I’ve added a link to The Job Spider search engine. During the course of my research I’ve noticed this engine finds positions not advertised elsewhere. I’m not saying this is a better search engine, just different. Remember to use different key words when searching for positions. For example, the words remote, virtual, and telecommute may pick up different postings as any of these words are often used to describe those of us who toil from outside of office walls. If you go to this website, watch for the posting dates of the positions. Some are pretty old, and therefore useless. But definitely check out the Scam Awareness page. This is well worth reading.
telecommuting
Looking for a Job? Read This
How to Change the World: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job
According to Alison Doyle in her article on About.com the social networking site LinkedIn has 130,000 recruiters as members. If you’re looking (and I know some of you are looking) then read this article for some good job hunting tips.
Remote Underwriting Jobs – Look Beyond
Search Jobs, Resumes, Recruiting & Career Site – Beyond.com
There are a a ton of job sites on the internet and it should come as no surprise that companies must pick and choose where to place their ads. For the job seeker, the problem is finding the website that hopefully lists the type of position you’re looking for. I prefer employment sites that utilize meta-search engines. If you’re searching for that ultimate remote underwriting job (or any new position) I suggest trying Beyond.com. I have been playing around with this website and so far, the results are impressive. Beyond claims to have search capabilities for over 15,000 niche employment sites.
Feel free to leave a comment. Let me know if this type of post is useful or not.
I’ve added a link on my sidebar.
Remote Underwriting with Turkeys
Remote underwriting turkeys
This post marks the beginning of a periodic series covering remote underwriting management issues. Based upon search engine traffic there seems to be a high level of interest on this topic, hence a new periodic series. Personally I have experience in several aspects of the remote underwriting experience. I have managed remotes. I was a project manager for the design and implementation of a paperless workflow system from the technology side. I’ve functioned as an Interim Chief Underwriter managing remotes. I have worked remotely for numerous companies (not all at the same time).
I am remote.
Again, thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment or two.
(the picture was taken in my brother’s backyard while working remotely from Marlborough, MA)
Remote Underwriting Jobs – OK…I Get It
Revised October 16, 2010
The first version of the post was written nearly two years ago. A lot has changed since then. One of the more interesting developments for my business is the continued development of the Google search algorithm. I just recently discovered what happens when you search on Google for “remote underwriting jobs”.
This post is on page one of the search results. You’re probably looking for a remote life underwriting job and you got this page. I figured I better revise this post for clarity. So here we go…
Underwriting Solutions LLC is a consulting company based in Edmond, OK. We do provide outsourced life underwriting services and have multiple technology partners to help your company improve efficiency, effectiveness, and time to issue all while lowering costs. At the present time my company has no opportunities for remote underwriting work. Due to the current economic environment and the continually evolving life underwriting landscape most of my activities have been strategically focused elsewhere.
I do have friends in several companies that provide outsourced underwriting support who may have openings. Feel free to email me with your contact information. Also do explore this site for posts on other companies in the hiring mode as I try to pass along information on open positions as I come across them. I also have some links to job boards on my home page.
Best of luck in finding what you’re looking for. But if you’re in management and trying to figure out how to do remote underwriting from the technology and management perspectives, call me. I’d love to chat about APS medical summaries, structured XML databases, and our flexible hybrid fixed/variable underwriting model. I have a mortgage, one kid in college, one kid in medical school, health insurance premiums and a small fleet of cars to support. Call me.
Remote Underwriting – More Tech Advice
Remember the saga of my crashed computer? When I got the machine back it would not boot up so I took it back to the repair shop. I got my machine back from the shop the following Monday or Tuesday. My local geek told me the PC booted up just fine at their shop. They tested everything again and found nothing that could have caused the problems I was having.
“It has to be one of your peripherals that is causing the problem. Reconnect each and every device, one by one until you find the device that’s causing the problem.”
Well OK then. But since I had work to do I left this for a weekend project.
Two nights ago I finally reconnected the final two pieces of equipment and discovered my machine would not boot up. Eying my external back up drive with great suspicion, I disconnected it and powered down. Guess what? My PC now works but you can forgeddabout starting the computer with the external drive attached. It’s not gonna happen.
So at the end of the day I had two different things crashing my computer. The first was diagnosed by me and fixed off site. Seems the Spybot Search and Destroy was preventing my newly installed Webroot virus program from starting up. Disabling the software from executing at Windows start up solved that. But the moral of this story is the fact that my local geek diagnosed my second problem but couldn’t fix it. They don’t make house calls. I ended up solving and fixing the second problem myself.
