Technical Underwriting Director

M Financial Group is a community of leaders comprising the best and brightest minds in our industry. By combining individuals’ expertise and skill, M Financial Group has become a powerful force committed to advancing the interests of our industry, communities, and clients for over 40 years. M’s solutions are rooted in the diverse expertise of our team, our collaborative approach to innovation and our comprehensive support.

We embrace a progressive, dynamic mindset for every role. M Financial Group provides a professional community that actively supports individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives who come together to build and support best-in-class solutions.

This position is responsible for providing technical underwriting expertise and insight to various stakeholders within the M Community, with a strong emphasis on Member Firm, M Carrier, and Reinsurance advocacy. This position serves as a liaison with carriers, reinsurers, medical institutions, Member Firms, and client advisors to manage risk assessments, mortality management, and life insurance capacity. While this position does not have direct reports, this position is viewed as a leader and assists the VP, Underwriting Advocacy with developing and implementing strategic initiatives and mentoring other members of the Underwriting Advocacy team.

Responsibilities:

• Underwriting Services
  • Assist in the creation of strategic department and policy direction based on objectives of M Financial Holdings
  • Direct projects and initiatives which impact underwriting and risk assessment
  • Lead the application of technical underwriting principles and expertise to assist with risk management decisions
  • Advise other departments including the M Reinsurance team, on technical underwriting and reinsurance issues
• MF Support and Advocacy
  • Act as a liaison between Member Firms, carriers, and reinsurers, leveraging deep knowledge of carrier products and life illustration systems to streamline underwriting processes and resolve issues
  • Address escalated concerns and assist in proposing/implementing solutions to meet the needs of the Member Firms
  • Develop advanced working knowledge of reinsurance and MFH’s reinsurance arrangements
  • Day to day responsibility for continued development of Prism and MRAS capabilities to support the underwriting process
  • Regularly and proactively seek feedback from Member Firms; leverage feedback to help inform underwriting and new business strategy, support, and processes as appropriate
• Internal Support and Risk Assessment
  • Support Strategic Corporate Objectives, Underwriting Initiatives, and appropriate utilization of Internal Retention
  • Provide technical underwriting support to various projects, programs, and initiatives
  • Evaluate exception requests; provide risk assessment and recommendations to M Reinsurance regarding the use of internal retention; secure reinsurer approval when necessary
  • Lead and mentor underwriting staff at M through training sessions and guidance, fostering professional development
• Strategic Impact
  • Elevate M’s reputation and visibility in the industry; advocate for M and the HNW market needs and interests
  • Stay informed of industry underwriting trends, competitive landscape, regulatory issues; assess impact to M, inform stakeholders, and collaborate with the VP, Head of Underwriting advocacy to implement solutions or bring forth ideas to address the changing environment
  • Collaborate with internal teams, carriers, reinsurers, and vendors to build and foster strategic relationships, ensuring effective underwriting solutions and services.
  • Participate in and/or lead projects and initiatives which impact underwriting, reinsurance, and innovation
  • Capture underwriting data metrics to produce meaningful metrics for both internal and external stakeholders, utilizing an agile mindset focused on technology
  • Manage existing underwriting vendor relationships
  • Proactively work with Carriers to monitor underwriting service levels and results; make recommendations as appropriate for changes to staffing, underwriting guidelines, retention, or processes
  • Other work as needed to support M’s Mission, Vision, Value Proposition and strategic objectives

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with undergraduate focus in either Nursing, Actuarial, or Financial studies preferred
• Industry designations such as AALU, FALU, CLU or FLMI preferred
• Minimum of 10 years’ progressively responsible underwriting Home Office, Reinsurance or Brokerage experience in the life insurance industry; strong medical and financial technical underwriting skills
• Demonstrated experience in risk management with progressively increasing signature authority
• Experience in underwriting and managing large and complex cases in the upscale market, including in-depth knowledge of reinsurance markets and the ability to effectively manage reinsurance negotiations
• Familiarity with advanced planning strategies and markets, including Private Placement, Premium Financing, and foreign national and international underwriting
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas in a clear and concise manner
• Demonstrated analytic skills using standard tools such as Microsoft Excel
• Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills, with the ability to respond effectively to dynamic and changing needs
• Demonstrated ability to manage stakeholder relationships with a high degree of professionalism and responsiveness
• Proven leadership and mentoring abilities, capable of developing team members and fostering a collaborative, growth-oriented work environment
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Member Firms, Carriers, Reinsurers, and internal Team Members

Job Conditions & Environment:

• This position is based on-site at our offices in Uptown at the Quad in Dallas, TX with the flexibility to work one day remotely
• Normal office environment/desk assignment
• Business travel to industry meetings and Member Firm offices up to 10% of the time
• Extensive use of PC’s, computer terminal, display, keyboard, and mouse
• Extensive hands-on work with documents, spreadsheets, and other written documents

This position description is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of responsibilities, skills or working conditions associated with this position. While this description is intended to accurately reflect the position’s activities and requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add or remove duties as necessary.

M Financial is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.