Tammy | VP Underwriting Operations

What I do:

I manage a team that provides central services to underwriting and pricing.  One team produces manual rates for the underwriters while others on my team are responsible for training, auditing, and other major initiatives such as application development projects and the integration of acquired companies into our operations.

How I make a difference:

My team has a shared objective to treat everyone like a customer and find ways to add value, whether its through assuming the administrative tasks within the department, increasing education and awareness through training and communications, or improving systems and processes.  Our objective is to keep our underwriters and actuaries focused on developing the best and most affordable solutions for our clients.

Why my job is great:

Intelligent and talented people that care about the future success of our company surround me. My team has a great attitude and will take on whatever challenges confront them. That’s rare to find at any company.

The challenges of my job:

It takes many years for actuaries to become certified and the same for underwriters before they truly understand underwriting principles.  The challenge is often in translating these complex underwriting and pricing practices into requirements for integrations of acquired companies and/or for system requirements.  Additionally, while we spend much of our time forecasting and managing a multi-billion dollar book of business, it’s our customers’ expectation that everything that we do is accurate to the penny.  Precision is expensive and difficult to cost justify at times but it’s an expectation that we need to meet for our customers.

How I impact my community:

Writing our historical society newsletters.  While I write the newsletters to educate our members about town history, I find that I get enthralled with the history myself. There’s much to learn and to share with our members

What makes this a greater place to work:

UnitedHealth Group has invested in underwriting where other companies have failed and enabled me to deliver a business/technology strategy for them.

What’s great about me:

Former employers have usually asked me turn around projects that are way behind schedule or have very little chance of delivery.  When granted full control, almost anything is possible. But there is no “I” in team. The key is being able to empower your team, push them to grow, and allow them to take risks.

Little known fact about me:

I’ve integrated two mutual fund companies, all operations and systems within eight months.

Words I live by:

“If two people always have the same ideas and always agree with each other then one person is redundant.”  

What I’d say to a potential candidate:

Every opportunity offers a learning experience, whether it’s about the work, the company, the people, or yourself.  Our company offers as many or as few experiences as you’re willing to take.