Here is the take home message:
My computer was down for a total of two calendar weeks. There is more to managing remote underwriters than meets the eye. What are your company’s plans and procedures to resolve remote technology issues?
Yeah…I thought so.
Remote Underwriting – More Tech Notes
Last week was a heckuva week. After several emails pitching me to upgrade my spyware protection service I relented under the mounting pressure. Besides, it was only $5. So I downloaded my anti-virus upgrade, ran the install program and promptly crashed my computer. Ironic, eh? The following morning, hoping that a good night’s rest would cure my computer’s refusal to boot up, I switched on the power.
Nothing.
It was at that moment I realized it wasn’t going to be a good day.
My mind started racing backwards…what did I do?
- Downloaded and installed anti-virus software
- Installed a new 10/100 ethernet switch
- Installed a new uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
- Installed and configured a new video card
- Installation and configured dual monitors
After determining my internal power supply and hard drive were OK it had to be a software conflict. Rather than spend too many hours trying to figure out what the conflict was I took my machine to the local shop for repairs. Rather than work off a small notebook computer I decided to configure a hot spare to work from ( I just happened to have an old Windows machine in the house). So ultimately my solution to my computer crash was to configure and hook up another computer.
Can your remote underwriters do this? If your company uses remotes and you are the manager responsible for their production, what does your remote technology support plan look like? Do you have a remote tech support plan? Does your IT area have a remote support plan?
I am still working off my hot spare five days after my initial crash. When I picked up my main box, disconnected the spare, reconnected my main, and powered up it still didn’t boot up. I took it back to the shop and I await its return.
But I can work.
Remote Underwriting – Better Baked Thoughts
“Oooh, that’s scary.”
Owner of Siam Smile, a Thai restaurant in downtown Edmond, OK as I was liberally sprinkling red hot chilies over my Pad Thai.
While enjoying a plate of Pad Thai at a local restaurant it dawned on me that the debate about remote underwriting has become nothing more than an academic tussle. On one side of the debate, there are insurance companies that totally embrace remote underwriting. On the other side there are companies with endless reasons who do not care for the concept of remote underwriting. But in the end, the debate is purely academic at this time. I got a phone call the other week that convinced me of this.
A very large multi-national company placed a recruiting call to me and I had a very nice conversation with the head of their HR. This particular company has over 100 underwriters and over 40 are remote. This got me thinking about other companies who have embraced remote underwriters. These firms are all big names with big budgets, good technology, and a vision for the future.
The future is here and we all better get used to it. Scary or not.
Remote Underwriting – Half-Baked Thoughts
Several years ago I led a project team that designed and implemented a paperless work flow system for new business and underwriting at a company I once worked for. I saw the future and remote underwriting definitely was going to be a significant contributor to the ability of companies to attract and retain talent. Envision a cadre of experienced underwriters working from their homes in a human network that rewards individual members of the group for finding work not only for themselves but for others within the network as well. Kind of a modern day intellectual collective.
At the upcoming AHOU meeting there will be a networking breakfast session on the topic of remote underwriting. Due to a number of reasons involving comittments you really don’t want to know about, I will not be in Miami for the meeting. But since I’m not going, I’ll toss in my two cents for whatever its worth.
“The discussion will cover all of the unique issues associated with remote underwriting, inlcuding technological concerns, training, scheduling, phone coverage, processes, management, and any other concerns brought to the discussion by attendees.”
Here we go:
- Technology. The technology to enable remote access to company systems has been around for many years and remote underwriting is a reality for many. If you don’t have the technology, you better get it. But more importantly you need to build a solid business case. With the supply and demand equation favoring the underwriter and not the employer, each year that passes without the commitment to the technology puts a company in a more difficult position to attract talent.
- Training. This is a big one. FLMI, FALU, CLU, yada, yada, yada. Companies need to first figure out what the gaps are and what needs ought to be addressed through training. Then create, buy, outsource, something, anything, to address your training needs. How do you train a dispersed band of underwriters without breaking the budget? See point number one. Technology. Try a webinar. Check out http://www.gotomeeting.com.
- Scheduling. This is not an issue limited to remote staff. You will have scheduling issues whether your underwriters are all under the same roof or if you have them all over the globe.
- Phone coverage. See scheduling above.
- Processes. Look for best practices. Find out what has worked and what hasn’t for companies using remotes. This isn’t and never will be a one size fits all answer.
- Management. Communicate clearly and often. How do you make remotes feel part of the team? What are the retention issues? Can mentoring and coaching (not the same as training) get done? Can remote mentoring be done at all?
Well, I think I’ve raised more questions than answers. If someone attends this session let me know how it goes.
lifeunderwriter.net 
You must be logged in to post a comment.