The Opportunity
We have created a new Head of Life Underwriting – Risk Management role, focused on our growing business across all distribution channels. You will be responsible for our underwriting risk management framework and governance, including our non-medical guidelines. You will also be responsible for identifying potential new underwriting programs to drive top line sales and producer/customer satisfaction. The responsibilities also include claims, recissions, and ownership and monitoring of programs such as fluidless underwriting. This team will also continue to focus on risk management for Disability Income and Long Term Care.
You will partner with Distribution, Product, Corporate Actuarial, Reinsurance and the Chief Life Underwriters. Through that partnership, your focus will be to create a culture focused on learning and development, while maintaining a strong risk culture. You will operationalize the strategy and implement solutions to improve underwriters, producer/advisor/financial professional and customer experience. You will demonstrate accountability, agility, a dedication to being inclusive, a strong business acumen, and will show courage, even in the most difficult situations. You will have strong communication skills, exhibit a passion for learning, show strong leadership traits, resilience, and self-awareness.

The Team

Each day, our underwriting team plays an important role collaborating with our distribution partners and customers to enable families to protect their loved ones. To ensure we're best positioned to do so, our life underwriting community is guided by the following principles:

• Cultivate a culture of growth, development and coaching;

• Establish clear roles and accountabilities at all levels of the organization; and 

• Establish fair and reasonable governance and controls, all of which 

• Create an underwriting space that is an enjoyable place to work.

Shared competencies for the team include a learning mind-set that seeks to collaborate and support each other, along with our partners, with excellence, commitment and a passion for our mission of helping more people protect the ones they love.

THE IMPACT

You are responsible for maintaining the Non-medical Underwriting Manuals. Also, you will lead the work to propose new or expanded opportunities (guideline or program changes) for underwriting based on analysis. Guidelines/Programs should drive top line sales and producer/customer satisfaction. Maintain technical oversight and monitoring of all underwriting programs and guidelines. Meeting regularly with peers, reinsurers, startups and study groups will ensure you keep a pulse on industry changes, pain points, opportunities. You will be responsible for Field Communications/Marketing/ Competitiveness relative to the underwriting programs and guidelines. Seek feedback on new guidelines or markets; market those changes to promote our underwriting competitiveness.

Collaboration is an important part of this role, including with Engagement & Enablement on any training needs for new or changed guidelines, as well as any learning themes requested by the operational underwriting organization. Partner with legal and compliance on recissions and claims investigations. Identify opportunities to use new reinsurance tools and partner with reinsurance on any guideline changes.

Actively network with industry contacts to gain competitive insights and best practices.

Maintain relationship/work close with Corporate Actuaries, Product and Enterprise Risk Management. Responsible for ensuring that underwriting strategy and risk assessment are aligned with the needs of other internal organizations and ensure that the risk selection process complies with regulatory requirements.

Develops and monitors the Underwriting risk management framework that includes the governance framework and practices leveraged across MM Underwiring functions to manage market risk. Work with stakeholders to implement the methodology, metrics, and program standards to ensure compliance and effective monitoring, timely reporting and identification of action plans. Owns ongoing fluidless program, participates in data science rules engine analysis

Interprets new regulations and assesses impacts to the governance framework.

Identifies emerging issues and trends to inform decision-making and guideline changes.

Fosters a culture aligned to our purpose, values and strategy and role models values and behaviors in all that they do.

Partner closely with Product, Finance, Sales & Distribution, Digital Customer Care, Technology and Legal/Compliance functions.

You will lead an underwriting governance organization of approximately 15 employees developing and retaining a talented, diverse and highly engaged workforce. You will foster a culture aligned to our purpose, values and strategy and you will role model our values and behaviors in all that they do.

Implement and support process improvement across the teams responsibilities. They will challenge the status quo and bring the organization forward in its approach to all aspects of their roles. This priority will ensure risk selection excellence while the organization drives to sustainable and material improvement to operations cost, quality, and turn-around time. This aligns with the broader strategy of MMUS (i.e. ease of doing business for producers and customers, efficient cost base).

Identify and monitor key performance metrics for underwriting programs. You will identify and implement key performance metrics, establish methods to appropriately monitor program results against targets and adjust programs based on results versus expectations.

Strong partnership with other businesses across the company, including Corporate Actuarial, Product and Enterprise Risk Management. Participate in corporate new product projects to represent underwriting risk governance perspective, as needed.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 15+ years of Life Underwriting experience

• Authority limit of $25m or higher at MassMutual or a prior carrier

• Demonstrated experience leading an underwriting production function

• Demonstrated knowledge of all aspects of risk selection (medical, non-medical, financial).

• Understand medical terminology with the ability to make sound risk decisions on medical data.

• Proven ability to interact and collaborate effectively with others, viewed by peers, home office associates, field associates and underwriting management as the ultimate professional in risk selection.

• Must be eligible to work in the US without sponsorship

THE IDEAL QUALIFICATIONS

• College and advanced degree preferred.

• Industry designations/education (FALU, FLMI, CLU) preferred.

• Experience working with reinsurers.

• Strong people leadership capability.

• Management expertise.

• Excellent communication skills; analytical, negotiating and interpretative skills required.

• Excellent interpersonal skills.

• Experience working with all types of distribution channels.

• Strong knowledge of value of new business, profits and product shelf and riders to prudently manage mortality and morbidity.

• Strategic thinker, problem solver, staffing and building scalability, succession plans and talent management

#LI-LS1

#LI-REMOTE

Salary Range: $199,300 to $250,000 plus annual bonus and long-term incentives

MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.
If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.

Offers of employment are contingent on the completion of satisfactory references, background investigation, and (if applicable) any federal securities law requirements/FINRA regulations (including fingerprinting) and/or passing of a drug screening.

At MassMutual, we focus on ensuring fair, equitable pay by providing competitive salaries, along with incentive and bonus opportunities for all employees. Your total compensation package includes either a bonus target or in a sales-focused role a Variable Incentive Compensation component. For more information about our extensive benefits offerings please check out our Total Rewards at a Glance.