ZSIC General Insurance Limited is a leading provider of customer-centric general insurance solutions, committed to excellence, integrity, and strong corporate governance. As an equal opportunity employer and a proud member of the IDC Group of Companies, we continue to build a high-performance culture driven by professionalism, innovation, and excellent service.

We are therefore inviting applications from suitably qualified, experienced, and results-driven professionals to fill the following position:

UNDERWRITING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Reporting to: Chief Technical Operations Officer

JOB PURPOSE

To provide strategic leadership and technical oversight in underwriting and insurance product development by ensuring sound risk selection, pricing discipline, and innovative product design that supports profitability, market competitiveness, regulatory compliance, and sustainable growth of ZSIC General Insurance Limited in line with the Strategic Business Plan.

Responsibilities or duties

• Develops, implements and reviews underwriting strategies, policies and frameworks across all classes of general insurance business.
• Ensures consistent application of underwriting standards, authority limits and pricing guidelines across Head Office and branches.
• Provides technical leadership and oversight to underwriting teams to ensure quality, consistency and risk discipline.
• Approves complex, high-value or non-standard risks within delegated authority levels.
• Leads the design, development and review of insurance products to meet market demand, customer needs and regulatory requirements.
• Conducts market research, customer analysis and competitor benchmarking to inform product innovation and enhancement.
• Works with actuarial, reinsurance, claims and business development teams to ensure products are commercially viable and technically sound.
• Oversees product pricing, policy wording development and product approval processes.
• Monitors underwriting portfolio performance, including premium growth, loss ratios, claims trends and profitability.
• Identifies adverse trends and recommends corrective actions to improve underwriting outcomes and risk selection.
• Ensures effective accumulation control, exposure management and portfolio diversification.
• Produces underwriting and product performance reports for management and governance committees.
• Works closely with the Reinsurance Unit to align underwriting strategy with reinsurance structures and capacity.
• Provides technical input into reinsurance programme design, treaty negotiations and facultative placements.
• Ensures underwriting decisions are consistent with reinsurance arrangements and retention limits.
• Provides technical underwriting and product support to Business Development, Corporate, SME, Retail and Branch teams.
• Participates in key client, broker and stakeholder engagements to support business growth and retention.
• Advises senior management on underwriting capacity, product positioning and market opportunities.
• Ensures underwriting and product development activities comply with insurance regulations, corporate governance requirements and internal policies.
• Oversees the maintenance and periodic review of underwriting manuals, guidelines and authority frameworks.
• Supports internal and external audits, regulatory inspections and compliance reviews.
• Ensures effective risk management controls are embedded in underwriting and product processes.

Qualifications or requirements 

• Grade 12 Certificate.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance, Actuarial Science, Business Administration, Finance, Risk Management or related field.
• ZADA Certified Qualifications.

Experience needed

• Minimum of 6 years of experience.

• In-depth knowledge of general insurance underwriting principles and product structures.
• Strong product development, pricing and policy wording expertise.
• Sound understanding of reinsurance, capacity management and portfolio optimisation.
• Strong analytical, financial and risk assessment skills.
• Excellent leadership, stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to interpret insurance regulations and ensure compliance.
• Proficiency in insurance systems, underwriting tools and MS Office Suite.

• Develops, implements and reviews underwriting strategies, policies and frameworks across all classes of general insurance business.
• Ensures consistent application of underwriting standards, authority limits and pricing guidelines across Head Office and branches.
• Provides technical leadership and oversight to underwriting teams to ensure quality, consistency and risk discipline.
• Approves complex, high-value or non-standard risks within delegated authority levels.
• Leads the design, development and review of insurance products to meet market demand, customer needs and regulatory requirements.
• Conducts market research, customer analysis and competitor benchmarking to inform product innovation and enhancement.
• Works with actuarial, reinsurance, claims and business development teams to ensure products are commercially viable and technically sound.
• Oversees product pricing, policy wording development and product approval processes.
• Monitors underwriting portfolio performance, including premium growth, loss ratios, claims trends and profitability.
• Identifies adverse trends and recommends corrective actions to improve underwriting outcomes and risk selection.
• Ensures effective accumulation control, exposure management and portfolio diversification.
• Produces underwriting and product performance reports for management and governance committees.
• Works closely with the Reinsurance Unit to align underwriting strategy with reinsurance structures and capacity.
• Provides technical input into reinsurance programme design, treaty negotiations and facultative placements.
• Ensures underwriting decisions are consistent with reinsurance arrangements and retention limits.
• Provides technical underwriting and product support to Business Development, Corporate, SME, Retail and Branch teams.
• Participates in key client, broker and stakeholder engagements to support business growth and retention.
• Advises senior management on underwriting capacity, product positioning and market opportunities.
• Ensures underwriting and product development activities comply with insurance regulations, corporate governance requirements and internal policies.
• Oversees the maintenance and periodic review of underwriting manuals, guidelines and authority frameworks.
• Supports internal and external audits, regulatory inspections and compliance reviews.
• Ensures effective risk management controls are embedded in underwriting and product processes.

• In-depth knowledge of general insurance underwriting principles and product structures.
• Strong product development, pricing and policy wording expertise.
• Sound understanding of reinsurance, capacity management and portfolio optimisation.
• Strong analytical, financial and risk assessment skills.
• Excellent leadership, stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to interpret insurance regulations and ensure compliance.
• Proficiency in insurance systems, underwriting tools and MS Office Suite.

• Grade 12 Certificate.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Insurance, Actuarial Science, Business Administration, Finance, Risk Management or related field.
• ZADA Certified Qualifications.