VP, HNW Underwriting

Singlife is a leading homegrown financial services company, offering consumers a better way to financial freedom. Through innovative, technology-enabled solutions and a wide range of products and services, Singlife provides consumers control over their financial wellbeing at every stage of their lives.

In addition to a comprehensive suite of insurance plans, employee benefits, partnerships with financial adviser channels and bancassurance, Singlife offers investment and advisory solutions through its GROW with Singlife platform. It also offers the Singlife Account, a mobile-first insurance savings plan.

Singlife is the exclusive insurance provider for the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Officers Group Insurance Scheme. Singlife is also an official signatory of the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance and the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, affirming its commitment to finding a better way to sustainability.

The merger of Aviva Singapore and Singlife was announced in September 2020 and created one of the largest homegrown financial services companies in Singapore in a deal valued at S$3.2 billion. It was the largest insurance deal in Singapore at the time. Singlife was subsequently acquired by Sumitomo Life in March 2024, one of Japan's leading life insurers, which valued Singlife at S$4.6 billion, making the transaction one of the largest insurance deals in Southeast Asia.

Key Appointments

The role is responsible for underwriting complex, high-value life and health insurance risks for affluent and high-net-worth clients. The role ensures sound risk selection, pricing adequacy, clear documentation of underwriting rationale and tailored underwriting solutions in full compliance with MAS regulatory expectations, internal underwriting philosophy, reinsurance treaty limits and AML/CFT requirements, while enabling sustainable business growth through close partnership with private banking, wealth, broker and adviser distribution channels.

Key Responsibilities

Risk Assessment & Underwriting

· Assess large and complex life cases (e.g., USD multi-million sum assured, jumbo cases) and cases assigned by immediate manager

· Evaluate underwriting risks including:

o Medical risk (including non-standard impairments, global medical records)

o Lifestyle risk (e.g., travel, occupation)

o Financial risk (income, net worth, liabilities)

· Apply appropriate underwriting actions: Loadings, exclusions, ratings, postponements, or declines

· Exercise judgment within delegated underwriting authority limits.

· Refer cases above delegated authority or outside treaty parameters to the appropriate approver or reinsurer, with complete case analysis and recommendation.

· Maintain complete underwriting notes, evidence trails and decision rationale for audit, quality assurance, reinsurance and regulatory review purposes.

Financial & Due Diligence Review

· Assess source of wealth, income sustainability, and insurable interest.

· Review financial documents (e.g., audited statements, trust structures, investment portfolios).

· Ensure compliance with AML/CFT requirements and internal policies.

· Assess beneficial ownership, complex shareholding, trust, family office and cross-border structures where relevant to insurable interest and financial justification.

· Identify and escalate unusual financial, residency, sanctions, tax, source-of-funds or reputational risk indicators in line with internal procedures.

Stakeholder Collaboration

· Partner closely with Distribution (Private Bankers, Wealth Managers, Brokers, HNW Advisors).

· Provide underwriting inputs to pre-sales activities.

· Engage reinsurers for underwriting support, and negotiating terms where required.

· Engage and consult Pricing team on cases that require further interventions.

Client-Centric Solutions

· Structure bespoke underwriting solutions aligned with client needs (e.g., estate planning, wealth preservation).

· Support HNW business growth and commercial objectives through Balance appropriate execution of underwriting risk assessment based on established underwriting guidelines and procedures.

· Deliver timely and high-quality underwriting decisions to enhance client experience.

· Provide clear, commercially balanced explanations of underwriting decisions to distribution partners while maintaining confidentiality and fair customer outcomes.

Portfolio & Risk Management

· Monitor portfolio quality, concentration risks, and claims trends.

· Contribute to underwriting guidelines, risk frameworks, and product development.

· Support audits, regulatory reviews, and internal governance processes.

· Leverage on data and tools to identify risk exposures, enhance underwriting quality, and improve competitiveness.

· Support quality assurance reviews, peer reviews and case calibration to ensure consistent application of underwriting philosophy and delegated authority.

· Monitor HNW underwriting experience, referral patterns, exception cases and reinsurance outcomes to identify improvements in guidelines, evidence requirements and case handling.

Market & Product Expertise

· Stay abreast of market trends in HNW segment (e.g., family offices, luxury assets, global mobility).

· Provide input into product innovation and competitor benchmarking.

· Maintain awareness of emerging HNW planning needs including legacy planning, estate equalisation, business continuity, family office structures and cross-border mobility.

Qualifications & Experience

· Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Actuarial Science, or related discipline

· Professional certifications preferred: ACII, FLMI

· 5–12+ years of underwriting experience, with strong exposure to HNW / affluent segment

· Strong case authority experience handling large-sum assured, jumbo, facultative or non-standard life and health cases, with ability to justify decisions clearly and independently.

· Experience working with private banks or HNW distribution channels in Singapore or Asia is highly preferred

· Experience engaging reinsurers, medical consultants, compliance, financial crime and actuarial stakeholders on complex cases is preferred.

Key Skills & Competencies

· Strong financial underwriting expertise (income multiples, HNW balance sheet analysis)

· Deep understanding of Singapore regulatory environment (MAS)

· Ability to assess complex ownership and wealth structures

· Commercial acumen with strong stakeholder management (private bankers, advisors)

· High judgment capability in ambiguous, bespoke cases

· Strong communication skills to articulate underwriting decisions clearly

· Strong documentation discipline, with ability to record underwriting rationale, assumptions, evidence gaps and escalation decisions clearly.

· Strong governance mindset, including comfort with audit, QA, reinsurance review and regulatory scrutiny.