HEAD: GROUP UNDERWRITING & PRODUCT GOVERNANCE

What will you do?

A position of Head: Group Underwriting & Product Governance exists in the Santam Group Underwriting Office. This role will be based at Alice Lane, Sandton and reports directly to the Group Chief Underwriting Officer.

As the Head of Group Underwriting & Product Governance, you will play a crucial role in ensuring adherence to underwriting and product policies and frameworks to mitigate and manage risk. You will oversee and manage the implementation and revision of governance policies and frameworks, monitor adherence to underwriting mandates as well as business policies and procedures, and provide guidance to the teams.

You will be responsible to oversee the Group Underwriting and Concentration Risk Policy, Group Reinsurance and Other Forums of Risk Transfer Policy including related frameworks and perform underwriting reviews to verify adherence to underwriting guidelines and rules, providing assurance by mitigating any operational underwriting risks.

The position requires a strong understanding of non-life insurance business environments, excellent communication skills and the ability to manage and collaborate effectively with stakeholders and business units across the Group to provide support, oversight and advisory services.

What will make you successful in this role?

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Underwriting Governance:

• Support the Group Chief Underwriting Officer to provide group-wide oversight over business areas’ underwriting activities.
• Control the issuance of Underwriting Mandates across all business areas with underwriting authority within Santam Group. 
• Design and implement processes to govern adherence to Underwriting Mandates by business areas, within a Combined Assurance framework working with 2nd and 3rd lines of defence.
• Together with the Group Risk Office, monitor the Group’s gross and net of reinsurance underwriting exposures, relative to risk appetite.
• Assist the Group Chief Risk Office to report on and remedy breaches to the Group’s risk appetite.

Product Governance:

• Oversee the implementation of a product management process adhering to the criteria set out in the Group Product Governance Framework.
• Support business units in monitoring product performance against set targets, including the effectiveness of management actions taken to achieve projected targets and address issues.
• Ensure products are developed and managed in line with the underwriting mandate and licensing requirements.
• Support business areas with research and development on new products as required.

Function Leadership:

• Manage the Underwriting Governance and Product Governance team reporting into this role.
• Manage the underwriting mandate reviews within Santam Group.
• Manage the Group’s approval process for underwriting mandates extensions and new product implementation.
• Manage the oversight and review of underwriting practice across the Group over an agreed cycle.
• Expand and develop underwriting risk metrics monitored in the Group, and assist in monitoring, reporting, and addressing any deviations.
• Provide underwriting governance representation in Risk Forums for monitoring and the provision of inputs.

Policy Development and Thought Leadership:

• Provide thought leadership and develop underwriting minimum requirements at Group level.
• Drive policy implementation around all aspects of Group Underwriting.
• Manage and oversee the Group Underwriting Risk Forum at which underwriting issues are considered and discussed by underwriters across the group.

Latent and Emerging Exposure Risk Management:

• Identify and monitor latent and emerging risks impacting underwriting matters.
• Facilitate process across business areas to review policy wordings from a legal and underwriting risk exposure perspective to identify potential unexpected latent claims, aggregations, and risks.
• Support the Group Chief Underwriting Officer in the issuance of Underwriting Directives that narrow or expand the business units underwriting mandates.

Reporting:

• Feedback on findings and priority remedial actions required.
• Support risk and compliance reporting and submissions relating to underwriting matters.
• Report on underwriting risk exposure in the Group.

Stakeholder Management:

• Maintain and develop effective relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage and maintain successful business relationships with business areas, Group Functionaries, service providers, and partners.
• Work with internal business teams and support structures to achieve desired business outcomes.

Qualifications & Experience

• Professional qualification in underwriting or reinsurance with legal, risk & compliance experience highly advantageous
• Bachelor’s degree in related field.
• 8 or more years of experience in underwriting and risk management in the non-life insurance industry.
• 5 or more years of experience in managerial position or functions.

Skills

• Core technical skills in underwriting, risk management.
• Ability to identify and execute on strategic needs and generate alignment with key business partners.
• Strong interpersonal, facilitation and verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent presentation skills with ability to deliver clear, compelling communication.
• Experience navigating large and complex organizations, interacting with executives and both internal and external stakeholders to successfully manage relationships.
• Ability to self-manage while managing teams and projects.
• Financial and commercial acumen.
• Ability to work appropriately with sensitive and confidential information.
• Demonstrate passion and commitment for excellence.
• High attention to detail.
• Approachable and customer/ service orientated.
• Excellent communication skills.

Competencies

• Cultivates innovation
• Customer focus
• Professional resilience
• Drives results
• Collaborates