Meet the team - Dennis Woollett, Head of Underwriting Operations

What is your role at TAL? 

I am the Head of Underwriting Operations and look after the teams that complete the risk profiling of our Retail Insurance customers when they apply for personal insurance.

The role of the Underwriting team is to complete the process in a timely manner, whilst ensuring we remain as transparent and responsive as possible with our advisers and their customers.

What is your professional background? 

I have worked in the financial services industry for the past 25 years and have specialised in underwriting for majority of that time.

I’ve held a range of positions within various underwriting teams across several insurers. My focus is always to develop and maintain customer-focused, effective, high-performing teams.

What are you most excited about in your role for the coming 12 months?

I’m really looking forward to continuing to evolve our practices to better support our customers and advisers across all aspects of the underwriting process. In the past 12 months we have seen a significant increase in process efficiencies and regulatory change which will continue to enhance the underwriting experience as we grow as a business.

When people are on the life insurance journey, it often requires them to reflect on many aspects of their physical, mental, and financial wellbeing – which can be a challenging and often daunting time. We want to continue pursuing ways to make the insurance experience as positive as possible for customers. A huge part of that will be advocating for more consistency in underwriting decisions, ultimately leading to more consistent outcomes.

In your opinion, why is it important for Australians to protect themselves and their families with life insurance?

Our world and lives have significantly changed in recent years, since the introduction of COVID-19, and I imagine we will continue to experience change for some time.

If we’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s the importance of good health and protecting ourselves from the unforeseeable. We need to ensure our families have the comfort of being protected should circumstances change, and they need the support, protection, and peace of mind that life insurance can provide.

Dennis and his family