Senior Life Underwriter, Group Employee Benefits

Firstrand Life Assurance Ltd; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 840,000; Full time

Job summary

FirstRand Life Assurance Ltd in South Africa is seeking a Life Underwriter to assess and underwrite complex life insurance applications across Group Employee Benefits. The role requires judgment on medical, occupational, avocation, travel and financial information to support sound risk decisions and excellent service to brokers and the business.

You will evaluate risks, apply terms, refer when needed, and contribute to process improvements while meeting turnaround times.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of Life Underwriting experience; Group Employee Benefits experience is advantageous.
• Strong understanding of mortality and morbidity risk.
• Knowledge of Life, Disability and Critical Illness underwriting.
• Understanding of reinsurance and delegated underwriting authority.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills.
• Commercial awareness and sound underwriting judgement.
• Good communication and stakeholder relationship skills.
• Ability to work accurately under pressure and meet service delivery requirements.
• A willingness to embrace technology, automation and new approaches to underwriting.

Responsibilities

• Assess and underwrite Group Employee Benefits risks within delegated authority.
• Evaluate medical, occupational, financial and demographic risk factors.
• Apply underwriting terms, including loadings, exclusions, postponements and declines.
• Identify and refer risks requiring additional evidence, senior authority or reinsurance input.
• Apply Free Cover Limits, Maximum Automatic Acceptance Limits and relevant reinsurance requirements.
• Work closely with Employee Benefits, brokers, reinsurers and internal stakeholders.
• Ensure underwriting decisions are accurate, consistent, well documented and aligned with risk appetite.
• Communication of underwriting outcomes and assist with Ad hoc letters, non-disclosure letters & communicating changes in standards.
• Meet agreed turnaround times and service levels.
• Contribute to underwriting quality, process improvement and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support the design, testing and implementation of underwriting workflows, controls and system integrations.
• Identify operational, conduct, legal and claims risks and ensure that appropriate preventative controls are implemented.
• Responsible for compiling and analyzing underwriting management reports, e.g.: Produce underwriting reports and insights on volumes, outcomes, service levels and emerging risks.

Skills

Life Underwriting

Mortality risk

Morbidity risk

Life/Disability/CI underwriting

Reinsurance knowledge

Analytical skills

Commercial awareness

Stakeholder management

Under pressure delivery

Tech in underwriting

Education

Degree advantageous

Job description

FirstRand Life Assurance Ltd in South Africa is seeking a Life Underwriter to assess and underwrite complex life insurance applications across Group Employee Benefits. The role requires judgment on medical, occupational, avocation, travel and financial information to support sound risk decisions and excellent service to brokers and the business.

You will evaluate risks, apply terms, refer when needed, and contribute to process improvements while meeting turnaround times.