We're looking for a Technical Underwriter who understands that.
Reporting to the Technical Underwriting Manager, this role is responsible for the technical assessment, quality review, referral management, and underwriting of complex new business and renewal risks that exceed the delegated authority of Internal Broker Consultants and Renewal Handlers. You'll play a critical role in ensuring underwriting quality, managing reinsurance requirements, supporting broker distribution teams, and protecting the integrity of the portfolio.
What you'll be trusted to own
This is more than a referral underwriting role.
It's about combining technical expertise, underwriting governance, reinsurance knowledge, and commercial decision-making to ensure complex risks are appropriately managed, priced, and aligned to the company's risk appetite.
You'll:
Assess complex new business referrals that fall outside Internal Broker Consultant authority levels.
Evaluate risk information, claims history, loss ratios, survey findings, pricing adequacy, reinsurance requirements, and policy terms.
Accept, amend, impose conditions on, or decline risks within delegated authority.
Assess renewal referrals exceeding Renewal Handler mandates and implement corrective underwriting actions where required.
Conduct comprehensive quality assurance reviews on referral packs to ensure completeness, accuracy, and regulatory compliance.
Escalate risks that exceed your authority to the Head Office Technical Underwriting Team with clear technical recommendations.
Manage facultative reinsurance placements by preparing submissions, obtaining quotations, evaluating terms, negotiating improved capacity and pricing, and binding approved placements.
Assess complex, high-value, high-hazard, and non-standard commercial risks in line with risk appetite and underwriting mandates.
Review survey reports and risk recommendations, implementing appropriate underwriting actions where necessary.
Support underwriting audits, quality control reviews, and corrective action initiatives.
Monitor underwriting compliance, referral quality, and business written outside approved mandates.
Provide technical support and guidance to Internal Broker Consultants, Renewal Handlers, and Broker Consultants.
Maintain awareness of emerging risks, underwriting trends, market developments, and reinsurance conditions.
Required Knowledge and Experience
What you'll bring
A reputation for technical excellence, underwriting discipline, and making sound commercial decisions on complex risks.
More than 6 years' Short-Term Insurance experience, including at least 4 years in Commercial Underwriting.
Proven experience assessing complex new business and renewal referrals.
Strong understanding of underwriting mandates, delegated authority, and governance requirements.
Sound knowledge of commercial insurance pricing, rating methodologies, policy wordings, and risk selection principles.
Experience analysing claims performance, loss ratios, survey reports, and exposure information.
Working knowledge of treaty and facultative reinsurance structures and processes.
Experience obtaining, negotiating, and binding facultative reinsurance placements will be advantageous.
Strong understanding of underwriting quality assurance, audits, and compliance requirements.
Ability to assess high-value, high-hazard, and non-standard risks.
Strong analytical thinking, negotiation, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Excellent stakeholder management and communication capability, with the ability to influence brokers and internal stakeholders. Broker Distribution experience will be advantageous.
Educational Requirements
Qualifications
Grade 12 (Matric).
NQF Level 5 Short-Term Insurance Qualification.
Recognised Regulatory Examination (RE) certification, where applicable.
Compliance with Fit and Proper and CPD
NQF Level 6 qualification or Diploma in Insurance, Risk Management, or a related field will be advantageous.
Advanced training in Commercial Underwriting, Facultative Reinsurance, or Survey Interpretation will be advantageous.