About FWD Group
FWD Group (1828.HK) is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 40 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD’s customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 1828.
For more information, please visit www.fwd.com
About FWD Takaful Berhad
FWD Takaful Berhad (“FWD Takaful”) is a takaful provider in Malaysia that offers family takaful services. FWD Takaful is licensed under the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 and is regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia. FWD Takaful is a takaful business unit of FWD Group.
Visit https://www.fwd.com.my
Join us
We’re proud to be a company that encourages and nurtures fearless innovation in achieving our vision of changing the way people feel about takaful. Our teams come from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds because we value developing a truly diverse pool of talent that brings different perspectives and experiences. Our values – committed, innovative, proactive, open, and caring – define who we are and what we do as we work together to bring our vision to life, every single day.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
Underwriting & Claims Risk Management
- Accountable for the localisation, ensuring annual review of the Underwriting Policy and Claims Management Policy for FWDIB and FWDT respectively, ensuring guidelines are adhere to local entity’s risk appetite framework, local regulations and Group Standards with Shariah principles compliance applied where relevant to FWDT products.
- Establish risk assessment frameworks and ensure consistent application across all underwriting and claims decisions.
- Exercise underwriting and claims authority within the limits defined in the respective FWDIB and FWDT Delegated Authority Manuals, and the Delegated Authority Policy for FWD Malaysia Holdings, with appropriate escalation to the Underwriting and Claims Committee (UWCC) or CEO as stipulated.
- Accountable for reporting any large claims or operational losses to the UWCC as required.
- Accountable for ensuring that FWDT’s claims payouts are made from the Participant Risk Fund (PRF), that any ex‑gratia payout recommendations adhere to UWCC terms approved by Shariah.
- Accountable for providing underwriting assumptions and claims experience data to Actuarial/Product teams to support robust product pricing and reserving.
- Monitor industry trends and emerging risks to inform and adjust underwriting and claims strategies.
- Communicate effectively with senior management, providing insights and recommendations on underwriting and claims performance.
- Prepare and present half yearly reviews of Claims Experience, Underwriting Guidelines, and Ex-Gratia recommendations for FWDIB and FWDT to the Underwriting & Claims Committee (UWCC) for deliberation.
- Serve as a Voting Member of the Underwriting & Claims Committee (UWCC) and assume the role of Acting Chairperson in the absence of the Country COO, exercising collective oversight on portfolio risks
- Act as the Data Owner for Underwriting and Claims data domains, responsible for data quality, classification, and access rights , ensuring strict adherence to the Data Privacy Policy, PDPA and AI and Data Governance Policy.
- Ensure alignment of underwriting and claims department with company goals, regulatory and FWD Malaysia and FWD Group standards.
- Ensure clear cost allocation for Underwriting/Claims resources shared between FWDT and FWDIB to support the SRAJA (Shared Resources) framework and financial recharge models
Underwriting & Claims Operations
- Accountable for Claims operational resilience and ensuring Fair Treatment of Customers (FTC) and Plain Language principles are embedded in claim correspondence and decision communication, compliant with the FTC Policy.
- Ensure operational readiness for new products, including obtaining sign-off from Product Committee (PC) on underwriting rules and claim definitions prior to launch.
- Accountable for the business ownership of Underwriting & Claims systems, ensuring compliance with Technology Risk Management (RMiT) standards and data integrity.
- Accountable for the oversight, performance management and annual material outsourcing review of Third-Party Administrators (TPAs) for medical claims, ensuring they meet BNM Outsourcing standards and service levels.
- Oversee the daily operations of the underwriting and claims department, ensuring efficient workflow to deliver committed service levels, high standards of accuracy and delightful distribution/customer experience for the end-to-end Purchase and Claims journey.
- Manage the underwriting and claims department budget to ensure cost‑effective operations, while continuously monitoring and analysing performance metrics to adjust strategies and drive the desired business outcomes.
Regulatory Compliance
- Act as the First Line of Defence Risk Owner for Underwriting & Claims Risk, ensuring operational compliance with AML/CFT Policies, Fair Treatment of Customers, and Data Privacy regulations, ensuring risks remain within the Board-approved Risk Appetite
- Act as the first line of defence risk owner for Claims & Underwriting Fraud Management implementing the Anti-Fraud Policy to detect anti-selection and leakage, protecting both the Insurance Fund and Takaful Participants’ Risk Fund
- Establish and maintain robust fraud detection triggers and 'Red Flags' in the claims process as mandated by the Anti-Fraud Policy, and escalate confirmed fraud cases to the Investigation Panel
QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE
- Degree in Medicine, Biomedicine and/or relevant sciences AND/OR
- More than 15 years’ experience in Life Insurance, with 5 years of senior leadership roles in Underwriting and/or Claims portfolio
- Life Insurance professional qualification is advantageous, i.e. FMII, LOMA, FALU and etc.
KNOWLEDGE & COMPETENCIES
- Deep knowledge of life insurance underwriting principles, life insurance products for individual and group
- Knowledge of local regulations and compliance requirements related to life insurance industry and their application in underwriting and claims
- Able to leverage technology for operations efficiency
General skills
- Strong communication skills, written and verbal
- Strong leadership and team management skills, able to motivate and develop high performing team
- Strong analytical skills
- Strong customer focus mindset
