Associate (VP) Chief Underwriter, Underwriting Strategy and Governance

Penn Mutual•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

Position Summary: The Associate CUW, Underwriting Strategy & Governance is a senior underwriting leader responsible for developing, operationalizing, and managing the execution of underwriting strategy, governance, and policy frameworks in support of the Chief Underwriter’s underwriting philosophy, authority structure, and accountability for department outcomes and enterprise underwriting strategy. Reporting to the Chief Underwriter, this role serves as the CUW’s key execution partner—translating direction into scalable standards, controls, vendor operations, and performance oversight to drive consistent underwriting decisions, quality, compliance, and sustainable mortality outcomes. The Associate CUW leads governance mechanisms (policy/standards, authority, audit/quality, vendor oversight, modernization enablement), escalates material risks and trends, and develops underwriting leaders to strengthen enterprise capability and execution discipline.

Requirements

Extensive expertise in life underwriting risk assessment, underwriting policy/practices, and regulatory requirements.
Demonstrated ability to develop and operationalize governance frameworks (authority, referral pathways, documentation standards, consistency controls).
Strong experience designing and executing audit/quality programs with deep understanding of risk selection, underwriting standards, and file documentation expectations.
Advanced knowledge of life insurance products, automated underwriting, rules engines, and third-party evidence/data sources (e.g., EHR, MIB, Rx, financial underwriting data) and how they impact quality and mortality outcomes.
Proven vendor management capability, including operational oversight, performance measurement, value/ROI assessment, compliance considerations, and streamlining efforts.
Experience partnering with reinsurance stakeholders and internal teams to support automatic and facultative processes and outcomes.
Highly advanced investigative, analytical, and problem-solving skills using experience, research, guidelines, and internal resources.
Strong executive presence and influence—ability to lead through ambiguity, reconcile competing priorities, and drive adoption across functions.
Strong people-leader capability—leading leaders, coaching, mentoring, setting accountability, and building high-performing teams.
Willingness to lean into AI capabilities in developing governance, policy, and compliance frameworks for underwriting operational efficiency.
Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent related work experience required.
15+ years of life insurance experience.
Demonstrated Signing Authority of $20 million.
Experience with Life Products (VUL, IUL, Term, Whole)
Significant leadership experience, including leading leaders and managing complex, cross-functional underwriting initiatives (preferably specified by scope rather than an absolute number of years requirement).

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree or MBA preferred.
Professional designations ACS, ALU, FLMI, FALU, or CLU (or progress toward one or more designations) preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and operationalize underwriting governance standards and policy frameworks (e.g., age & amount criteria, authority limits, referral pathways, documentation standards, consistency controls) for CUW review and approval.
Translate CUW underwriting philosophy and strategic priorities into executable plans, standards, and implementation roadmaps across underwriting.
Establish and maintain an enterprise underwriting governance operating model (cadence, forums, documentation, controls, escalation pathways) to ensure consistent decisions and accountability.
Develop and communicate underwriting governance priorities and (as applicable) strategic plans, budgets, and resourcing needs tied to enterprise outcomes.
Manage mortality performance execution aligned to CUW-defined objectives, including A/E monitoring, selection levers, performance reporting, and escalation of emerging trends and risks.
Establish and monitor enterprise KPIs (quality, mortality, vendor performance, training effectiveness, operational health), interpret trends, and drive corrective actions with accountable leaders.
Partner with Claims to review contestable claims and monitor claims experience and incorporate root-cause insights into underwriting governance, standards, and training.
Lead execution of underwriting quality audit programs, including case reviews and outcomes analysis to identify trends, gaps, training opportunities, and operational improvements; recommend actions for CUW endorsement and approval.
Draft, maintain, and govern underwriting procedures and governance documentation supporting consistent underwriting practice, for CUW review and approval where required by authority or policy.
Resolve systemic impediments to underwriting excellence to improve consistency, operational efficiency, and customer outcomes.
Manage and enhance vendor relationships and day-to-day vendor operations supporting underwriting (e.g., Rx, EHR, rules engine, other evidence/data sources), including SLA monitoring, operational performance management, ROI/value realization, compliance oversight, usage rationalization, and issue resolution with recommendations to CUW for strategic changes.
Develop analyses and recommendations related to reinsurance positioning and governance (e.g., treaty considerations, facultative workflows, case outcomes) in partnership with internal stakeholders for CUW direction/decisions.
Collaborate with reinsurance partners to ensure effective treaty application, resolve complex facultative/treat-related questions, and drive process improvements.
Operationalize underwriting modernization initiatives sponsored by the CUW by managing execution planning, cross-functional dependencies, risks/issues, change adoption, and delivery outcomes.
Champion adoption of modern underwriting tools and processes, ensuring integration into workflows and measurable improvement in quality, mortality, and operational effectiveness.
Provide executive leadership for the responsible use of AI and advanced analytics in underwriting.
Lead and manage people leaders (3 direct reports), including coaching, mentoring, performance management, capability building, and succession planning to maintain a high-performing organization.
Strengthen underwriting capability and consistency by setting clear expectations, reinforcing governance discipline, and building a culture of accountability for outcomes.
Collaborate across Underwriting, New Business, Medical, Actuarial, Product, Inforce Operations, and Compliance to ensure underwriting execution aligns to pricing assumptions, product intent, operational feasibility, service delivery and regulatory expectations.