Underwriting Manager

Roles and responsibilities

• Lead the Reinsurance team to deliver on departmental goals and monitor adherence to plan.
• Lead and manage the team, ensuring organisational structure and processes are best fit to serve external and internal customers.
• Review and approval of quotations for new and existing customers in line with growth strategy.
• Ensure that all new business, renewal quotations and pricing requests are addressed in a manner designed to secure clients.
• Positively represent the company internally within the Allianz and externally to the market (including client negotiations).
• Work closely with Portfolio Monitoring team to ensure adequate monitoring and reporting is in place and is shared with the appropriate audience in a timely manner.
• Take action quickly on emerging trends or any changes in the business that impact the accurate of pricing.
• Drive and proactively monitor a consistent and coherent global underwriting governance framework ensuring alignment of processes between the different lines of business.
• Proactively drive involvement of functional areas in the Underwriting and Pricing process, including e.g. Actuarial, Finance, Operations.
• Responsibility for Health, Safety and Welfare within team (please refer to the Company`s Safety Statement for full list of responsibilities)

What you bring:

To be successful in this position you will need to have the following skills/ experience:

• Minimum of 5 years of a proven track record in an Underwriting position, ideally within Dubai Health Reinsurance.
• Minimum of 3 years (re)insurance management experience in a relevant line of business.
• Proven experience of consistently delivering to tight and exacting deadlines.
• Proven track record of successful negotiations with large corporate clients
• Preferably Degree and / or professional insurance qualification (e.g. CII)
• Strong knowledge of Ms Office, especially Excel.
• Demonstrate strong managerial skills and experience, with a hands-on approach; A penchant for being proactive
• Must be highly collaborative.
• Strong communication, attention to detail, time management and leadership skills.
• Ability to motivate teams to produce quality output within tight time frames and simultaneously.
• Professional written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
• Highly numerate
• Strong attention to detail, analytical and problem-solving skills
• Proactive, focused and structured attitude to work and an ability to constantly meet deadlines.
• Customer focused
• Comfortable challenging the ideas of others.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
• Ability to work effectively within a team environment
• Honesty and Integrity
• Presentation skills
• Ability to motivate others

Desired candidate profile

• Underwriting Expertise:

  • In-depth knowledge of underwriting principles and practices is essential, including risk assessment, pricing models, policy structures, and claims history evaluation.
  • Familiarity with specific types of insurance underwriting, such as life, health, property, casualty, or commercial, depending on the organization’s focus.

• Leadership and Management:

  • Leadership Skills: Ability to motivate, lead, and guide a team of underwriters to meet business goals and standards.
  • Coaching and Mentoring: Providing continuous feedback, coaching, and mentoring to develop underwriters’ skills and ensure professional growth.
  • Conflict Resolution: Strong skills in managing conflicts within the team, resolving disagreements, or addressing any performance issues effectively.

• Analytical and Decision-Making Skills:

  • Strong analytical skills to evaluate risk factors, assess historical data, and predict potential outcomes for underwriting decisions.
  • Critical thinking and judgment to make informed decisions regarding policy acceptance, terms, and risk management.

• Communication Skills:

  • Verbal and Written Communication: Ability to effectively communicate with team members, senior management, agents, and brokers, explaining complex underwriting decisions clearly and concisely.
  • Negotiation Skills: Ability to negotiate terms and conditions with brokers or clients to ensure the best risk management outcomes for the company.

• Attention to Detail:

  • Precision is critical in underwriting. An Underwriting Manager needs to ensure that each policy is evaluated thoroughly, with all aspects of the risk considered, to prevent errors that could impact profitability or regulatory compliance.

• Regulatory Knowledge:

  • Knowledge of industry regulations, standards, and compliance requirements is essential to avoid legal or financial penalties and to ensure underwriting practices are aligned with best practices.