Kone Maano

Head of 4 functions - Mainly Underwriting, Group scheme administration, voice sales verification and Policy administration. My team has 4 people managers and 2 management level specialists

C/Head of underwriting - Absa Life

(2021-01)

Head of 4 functions - Mainly Underwriting, Group scheme administration, voice sales verification and Policy administration. My team has 4 people managers and 2 management level specialists

• Strategy development for operations: Draw and review the overall operations strategy to determine key imperative
• Design and Develop value propositions
• Presents strategy to the Exco for buy-in and approval
• Risk transfer Strategy (Reinsurance): Strategy planning and structuring for reinsurance risk
• Reinsurance placement and renewal terms negotiation for underwritten Life business
• Execute the Company Strategy through the governance of the operations for company including underwriting, reinsurance, claims reconstructions, and product development
• Manage the customisation of the company systems to support the business and gather business intelligence in support of the business strategy of company
• Identify and implement systems to support plans and deliverables and to establish the management information required within operations
• Manage data in line with regulations – correct repositories, security and data integrity
• Establish and maintain business intelligence as per company requirements
• Consult the business strategy to determine the objectives, deliverables, processes, policies and targets
• Design, Implement, Maintain and enforce policies, procedures and processes for all areas of operations including underwriting, reinsurance, claims reconstructions, administration
• Institute corrective actions where required
• Monitor operations to ensure that deliverables and targets are met
• Compile profitability reports by product and submit to the relevant role players
• Recommend corrective actions to manage loss making products to profitability
• Manage profitability in accordance with policies, procedures and legal requirements
• Ensure the provision of up to date reinsurance reports
• Secure the required resources to build capacity to achieve deliverables and targets
• Establish the full operations capabilities in the business unit
• Oversee the accurate and timely compilation of reports across all departments to provide a consolidated overview of business progress
• Establish all regulatory reporting requirements & specifics from particular forum/committee
• Liaise with departmental reporting staff in procuring required information, superimposing supplementary information, where necessary
• Obtain mutual agreement on the resolution of issues, meetings required and the delivery of inter-dependent outputs and results
• Agree to the expected outcomes from each party
• Monitor the performance of all relevant role players continuously to ensure that the agreements are honoured
• Inform the relevant role players of the outcomes, deviations and actions required
• Implement continuous follow-up to ensure that the relationship is maintained
• Compile a database indicating the role players, expected outputs, contact details, type of agreements and relationships
• Align Operations department to company Strategy and review departmental structure to execute overall company strategy
• Develop and Align company Reinsurance Strategy to execute the company growth and profitability strategic objective
• Analyse the operational plan to determine the applicable deliverables and targets
• Determine the human resource requirements, in accordance with the expected deliverables and current capacity
• Secure the human capital requirements to ensure that deliverables will be met in accordance with the expected targets
• Comply with and achieve employment equity targets
• Minimise staff turnover
• Lead the department in such a manner as to foster innovation and technological excellence
• Develop and manage budget
• Manage expenditure and ensure no fruitless expenditure
• Adhere to financial guidelines and thus ensure proper control over expenditure

Underwriter - Munichre

(2012-01 - 2021-12)

• Client management - underwriting
• Organized seminars
• Presented at seminars as a chief presenter
• Debated at seminars as panel member
• Group training as a subject matter expert
• Designing client's underwriting process
• Developing and refining automatic underwriting rule books
• Client Audits
• Designing underwriting grids and standards
• Underwriting data analysis and reporting
• Has been entrusted with the most important VNB clients in our market
• Managed all of the sub-Saharan clients relations
• Was entrusted with putting out fires and restoring good relations with 2 key clients
• Personally developed some of the game changers underwriting practices in the whole market in territorial risks

Underwriter-Team leader - PPS

(2007-01 - 2011-12)

• Manage service providers' relationships
• Optimizing underwriting performance
• Manage underwriting process
• Underwriting Risks
• Management of systems & processes
• Effective reporting on monthly basis
• Quality control (commission, work, training, complaints and customer service)
• Handling of complex queries and complaints (admin & claims)
• Assist in developing policy wordings

Underwriter - RGA

(2003-01 - 2007-12)

Within 2 years of joining the company, the entire relations for Sage life, Charter life and Absa were entrusted to me. Despite having very little experience at the time.

Matric - Maswie secondary school

Honours - pharmacology - University of Witwatersrand

Masters - commerce - business management - University of Johannesburg