influence strategy, and represent Swiss Re as a thought leader in the market.

Requirements

• 8–10 years of experience in Life and Health Underwriting, with a strong and demonstrable understanding of complex mortality and morbidity risk assessment
• Deep financial and medical underwriting expertise, with the ability to evaluate sophisticated and high‑value cases
• Strong local market knowledge of the South African and broader Sub‑Saharan Africa insurance and reinsurance landscape

Nice to Haves

• Experience in L&H product development and/or project management, or a background in a client‑facing reinsurance or insurance role
• Afrikaans language proficiency — a valuable asset when engaging with a broad range of local clients and stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and mentor junior underwriters or cross‑functional team members
• Experience representing an organisation externally at industry events, conferences, or client workshops
• Familiarity with treaty negotiation processes and the ability to contribute meaningfully to product and business development discussions

Our company has a hybrid work model where the expectation is that you will be in the office at least three days per week.

Preference will be given to Employment Equity candidates. #LI-Hybrid

For South Africa, the annual base salary range for this position is between ZAR 700 000 and ZAR 1 160 000 (for a full‑time role). The specific salary offered considers:

• the requirements, scope, complexity and responsibilities of the role,
• the applicant's own profile including education/qualifications, expertise, specialisation, skills and experience.

In addition to your base salary, Swiss Re offers an attractive performance‑based variable compensation component, designed to recognise your achievements. Further you will enjoy a variety of global and location specific benefits for example employer contribution towards Pension fund and Discovery Medical Aid. Eligibility may vary depending on the terms of Swiss Re policies and your employment contract.

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.

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.

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