The Standard

Vice President, Underwriting - Life, Absence, Disability (LAD)

The Standard$211K — $357K *
Finance & Insurance
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Math or related field; advanced degree preferred.
  • 12-15 years of experience in Group Insurance or financial services, with a focus on underwriting.
  • At least 10 years of progressively responsible group underwriting experience.
  • 5+ years in management positions, particularly in complex national accounts.
  • Strong understanding of workplace benefits, life, absence, and disability products.

Responsibilities

  • Own and lead the LAD underwriting strategy to drive profitable growth and risk management.
  • Develop and foster a high-performance culture within the underwriting team.
  • Collaborate with sales and other cross-functional teams to enhance underwriting results.
  • Innovate tools and processes for efficiency and compliance in underwriting operations.
  • Monitor industry trends and integrate technologies for better underwriting practices.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits.
  • 401(k) plan with company matching contributions.
  • Annual incentive bonus plan.
  • Generous paid time off including 11 holidays, 2 wellness days, and 8 volunteer hours yearly.
  • Paid parental leave and assistance for adoption/surrogacy.
  • Employee giving program that double matches donations.
Full Job Description
Job Summary

In Life Absence and Disability Underwriting (LAD), our mission is to is to help build the financial foundation for The Standard to deliver on our promise. We sell a promise every day. Responsible risk selection and management, pricing and growth helps ensure we can back that promise.

The VP of LAD Underwriting is a highly influential level role that reports to the head of Life, Absence and Disability (LAD). You are part of the LAD executive team and closely collaborating with the senior leadership in LAD Actuarial and Sales to drive profitability and premium growth through solid risk selection decisions. You are responsible for leading nearly 200 employees in both the LAD risk and LAD medical underwriting department in the Employee Benefits division, creating vision and strategy, and driving profitable growth objectives. In this leadership role, you will build on an already strong foundation with deep expertise and experience, while helping shape the future through innovation, technology and people development.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead the Employee Benefits Underwriting Organization: Own the LAD underwriting strategy, risk management and operations ensuring appropriate pricing, plan design and overall risk selection to drive profitable growth, strong persistency and sustainable financial outcomes. Manage the entire lifecycle of the customer. Design and implement consistent underwriting strategies and practice.

Department Leadership: Invest in and develop the LAD Underwriting department to continue creating a culture of high performance, accountability, and innovation across teams. Build a high-performing leadership bench, develop future underwriting talent, strengthen succession plans, and foster a culture of accountability, innovation and collaboration.

Continue to grow Partnerships: Collaborate with sales in an unrivaled way to produce industry leading underwriting results that create a competitive advantage for The Standard. Partner with cross-functional teams in actuarial, compliance, legal client management, IT, Strategy, AI Applications, Claims and Customer Service.

Growth and Sustainability: Innovate and implement tools and processes that improve efficiency and compliance with metrics. Ensuring a sustainable future through laser focus on compliance and ethical standards and solutions.

Market Knowledge and Trends: Monitor industry trends and integrate new technologies to improve underwriting accuracy and efficiency, with a mind toward marketplace competitive advantages.

Expertise: Requires advanced planning, facilitation and leadership skills as well as advanced knowledge of underwriting policies and strategies, contract provisions, negotiations and sales strategies and alternate funding techniques.

Executive Leadership: Serve as a senior member of the LAD executive team, helping shape enterprise strategy and represent underwriting in key business decisions. Influence across Sales, Actuarial, Claims, Finance, Technology, and other enterprise partners to align underwriting priorities with profitable growth, customer experience, and long-term strategic objectives.

Skills and Background You'll Need:

  • Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Math or related field. Preferred advanced degree.


  • Experience: Minimum of twelve to fifteen years progressive experience in Group Insurance or financial services industries with a preference of at least ten years of progressively responsible group underwriting experience, including 5 years in complex national accounts business, with a minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in management positions, demonstrated experience in successfully partnering cross organization to achieve business results, strong background in workplace benefits life, absence and disability products.


  • Professional certification required: N/A


Key Behaviors of a Successful Candidate:

  • Driving Success - Leads with a sense of purpose and direction; tackles challenges directly and adapts plans in response to setbacks or constraints


  • Adaptability- Acts as an ambassador of change for the organization by supporting and advocating for change initiatives across the organization


  • Winning Together - Fosters an environment that encourages strong debate on critical organizational issues; challenges established ideas, assumptions and views to encourage new thinking that propels the organization forward


  • Engaging Hearts and Minds- Demonstrates authenticity and holds management teams accountable for establishing a culture of mutual respect and appreciation across the organization.


#LI-Remote

Why Join The Standard?

We have built an enduring legacy of stability, financial strength and exceptional customer service through the contributions of the service-oriented people who choose to work at The Standard. To ensure we can attract and retain the best talent, when you join The Standard you can expect:
  • A rich benefits package including medical, dental, vision and a 401(k) plan with matching company contributions
  • An annual incentive bonus plan
  • Generous paid time off including 11 holidays, 2 wellness days, and 8 volunteer hours annually - PTO increases with tenure
  • A supportive, responsive management approach and opportunities for career growth and advancement
  • Paid parental leave and adoption/surrogacy assistance
  • An employee giving program that double matches your donations to eligible nonprofits and schools


In addition to the competitive salary range below, our employee-focused benefits support work-life balance. Learn more about working at The Standard.
  • Eligibility to participate in an incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program and plan. Any award depends on a variety of factors including individual and organizational performance.


The actual compensation for this role will be based on a combination of education and experience, knowledge and skills, position budget, internal equity, and market data.

Salary Range:
$211,250.00 - $357,500.00

Positions will be posted for at least 5 days from original posting date.

About The Standard

The Standard is a financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, and investment products to individuals and businesses. The company's insurance products include life, disability, and dental insurance. The Standard also offers retirement plans, such as 401(k) and pension plans, and investment products, including mutual funds and annuities. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The Standard has over 3,000 employees and serves customers across the United States.
Learn more about The Standard
Size
3,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1998

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