Location: Flexible: Lagos / Nairobi / Abidjan
Job: Chief Underwriting Officer
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the Chief Underwriting Officer reports to the Group Managing Director. This position is responsible for managing all technical underwriting activities of Continental Re [4]. Ensure the quality of underwriting, and assure that all Group underwriting and pricing guidelines, protocols, and controls are consistently applied throughout the company.
The Chief Underwriting Officer, is a key contributor within the organization, is responsible for the strategic planning and overall management of the underwriting function enabling long term profitable growth of all product/business lines. This includes accountability for rate, pricing, commission strategies, review practices and other related actions which drive the financial results. The Chief Underwriting Officer will establish internal procedures and criteria to control risk and developing the annual operating plan objectives (top and bottom line) and long-term strategic plan.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Setting underwriting standards and policies: responsible for developing and implementing underwriting policies that are aligned with the company’s strategic goals and risk appetite.
- Risk assessment: responsible for assessing and analyzing the risks associated with insuring various types of risks and establishing guidelines for the underwriting of these risks.
- Underwriting process management: responsible for overseeing the underwriting process, ensuring that it is efficient and effective, and that it meets regulatory requirements.
- Team management: responsible for managing the underwriting team, ensuring that they are trained and equipped to carry out their roles effectively.
- Pricing and product development: works closely with the product development team to develop new insurance products and pricing models that are aligned with the company’s underwriting standards.
- Risk monitoring: responsible for monitoring the underwriting portfolio to identify any emerging risks and taking appropriate action to mitigate these risks.
- Compliance: responsible for ensuring that the company’s underwriting practices are compliant with regulatory requirements and internal policies.
- Collaboration: collaborates with other senior executives, including the CEO, CFO, and Chief Actuary to ensure that underwriting policies are aligned with overall business objectives and financial targets.
Other R&R:
- Receiving, and reviewing client reinsurance proposals and business offers; assessing such offers to ascertain adequacy of pricing and terms according to best practices, methodologies and tools for pricing and risk selection, and Continental Re underwriting guidelines, to determine whether to accept the offer.
- Establish, implement, and monitor underwriting strategy, policy, guidelines and controls for Continental Re consistent with Group objectives and directives, and consistent with client group focus.
- Direct and manage overall technical underwriting activities for Continental Re; assure high level of technical proficiency is achieved in all areas.
- Manage business portfolio to achieve business mix and performance goals as established by Continental Re
- Establish, maintain and execute Continental Re Specialty Rensurance’s underwriting authority delegation and referral processes.
- Monitor domestic insurance and reinsurance market trends and developments in order to make adjustments as appropriate to underwriting policy and strategy.
- Motivate and lead a high-performance management team; attract, recruit and retain required members of the team not currently in place; provide mentoring as a cornerstone to the management career development program.
- Responsible for the maintenance of relationships and the flow of information between various service and operating units of the Group (e.g. Business Development, Technical Services, Claims, Legal, Corporate Underwriting, etc.).
- Cycle management- devise strategies and protocols to grow profitably during all market cycles.
- Leads, directs, and has management accountability for underwriting staff with emphasis on building organizational capability, talent management, and promoting a culture of superior portfolio management and product underwriting.
- Establish and promote underwriting best practices, with focus on underwriting profitability.
- Responsible for the Life & Non-Life underwriting units of the company.
- Responsible for planning and directing all underwriting procedures.
- Directs the various underwriting function of the organization including Individual Life, Group Life, Non-Life and Health.
- Develops long-term underwriting strategies and directions for the company and sets specific goals and policies for underwriting operations.
- Coaching, Mentoring and Facilitation of Training Programmes.
- Develop and ensure effective utilization of detailed monitoring standards to assess underwriting results on production and loss results down to the account level (i.e., profitability analysis, quarterly loss trends, utilization/productivity, etc.) and takes corrective action as necessary.
- Participates in renewal of corporate reinsurance treaties.
- Oversee handling of individual account treaty acceptances.
- Development, implementation, and update of underwriting guidelines including applications, pricing tools, etc.
- Development, implementation, and maintenance of authority statements.
- Lead for internal underwriting audit.
- Implementation and Management of internal underwriting compliance controls.
- Management of company accumulations.
- Manages the budget, maintaining cost controls, expense management, and standards.
Qualifications:
- BA/BS degree in a numerate degree Science, Mathematics, Statistics or Engineering.
- Minimum of 15 years underwriting experience.
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills. Your communication style is flexible to the situation.
- Deep knowledge of insurance underwriting (Life & Non-Life).
- Knowledge of Financial accounting of both Life and Non-Life business.
- Knowledge of Insurance operations and financial accounting.
- Leadership qualities.
- Patient and Calm.
- Team Builder and Player.
- Ability to develop other leaders and managers.
Application deadline: 29th May 2023
Contact: https://www.continental-re.com/job/chief-underwriting-officer/ [5]