Senior Underwriter; Financial Lines

Overview

Guardrisk, part of Momentum Group Limited, is South Africa’s leading provider of cell captive business and alternative risk transfer solutions, offering tailor-made risk financing and access to professional reinsurance markets. As the market leader, we specialise in innovative cell captive structures that allow clients to operate their own insurance products within a ring-fenced facility, including underwriting, actuarial, legal, compliance and financial reporting services – without the costs and complexities of establishing an insurance company.

Registered for most statutory classes of non-life and life insurance, we provide customised cover and strategic risk solutions. Our services cater to corporates that are serious about risk management, those facing complex or high-cost risks and businesses looking to offer their own branded insurance products.

Disclaimer:
As an applicant, please verify the legitimacy of this job advert on our company career page.

Role Purpose

Underwriter Financial Lines risks delivering profitable, sustainable growth in accordance with underwriting guidelines, reinsurance treaties, and regulatory requirements. Build and maintain broker relationships, execute timely and sound underwriting decisions, and contribute to the line’s portfolio strategy, product development, and market positioning.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree as above; post-grad (e.g., Hons/LLB/CA(SA)/CFA/ACII/AIISA/FCII) advantageous.

Experience

• At least 5–8 years demonstrable Financial Lines underwriting with portfolio ownership and broker relationship leadership.
• Proven complex account negotiation capability.
• Full FAIS/FSCA compliance and a track record of coaching/mentoring junior underwriters.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Technical Underwriting
• Underwrite new and renewal risks D&O, FI, Crime/Fidelity and related products, within delegated underwriting authority.
• Perform comprehensive risk assessment: financial statement analysis, management quality, claims history, industry risk, control environment, governance, and limit/profile adequacy.
• Structure terms: limits, deductibles/retentions, wordings, endorsements, coinsurance, and market pricing aligned to portfolio strategy.
• Approve or refer submissions in line with referral matrices, document rationale and file underwriting to audit standards.
• Ensure policy forms comply with reinsurance, legal and regulatory requirements; align with TCF principles.
• Portfolio & Profitability Management
• Manage a defined broker panel and book of business, monitoring loss ratio, rate change, retention, new business hit ratio, exposure aggregation, and capacity utilisation.
• Proactively drive rate adequacy and remedial actions on deteriorating segments (wording changes, pricing, declinatures, sub-limits, risk-improvement warranties).
• Collaborate with actuarial and claims to analyse trends, loss drivers, and recommend product/wording or pricing updates.
• Broker Engagement
• Develop and execute broker engagement plans; conduct underwriting meetings, deal negotiations and portfolio reviews.
• Provide technical support on wording/coverage, and participate in marketing initiatives.
• Maintain high service standards: turnaround times, clarity of terms, and professional communication.
• Governance, Compliance & Controls
• Maintain accurate, complete underwriting records for internal audit and reinsurer review.
• Support credit control.

Competencies

• Financial analysis (balance sheet strength, leverage, liquidity, cash flow, earnings quality).
• Coverage and wording mastery (D&O, FI, Crime/Fidelity).
• Negotiation & influencing with brokers clients.
• Decision quality under time pressure; commercial judgement with technical rigor.
• Collaboration across Claims, Reinsurance, Actuarial, Legal/Compliance, Finance/Credit Control.