Senior Underwriting Manager

Ethos Life

5d•Remote

About The Position

Senior Life Underwriting Manager will play a critical role in overseeing and driving the performance of US based life underwriters at Ethos. This leadership role is responsible for managing and optimizing life underwriting production, ensuring a seamless, customer-centric, and profitable underwriting process while maintaining the company’s risk management and compliance standards. The role will lead a small team of underwriting professionals who are focused on production underwriting as well as cross functional projects. They will collaborate with other departments and utilize data-driven insights to implement best practices, streamline operations, and improve underwriting efficiency. This position requires a strong combination of leadership, technical underwriting expertise, and operational management experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Actuarial Science, Insurance, or a related field (Master's degree preferred).
A minimum of 7+ years of experience in life insurance underwriting, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
Extensive knowledge of life insurance products, underwriting processes, and industry regulations.
Proven experience in leading and managing underwriting teams, and driving performance improvements.
Strong understanding of data analytics, underwriting technology platforms, and automation tools.
Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a diverse team, drive change, and develop talent.
Strategic Thinking: Strong ability to set a vision and execute strategic initiatives to achieve business goals.
Analytical Skills: Excellent quantitative and qualitative analysis skills, with a focus on data-driven decision-making.
Communication: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
Problem Solving: Creative and resourceful in identifying solutions to complex operational and underwriting challenges.
Technology Savvy: Familiarity with underwriting software, automation tools, and data analytics platforms.

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications such as FLMI, ALMI, or other relevant underwriting/designations preferred.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Strategic Oversight
Provide leadership, vision, and direction to the life underwriting team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Develop and implement underwriting policies and processes that improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, and support profitable business growth.
Mentor and develop a high-performing team of underwriters and build a strong bench of future leaders.
Underwriting Operations & Efficiency
Ensure that the underwriting team operates within established quality and productivity standards, compliance frameworks, and regulatory requirements.
Oversee the day-to-day operations of the production underwriting and underwriting special projects, ensuring that policies are underwritten in accordance with company guidelines, regulatory standards, and risk tolerance.
Monitor and manage underwriting capacity and resource allocation to ensure service level agreements (SLAs) are met, underwriting quality is maintained and projects are delivered on time.
Support carrier partners with day to day operational needs to help the teams meet their long term strategic goals
Collaborate with underwriting strategies and engineering teams to implement innovative technologies (e.g., automation, AI, machine learning) that improve underwriting accuracy, speed, and efficiency.
Data & Analytics
Leverage data analytics to assess the effectiveness of production underwriting practices, identify trends, and improve decision-making processes. Develop and present key performance metrics (KPIs) and operational reports to senior leadership, providing insights into underwriting performance, productivity, and profitability.