Senior Underwriter: PI at Santam Insurance

What will make you successful in this role?

• A Senior Underwriter will have the experience to carefully select, analyse and underwrite risks, in a cost-effective manner and in accordance with company requirements, guidelines and governance, to ensure good risk selection and profitability and ensure business targets are met.   

Accountabilities and responsibilities: 

Technical:

• Examine insurance proposal for new and renewal business, gathering and assessing background information, conducting necessary research, evaluating and assessing the risk (including but not limited to coverage analysis, pricing and structure) and discussing/negotiating risks with the broker in order to effectively win or renew the risk. 
• Calculate possible risk and determine appropriate insurance premiums using underwriting tools and practices, underwriting information and own judgement and experience.
• Quote within designated authority levels and refer where necessary in accordance with company policy and technical guidelines. 
• Monitor portfolio performance and ensure that renewals, new business, lost business are tracked and that the cancellation reserve does not exceed 2.5%.
• Set accurate, realistic premium forecasts and draft financial reporting as required in a timely manner to enable management to set budgets and monitor performance targets for your own portfolio of accounts and as a contribution to the team portfolio.
• Be able to confidently articulate technical messaging and deliver training, as and when necessary, internally as well as to brokers and clients.
• Support junior underwriters with the underwriting process and renewal negotiations as necessary.
• Accurately enter data into company systems and produce management reports that ensure that the company remains aware of the nature and financial impact of all risks written for your own portfolio. 
• Maintain accurate electronic records for auditing and regulatory purposes.
• Proactively participate in projects or other initiatives designed to improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the department.
• Undertake any other reasonable tasks as requested by the U/W Head or Manager in order that the team achieve its objectives.
• Ability to use Portfolio underwriting methodologies to assist Senior leadership in making key underwriting decisions.
• Design and implement underwriting notes, guidelines and methodologies. 
• Adhere to and where possible, improve, all operational and procedural standards. 
• Peer review and sign off including checking policy documentation for all accounts within authority but outside of junior staff authority. 
• Handle accounts queries and credit control queries to the satisfaction of all parties.

Governance:

• Fulfil individual risk and compliance related obligations and provide support to and monitoring of the department’s adherence to Group and Regulatory guidelines.
• Provide proactive risk and compliance awareness by reporting any incidents or breaches identified within our compliance requirements.
• Perform underwriting and operational audits to ensure compliance and address breaches where necessary.

Qualifications & Experience

• NQF 6 insurance or risk management qualification or Bachelors Degree in Commerce or Law
• Minimum of 5 years technical experience in the relevant line of business.
• FAIS Compliance and RE5.
• Good understanding of insurance industry including the reinsurance market and the terminologies used.
• Sound technical understanding of policy wordings. 
• Able to evaluate information from a variety of sources and solve problems.
• Good decision-making skills; able to consider the costs and benefits of various options and choose (and articulate) the appropriate one.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable with phone and face to face complex discussions with underwriters, brokers and any other relevant stakeholders.  Confident in negotiation and networking. Scenarios and able to manage difficult and complex conversations. 
• Deadline focused; able to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines and able to organise own workload effectively to prioritise and delegate to meet service standards.
• Competent user of Excel, Word, Outlook and other Microsoft platforms.
• Operationally efficient; able to follow all process requirements. 
• Presentation skills; able to present informally and formally for training (internal and external), marketing and renewal purposes. 
• Experience in participating in projects 
• Line of business specific requirements:
• Professional Indemnity 
• 5 years or more of Professional Indemnity or casualty underwriting or broking
• Understanding of individual account and portfolio underwriting techniques
• Ability to use and convert internal and external data into underwriting information and insights 
• Clear understanding of the landscape of the various professional landscapes (Built environment, legal, financial, etc.)
• Liaising with claims and technical teams to identify key PI risk trends
• Handling of meetings with senior personnel from brokers and their clients
• Incorporate modern underwriting techniques 
• Assist in drafting modernized underwriting guidelines 
• Perform compliance and underwriting audits