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Director of Life Underwriting

Bangalore, India

About Ethos

Ethos was built to make it faster and easier to get life insurance for the next million families. Our approach blends industry expertise, technology, and the human touch to find you the right policy to protect your loved ones. 

We leverage deep technology and data science to streamline the life insurance process, making it more accessible and convenient. Using predictive analytics, we are able to transform a traditionally multi-week process into a modern digital experience for our users that can take just minutes! We’ve issued billions in coverage each month and eliminated the traditional barriers, ushering the industry into the modern age. Our full-stack technology platform is the backbone of family financial health.

We make getting life insurance easier, faster and better for everyone. 

Our investors include General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Google Ventures, SoftBank, and the investment vehicles of Jay-Z, Kevin Durant, Robert Downey Jr and others. This year, we were named on CB Insights' Global Insurtech 50 list and BuiltIn's Top 100 Midsize Companies in San Francisco. We are scaling quickly and looking for passionate people to protect the next million families! 

About the Role

The Director of Life Underwriting will play a critical role in overseeing and driving the performance, and efficiency life underwriting function at Ethos. This senior leadership role is responsible for managing and optimizing life underwriting production, ensuring a seamless, customer-centric, and profitable underwriting process while maintaining the company’s risk management and compliance standards.

The role will lead a team of life underwriting professionals, collaborate with other departments and utilize data-driven insights to implement best practices, streamline operations, and improve underwriting efficiency. This position requires a strong combination of leadership, technical underwriting expertise, and operational management experience.

Roles & Responsibilities:

1. Leadership & Strategic Oversight

  • Provide leadership, vision, and direction to the life underwriting team, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
  • Develop and implement underwriting policies and processes that improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, and support profitable business growth.
  • Mentor and develop a high-performing team of underwriting managers,and build a strong bench of future leaders.

2. Underwriting Operations & Efficiency

  • Ensure that the underwriting department operates within established quality and productivity standards, compliance frameworks, and regulatory requirements.
  • Oversee the day-to-day operations of the underwriting department, ensuring that policies are underwritten in accordance with company guidelines, regulatory standards, and risk tolerance.
  • Monitor and manage underwriting capacity and resource allocation to ensure service level agreements (SLAs) are met and underwriting quality is maintained.
  • Collaborate with IT and Operations to implement innovative technologies (e.g., automation, AI, machine learning) that improve underwriting accuracy, speed, and efficiency.

3.Data & Analytics

  • Leverage data analytics to assess the effectiveness of production underwriting practices, identify trends, and improve decision-making processes.
  • Develop and present key performance metrics (KPIs) and operational reports to senior leadership, providing insights into underwriting performance, productivity, and profitability.

Qualifications and Skills:

Education & Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Actuarial Science, Insurance, or a related field (Master's degree preferred).
  • A minimum of 10-15 years of experience in life insurance underwriting, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
  • Extensive knowledge of life insurance products, underwriting processes, and industry regulations.
  • Proven experience in leading underwriting operations, managing large teams, and driving performance improvements.
  • Strong understanding of data analytics, underwriting technology platforms, and automation tools.
  • Professional certifications such as FLMI, ALMI, or other relevant underwriting/designations preferred.

Skills & Competencies:

  • Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a diverse team, drive change, and develop talent.
  • Strategic Thinking: Strong ability to set a vision and execute strategic initiatives to achieve business goals.
  • Analytical Skills: Excellent quantitative and qualitative analysis skills, with a focus on data-driven decision-making.
  • Communication: Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
  • Problem Solving: Creative and resourceful in identifying solutions to complex operational and underwriting challenges.
  • Technology Savvy: Familiarity with underwriting software, automation tools, and data analytics platforms.

#LI-Hybrid

#LI-ND1

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. At Ethos we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace.

We are an equal opportunity employer who values diversity and inclusion and look for applicants who understand, embrace and thrive in a multicultural world. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Pursuant to the SF Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider employment for qualified applicants with arrests and conviction records.

To learn more about what information we collect and how it may be used, please refer to our California Candidate Privacy Notice.

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