Kemper · 9 hours ago
Director, Underwriting
United States
Full-time
Remote
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$112K/yr - $187K/yr
10+ years expKemper is one of the nation’s leading specialized insurers, and they are seeking a Director of Underwriting to provide strategic and operational leadership for the life underwriting function. This role involves overseeing underwriting policies, driving innovation, and ensuring alignment with business systems analytics to achieve profitability and risk discipline.
ConsumerFinancial ServicesInsurance
No H1B
Responsibilities
Define and execute the long-term underwriting strategy, balancing growth, profitability, and automation goals
Provide enterprise oversight of underwriting risk across both manual and automated decisioning, with particular emphasis on governance, controls, and outcomes of rules-based and straight-through processing to ensure appropriate risk selection
Establish enterprise-wide underwriting policies, standards, and risk frameworks that ensure regulatory compliance, financial integrity, and alignment with pricing assumptions and defined risk tolerances to support profitable growth
Lead and develop underwriting leaders and teams, including direct supervision of the Business Systems Analyst, Underwriting
Ensure seamless integration of underwriting policies with the UW Pro rules engine to support high STP rates and appropriate risk tolerances
Set and monitor performance metrics for both underwriting outcomes and system-enabled efficiency
Champion digital transformation by guiding the configuration and optimization of the UW Pro system in partnership with the BSA and IT teams
Drive initiatives to automate underwriting decisions, leveraging analytics and business rules engines to improve speed, accuracy, and customer experience
Oversee testing, change management, and audit readiness for system updates and enhancements
Partner with executive leadership, actuary, product, legal, and IT to inform risk selection, pricing strategies, and product development
Represent the underwriting organization in strategic planning, vendor negotiations, and external stakeholder meetings
Stay current on industry trends, regulatory developments, and emerging underwriting technologies, and lead the evaluation and implementation of tools and capabilities that enhance risk assessment, efficiency, and customer experience
Build a high-performing, inclusive underwriting culture with clear succession planning and leadership development
Provide coaching and career development for managers, underwriters, and the BSA to foster continuous improvement and innovation
Additional duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in business, finance, actuarial science, or related field; advanced degree or professional designations (e.g., FALU, FLMI, CLU) strongly preferred
10+ years of progressive life insurance underwriting experience, with at least 5 years in senior management or executive leadership
Demonstrated success integrating underwriting strategy with technology platforms and automation initiatives
Deep expertise in life underwriting principles, risk assessment, and regulatory requirements
Strong understanding of business rules engines or decisioning tools
Preferred
Experience with Sapiens UW Pro and STP (Straight Through Processing) is preferred
Exceptional strategic thinking, analytical ability, and executive-level communication skills
Benefits
Medical
Dental
Vision
PTO
401k
Company
Kemper
Kemper is a financial organization providing insurance and consumer finance solutions for individuals and small businesses.
5001-10000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$400M2022-02-15Post Ipo Debt· $400M
1996-01-01Acquired
1990-04-27IPO
Leadership Team
Maxwell Mindak
Senior Vice President Treasurer and Chief Risk Officer
Recent News
MarketScreener
2025-02-25
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