GARO TOPALIAN

Functionally leading the Employee Benefits underwriting agenda across regional markets, with
accountability for portfolio profitability, underwriting risk appetite, governance, complex deal
decisions, broker/reinsurer engagement, and senior stakeholder advisory
• Lead Employee Benefits underwriting performance and portfolio profitability across regional markets,
balancing growth objectives with long-term risk sustainability.
• Set and enforce underwriting risk appetite, delegated authority, and escalation frameworks to
strengthen governance, consistency, and pricing discipline.
• Direct portfolio steering and renewal strategy in response to claims experience, market conditions,
broker dynamics, and commercial priorities.
• Provide senior underwriting leadership on complex, high-value, high-risk, and non-standard
opportunities, chairing deal reviews and guiding structuring decisions.
• Own underwriting governance, including guideline development, exception management, peer review
standards, and quality assurance.
• Partner with Sales and Distribution leadership to align underwriting decisions with growth ambitions,
margin expectations, and operational realities.
• Lead underwriting transformation initiatives that reduced manual effort by approximately 25% and
improved SME turnaround time by approximately 30% through automation and AI-assisted pricing
tools.
• Serve as the principal underwriting counterpart for brokers, reinsurers, and TPAs, leading escalations,
treaty discussions, and facultative group life negotiations.
• Led the transition from an in-house TPA model to Mednet (Munich Re), improving service delivery
and strategic alignment.
• Lead, mentor, and develop senior underwriters and team leads, strengthening decision quality,
accountability, and succession depth.
• Advise senior management on strategic underwriting matters, including post-COVID risk appetite
recalibration and large-client retention support.

Responsible on the underwriting functions of DAMANA SAICO Health in UAE.
Duties:
• Supervise the work of the underwriting unit of UAE.
• Ensure that quotations for new and renewal business are issued within the tickets average time set by the upper management.
• Price and place new quotations for corporate accounts which are composed of more than 150 members.
• Price and place renewal business for corporate and SME accounts.
• Update the underwriting manual with the latest requirements issued by the regulatory and statutory bodies, market imposed adjustments
• Keep the underwriting pricing tool and adjust it according to marketing and risk containment needs with the support of a registered actuarial firm.
• Supervise the preparation of quarterly bordereaux for reinsurance placement.
• Perform market comparative studies

Responsible for establishing and setting the operations for an assistance company specialized in assisting incoming tourists to UAE, in all their needs, whether medical, travel, legal or concierge services.

Duties:
• Work on legal process required to register AGM in DMCC as per UAE labor law, with the support of a duly registered legal company in UAE, EPTALEX.
• Develop HR manual for AGM HR operations based on UAE labor law and DMCC employment contract.
• Develop Operations manual for AGM emergency response center, list of templates, SOP’s, …
• Create with the support of the marketing department, AGM’s website: www.assistancegroup.ae.
• Design marketing campaigns for AGM in worldwide Assistance and Insurance Industry Conference ITIC(http://www.itic.co/) and in worldwide Assistance and Insurance Industry Journal ITIJ( https://www.itij.com/)
• Supervise the establishment of the IT and call center infrastructure using virtual PBX and backup on cloud.

Responsible for developing and maintaining commercially productive relationships with both new and old sales field force and corporate accounts (i.e. brokers, agents, brokerage firms, direct sales officers, corporate). Also in charge of identifying every business development and sales opportunity and of making the most out of it to increase revenue and profitability.

Duties:

• Promote the company brand to key production channels (i.e. brokers, agents, brokerage firms, direct sales officers), ensuring their knowledge is current and appropriate.
• Writing up concise, value-based business development proposals.
• Prepare with the support of the legal department new cooperation agreements with new brokers/brokerage firms.
• Supporting all sales field force whenever needed whether to close a corporate group account or for technical backup in any sales operation.
• Writing up sales reports, activity reports and revenue forecasts.
• Recruiting and training and following up young sales talents.
• Developing the group portfolio by conducting a telemarketing campaign on special corporate accounts, ability to generate new business via social media and mobile.
• Organize marketing campaigns in malls and public places where POS are set and sales force are motivated to create awareness and generate leads.

Managed the underwriting operations of a portfolio volume exceeding $20 million dollars.

Underwrote health, Life and Personal accident lines of business.

Handled all functions related to underwriting, reinsurance solicitation and program management.

Implemented and oversaw product development including new lines of business as well as refocusing the company on profitable niche specialty lines. Responsible for growth, broker management, profitability improvement.
Launched a restructuring plan for the operations within the company, where all SOP’s and policies were subject to review update and standardization.

Staff Development:
Responsible for the hiring and development of an underwriting department consisting of 7 professionals.

Profitability Management:
Achieved an ultimate loss and ALAE ratio of 60.5% for the years 2011-2014 while growing the book over 100%

A detailed description of the tasks performed during this period can be provided if found necessary, in summary tasks under this job position were of progressive nature, starting as first entry and basic level tasks moving toward more complicated, research based and analytical functions.