Assistant Vice President, Chief Life Underwriting

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Underwriting Leadership

• Serve as the highest underwriting authority for the Life business, providing strategic leadership for underwriting philosophy, risk selection, mortality management, governance, and operational effectiveness.
• Establish and maintain underwriting guidelines, authorities, and risk selection practices that balance growth objectives with sound mortality management and regulatory compliance.
• Provide strategic direction on complex underwriting cases and emerging underwriting issues.

Innovation & Underwriting Transformation

• Champion the evolution of the underwriting function through the evaluation and implementation of innovative underwriting methodologies, technologies, and external data sources.
• Lead initiatives involving accelerated underwriting, predictive analytics, and digital capabilities that improve customer and agent experiences.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance underwriting efficiency, consistency, and decision quality.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure timely and accurate processing and issuance of Life insurance applications.
• Monitor, enhance, and implement underwriting policies, procedures, and operational standards with clearly defined accountability.
• Ensure compliance with internal underwriting guidelines, regulatory requirements, and legal directives.
• Support organizational initiatives that improve underwriting quality, service levels, and operational performance.

Business Partnership & Collaboration

• Partner closely with Life & Retirement leadership—particularly Product Strategy and Life New Business Operations—to support product innovation and business growth.
• Collaborate with Distribution, Compliance, Finance, Technology, reinsurers, and vendor partners to optimize underwriting capabilities and customer outcomes.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with agents, field leaders, and business partners, serving as a trusted underwriting advisor.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing underwriting organization.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and innovation.
• Support succession planning, talent development, and performance management for underwriting staff.

Strategic Initiatives

• Support enterprise strategic and tactical initiatives through effective planning, implementation, and organizational change management.
• Influence business decisions through underwriting expertise, market insight, and risk management leadership.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience.
• 10+ years of progressive life underwriting experience, with significant leadership responsibility.