Underwriting Administrator (Zestlife)

Introduction Are you a detail-oriented, client-focused professional with a passion for making smart, informed decisions?

Do you thrive in a fast-paced, goal-driven environment where your contributions directly impact customer satisfaction and risk management? Then Zestlife wants you on our team.

We're looking for an Underwriting Administrator to join our dynamic Credit Life Underwriting department, where every decision counts and every client matters.

Disclaimer As an applicant, please verify the legitimacy of this job advert on our company career page
Role Purpose To manage and administer the underwriting process for life insurance applications by assessing risk, conducting tele-underwriting, and ensuring all decisions and records are handled accurately and efficiently

The Underwriting Administrator ensures compliance with underwriting standards, delivers service excellence to clients and colleagues, and contributes to a smooth and professional onboarding experience for new policyholders—supporting Zestlife’s commitment to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and operational excellence.

Requirements

• 
  Education:
  • Matric (Grade 12) required
  • Tertiary qualification in a medical field is advantageous
• Experience:
  • Minimum 2 years in life insurance underwriting (medical underwriting preferred)
  • Familiarity with tele-underwriting and use of SwissRe underwriting manual
• Skills:
  • Intermediate MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook)
  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy
  • Excellent communication, time management, and organizational skills
  • Ability to manage workloads under pressure and meet daily targets
• Attributes:
  • Client-focused with a service excellence mindset
  • Proactive, self-motivated, and solutions-oriented
  • Team player with a strong sense of accountability
  • Commitment to Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles

Duties & Responsibilities

• To adhere to the standard underwriting process and guidelines.
• To extract the days underwriting cases and to accurately process all underwriting cases within the SLA agreement of 24 to 48 hours.
• To contact the identified potential clients and to do the tele-underwriting and to make the appropriate underwriting decisions by using the SwissRe underwriting manual within the stipulated turnaround time.
• To be professional and to provide a high level of service excellence when interacting telephonically with clients relating to their application and with the sales agents and other colleagues.
• To update the underwriting source file with the decision made and to inform the relevant sales agent accordingly.
• To ensure that all the daily underwriting admin work is correctly carried out by double checking that the workflow records have been updated, decision recorded, and the form saved to the client folder.
• To send the declined communication to clients whose applications were unsuccessful.
• To resolve 20 underwriting cases per day.
• To resolve undelivered communications relating to a client’s policy by contacting the client and updating the contact details when the underwriting cases are insufficient to meet your daily target.
• Upload underwriting decision and underwriting form to the client record on the system.
• To ensure that you respond to and resolve underwriting requests with the maximum TAT of 48 hours.
• To notify your manager of any priority issues, queries for escalation or complaints received.
• To be creative and use your initiative in resolving outstanding cases so that the underwriting decision can be finalised.
• Think of working smarter and of ways to improve the process and to add value to the client’s new business policy on boarding experience.
• You are responsible to ensure that you fully understand the relevant Zestlife insurance products, the administration processes, and the systems so that you can operate efficiently and are competent in your job as an underwriter.
• To daily maintain your workflow Inbox tasks and any stat records for workflow management.
• To identify any additional training needs to be provided to the sales agents relating to the Asset Life credit protection product and to identify any improvement in the underwriting business process.

Competencies

• 
  Technical Proficiency
  • Strong knowledge of life insurance underwriting and policy administration
  • Skilled in using systems (e.g., OWLS) and MS Office tools
• Accuracy & Decision-Making
  • High attention to detail
  • Sound judgment in assessing risk and resolving cases
  • Excellent time management under strict deadlines
• Communication & Client Service
  • Clear and professional verbal/written communication
  • Customer-focused with a commitment to service excellence and TCF principles
  • Effective collaboration with team members and sales agents
• Behavioral Strengths
  • Proactive and self-motivated
  • Resilient under pressure
  • Accountable and eager to improve processes and outcomes