Director of Underwriting

Navy Mutual•Arlington, VA

About The Position

At Navy Mutual, our mission is rooted in serving members of the uniformed services and their families with financial strength, integrity, and care. We are seeking a Director of Underwriting to lead and modernize our Underwriting and New Business functions—driving both operational excellence and a best-in-class member experience. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for translating strategy into scalable, efficient operations while ensuring disciplined risk management, strong compliance, and sustained growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field
8+ years of life insurance underwriting experience, including complex case review
Proven leadership experience managing teams and/or senior technical professionals
Deep understanding of: Medical underwriting and terminology, Mortality risk assessment, Reinsurance practices
Experience leading: Process improvement and operational transformation, Automation and accelerated underwriting initiatives, KPI/KRI development and performance analytics
Strong working knowledge of underwriting systems, workflow tools, and policy administration platforms
Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills
Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, production-driven environment

Nice To Haves

Professional designations such as CLU, FLMI, ALU, or FALU
Experience with vendor management and underwriting data providers
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and reporting tools

Responsibilities

Develop and execute underwriting and new business strategies aligned to organizational goals, risk appetite, and service standards
Translate enterprise strategy into disciplined, scalable, and measurable operating practices
Lead transformation initiatives to modernize underwriting and new business processes
Oversee end-to-end new business lifecycle: intake, underwriting, requirements, offers, reconsiderations, and policy activation
Optimize workflows, case assignment, and throughput to improve cycle times, productivity, and consistency
Establish and monitor service level agreements (SLAs) and performance standards
Provide technical underwriting guidance on complex life insurance risks
Ensure decisions are well-documented, compliant, and aligned with mortality expectations and reinsurance requirements
Review and approve complex cases within authority and escalate as needed
Lead adoption of automation, accelerated underwriting, and third-party data solutions
Evaluate and implement digital tools and workflow enhancements to improve speed and accuracy
Advance real-time decisioning capabilities and member experience improvements
Develop and monitor KPIs and KRIs, including: Cycle time and throughput, Quality and post-issue audit results, Requirement aging and placement rates, Productivity and vendor performance
Identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities; drive corrective action
Lead, coach, and develop underwriting and new business teams, including managers and senior technical staff
Drive performance management, workforce planning, succession planning, and talent development
Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and high performance
Collaborate with Sales, Inforce, Claims, Finance, Legal, Compliance, and Technology
Partner with reinsurance carriers on complex cases and program optimization
Ensure alignment across teams to deliver a seamless, member-first experience
Maintain underwriting guidelines, SOPs, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance
Support escalations, member complaints, and risk-related reviews (e.g., rescissions, contestable claims)
Manage vendor relationships (e.g., medical exams, labs, data providers)