New Business Consultant at Absa Bank Limited

Job Summary

Responsible for end-to-end underwriting for retail products. To implement company Underwriting Best Practice standards and IRA guidelines and regulations. Undertake periodic financial, actuarial, and non-financial reconciliation.

Job Description

Accountability: End to end management of the Underwriting process. (60%)

• Manage daily operations of the new business/underwriting process within set turnaround time.
• Reconcile all received application forms across physical and soft copies and digital channels.
• Transcribe hardcopy and soft copy applications into workflow system.
• Manage incomplete application cases within the set turnaround time.
• Distribution of the sales stationery to the sales team.
• Prepare and coordinate archiving and off-site storage and retrieval.
• Ensure timely and effective reporting to internal stakeholders, agents, and brokers.
• Ensure daily reconciliation and receipting of new business premiums and subsequent accounting for commissions, taxes, premium billing etc.
• Manage the incoming and outgoing mailing including client correspondence received physically. 
• Undertake trainings for key stakeholders to improve on operational efficiency.
• Handle medical underwriting for the above Free Cover Limit applications.
• Maintain an archive inventory of all documents archived and dispatched to storage.
• Service new onboarded intermediaries and perform all necessary checks.

Accountability: Customer Service and Stakeholder Engagement (20%)

• Adhere to the Query and complaint categorization and response standards to ensure client queries and complaints are dealt with timeously, efficiently, and professionally.
• Ensure corrective action is taken on complaints received by following correct procedure and input and provided feedback for root cause analysis and resolution.
• Adherence to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles.
• Provide superior customer service by proactively and timeously obtaining outstanding documentation to ensure complete efficient claims processing.
• Provide regular feedback and escalate concerns to the Manager: Risk Mitigation where process gaps should be addressed.
• Provide underwriting and claims technical support to operation, business development and accounts departments in all phases of policy life cycle.
• Have regular meetings to review statuses, claims and underwriting progress etc with insurers and all stakeholders.
• Attend industry engagements on innovation and best practices to help improve performance, and quality standards.
• Query and complaint Case Management and resolution matrix to support Customer Experience Help Desk and relationship managed business.

Accountability: Reinsurance Liaison (10%)

• End-to-end processing of full underwriting for retail products.
• Preparation of monthly reinsurance bordereaux end-to-end for retail products.
• Review underwriting special cases to effectively discharge Underwriting Best practice guidelines within required turnaround time.
• Review and settlement of medical invoices.

Accountability:  Control Environment (5%)

• Delivering operational excellence in achieving quality, cost, and service standards on assigned work from time to time.
• Ensure that all activities and duties are carried out in full compliance with regulatory requirements, Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework and internal Absa Policies and Policy Standards. Understand and manage risks and risk events (incidents) relevant to the role.

Accountability: Operational agreements and Standards (5%)

• Maintain up to date knowledge of the Intermediary Master Agreement; Service Level Agreement; Operation Level Agreement.
• Execute the monitoring and evaluation of these agreements and initiate necessary mechanism or remediation to meet the standards.
• Provide report to Team Leader(s) and/or Operations Manager on the execution of these agreements.
• Adhere to Absa query and complaint management process

Education

Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)