Manager, Medical Underwriting

New York Life

125d • $100,000 - $130,000 • Remote

About The Position

New York Life's Group Membership Association Division (GMAD) seeks an experienced individual to join the Medical Underwriting team. The Team Manager is responsible for the management and professional development of the Underwriters reporting to them. They are expected to ensure that team production and quality standards are met, identifying and maximizing any efficiencies and opportunities for process improvements. The Manager will carry a small caseload and often reviews cases with their direct reports. They are expected to evaluate an applicant's overall risk profile, not simply summing the total from individual risk factors. The Manager must have an expert knowledge of medical terminology, and an awareness of how various medical impairments interact and affect individual mortality and morbidity risk. They must be a sought-out resource on the team, and in the department and company. They also work closely with approximately 40 administrators and will encounter a higher degree of interaction with our most prominent and largest cases. They are expected to have excellent communication and relationship management skills. The Manager is responsible for ensuring appropriate handling of underwriting applications and for ensuring appropriate summarization of contestable claim reviews. They collaborate closely with our administrators and several other areas to lend their expertise and input, and engage in the reviews of forms, projects, testing of new technologies and the onboarding of new clients. They review and discuss workflows, age and amount requirements and ensure the correct set ups are completed in our underwriting system. The Team Manager will be required to establish and monitor production standards, time service, and quality standards, and will have extensive interactions with clients and coworkers at various levels and executive management. They are recognized as experts in the field of underwriting and are expected to have a breadth of knowledge of company operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• Minimum 10+ years' Underwriting experience
• Prior Management experience preferred
• Technical knowledge and expertise in the areas of Life and Disability Income underwriting
• Excellent oral and written communication, customer service, and people skills
• Proven ability to work well with others, excellent teamwork, and strong work ethic
• Leadership and team building skills using a positive and proactive approach
• Relationship building skills, working cooperating with internal and external customers
• Experience with accelerated underwriting processes, rules engines, and using alternate vendor sources and data in underwriting
• Superior organization skills with strong attention to detail
• Proficiency in Microsoft tools

Nice To Haves

• Experience with AI tools - a plus
• Familiarity with reporting tools - a plus
• Underwriting designations - a plus

Responsibilities

• Ensure the Underwriting Team accurately and efficiently classifies the mortality and morbidity risk for proposed insureds based on both medical and nonmedical information on cases.
• Monitor workloads and assign daily work and case assignments fairly across the team, ensuring account specific requirements and expertise is considered, to maximize efficiency.
• Measure, and provide feedback to team members on quality, quantity, and customer service to ensure that appropriate underwriting decisions are made in a timely manner and to aid in the professional development of underwriting personnel.
• Conduct hiring, training, performance management and personnel evaluations.
• Effectively manage remote Underwriters, encouraging positive engagement.
• Hold one on one meetings and team meetings regularly to share information and develop teamwork and promote consistency.
• Responsible for the performance and development of team members by coaching and mentoring them to assist them in reaching their full potential.
• Provide case reviews and second signatures, manage escalated case reviews and appeals.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of our administrative systems, product rules, underwriting guidelines and medical factors impacting mortality and morbidity.
• Ensure training materials and process/workflow documents are up-to-date and held in a central team location.
• Ensure accurate guidelines and group specific requirements are in our workflow system, and that information outside of those sources that are specific to our groups is held in a central, shared team location.
• Represent the underwriting division and lead projects and conduct research to evaluate new ideas and impact of changes.
• Function as expert resource for our Quick Decision business, proactively identifying trends and changes needed in the workflow and product to yield better outcomes.
• Oversee and provide thorough training for new and existing team members.
• Complete Underwriting team quality reviews.
• Support the development of new products and workflow and participate in discussion meetings and test new innovations and technologies.
• Participate in the development and strategy execution to expedite and enhance the underwriting experience, while ensuring quality decisions.
• Anticipate internal and external business challenges and/or regulatory issues and recommend process, product, or service improvements.
• Play a key role in projects, processes, and vendor management.
• Communicate complex ideas in detail to influence and persuade colleagues and management to consider a different point of view.
• Uphold the level of work ethic and standards expected of a Manager in the department.
• Participate in on-going medical, financial, and soft-skill training.
• Meet annual continuing education requirements.
• Attend select company and industry meetings as needed.

Benefits

• Leave programs
• Adoption assistance
• Student loan repayment programs
• Annual discretionary bonus eligibility
• Incentive program participation eligibility

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree