The posting
Position Summary
The Manager, Life Insurance Operations leads a cross-trained frontline team responsible for the day-to-day execution of New Business processing, Underwriting support, Claims administration (both Contestable and Noncontestable), and Policy Accounting transactions. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor leadership role: the Manager directly supervises frontline associates, sets daily priorities, resolves escalations, and ensures accurate, compliant, and timely execution across the policy lifecycle. This role does not manage other managers or supervisors — it is accountable for the performance, quality, and development of frontline staff and for the operational output of the team.
Major Responsibilities
Team Leadership & Daily Operations
- Directly supervise, coach, and develop a team of frontline associates handling New Business, Underwriting support, Claims, and Policy Accounting transactions.
- Assign and balance daily work queues across functions based on volume, complexity, and staff capability.
- Monitor individual and team productivity, quality, and service-level performance; provide regular coaching and documented performance feedback.
- Conduct one-on-ones, team huddles, and skills training to build cross-functional proficiency across all four disciplines.
- Own hiring, onboarding, and performance management (including corrective action) for the associate team, in partnership with HR.
New Business Processing
- Oversee day-to-day intake, data entry, and processing of new applications through policy issue.
- Ensure associates meet cycle-time and accuracy targets; troubleshoot stalled or incomplete cases.
- Serve as the point of escalation for producer or applicant issues that frontline associates cannot resolve.
Underwriting Support
- Ensure non-medical and administrative underwriting support tasks (ordering requirements, data verification, file preparation) are completed timely and accurately.
- Partner with underwriters to clear bottlenecks and ensure case files are complete and audit-ready.
- Monitor adherence to documented underwriting workflow standards and escalate process gaps.
Claims Administration — Contestable & Noncontestable
- Oversee frontline handling of noncontestable claims, ensuring timely, accurate payment within regulatory turnaround requirements.
- Oversee frontline intake and documentation support for contestable claims investigations, ensuring files are thorough and well-organized for underwriting/legal review.
- Ensure associates properly identify and escalate claims with fraud indicators, material misrepresentation concerns, or litigation potential.
- Review claim files for quality and compliance prior to payment or denial communication; approve transactions within assigned authority limits.
- Track team-level claims metrics (turnaround time, pending inventory, complaint counts) and drive corrective action on gaps.
Policy Accounting
- Oversee associate-level processing of premium accounting, billing, disbursements, and policy value transactions.
- Ensure timely reconciliation of daily/monthly transactions and prompt resolution of discrepancies.
- Ensure compliance with escheatment/unclaimed property requirements and statutory processing deadlines.
Quality, Compliance & Reporting
- Conduct quality audits of associate work across all four functions; identify trends and implement corrective training.
- Ensure team adherence to regulatory requirements, company policy, and documented procedures.
- Prepare and deliver regular performance reporting to department leadership (volumes, SLAs, quality, error rates).
- Support internal/external audits and regulatory exams by providing documentation and process walkthroughs for the team's work.
- Identify and recommend process improvements; participate in testing and rollout of new procedures, forms, and system enhancements.
Skills & Knowledge Required
Technical / Industry Knowledge
- Working knowledge of life insurance products (term, whole life, universal life) and the policy lifecycle.
- Understanding of basic underwriting concepts and risk classification terminology.
- Familiarity with contestability periods, incontestability clauses, and the distinction between contestable and noncontestable claims handling.
- Knowledge of claims documentation standards and fraud-indicator recognition.
- Understanding of policy accounting transactions (premium billing, disbursements, values) and basic statutory processing requirements.
- Awareness of applicable state insurance regulations and unfair claims practices standards relevant to frontline processing.
Operational Skills
- Workforce/queue management and daily production planning.
- Proficiency with policy administration, underwriting, and claims administration systems.
- Quality audit and root-cause analysis skills.
- Strong working knowledge of MS Office/reporting tools; comfort with data to track team performance.
Leadership & Interpersonal Skills
- Direct supervisory experience: coaching, performance management, and associate development.
- Clear, professional communication with staff, internal partners, and occasionally producers or claimants.
- Sound, practical judgment in escalating sensitive claims or compliance issues appropriately.
- Ability to train and cross-train staff across multiple functional disciplines.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 3–5+ years of experience in life insurance operations (New Business, Underwriting, Claims, or Policy Accounting).
- Prior experience leading or supervising a frontline team preferred.
- Life/health insurance industry knowledge (e.g., LOMA coursework such as FLMI, ALHC, or ACS) a plus.
