Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Underwriting Quality Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Underwriting Quality Coordinator is responsible for designing, executing and maintaining an efficient underwriting quality assurance program that measures adherence to underwriting guidelines, identifies systemic errors, recommends corrective actions, and drives continuous improvement. The role owns QA sampling, audit scoring, trend analysis, exception monitoring, remediation tracking, and training support to ensure underwriting accuracy, regulatory compliance and reduced risk across product lines (consumer, commercial, mortgage or specialty lines as applicable).

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Underwriting Analyst / Junior Underwriter with 1–3 years of experience in underwriting operations or casework
Quality Assurance Analyst or Audit Specialist from financial services, mortgage, or insurance QA teams
Loan Processor, Mortgage Closer, or Operations Specialist transitioning into quality and controls

Advancement To:

Underwriting Quality Manager / Senior QA Manager
Underwriting Operations Manager or Head of Underwriting Controls
Director of Risk & Compliance or VP of Underwriting Governance

Lateral Moves:

Compliance Analyst (Regulatory & Controls)
Process Improvement / Lean Six Sigma Specialist
Training & Development Manager for Underwriting

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, maintain and execute a statistically valid underwriting audit and sampling program across assigned product lines to measure adherence to underwriting guidelines, internal policies, investor overlays and regulatory requirements.
Perform detailed, line-by-line underwriting file reviews (manual and system-based), scoring files against standardized scorecards, documenting exceptions, and providing timely, constructive feedback to underwriters and their managers.
Create, maintain and continuously improve underwriting quality scorecards, KPI dashboards and exception logs in Excel, Power BI or Tableau to provide clear, repeatable metrics on accuracy, defect rates, exception types and trend lines.
Lead root cause analysis for recurring underwriting defects, synthesize findings into clear problem statements and recommended corrective action plans (CAPs) that include owner, milestone, and measurable outcomes.
Partner with underwriting leadership to prioritize remediation plans, validate corrective actions, and track remediation progress through closure to reduce repeat defects and operational risk.
Triage and investigate consumer, investor or regulator-triggered underwriting exceptions and escalations, preparing formal findings, timelines and remediation recommendations for stakeholders.
Develop and deliver targeted training, coaching sessions and bite-sized job aids based on audit findings to raise underwriting quality, reduce exceptions and support standardization across teams.
Maintain and update underwriting procedures, SOPs, guideline matrices and exception criteria to reflect program changes, regulatory updates, and lessons learned from audits.
Collaborate with Risk Management and Compliance to ensure QA processes align with internal audit schedules, regulatory exams, investor requirements and enterprise risk frameworks.
Execute periodic calibration sessions with underwriters and managers to align on scorecard interpretation, scoring thresholds and consistent application of underwriting standards.
Build and maintain relationships with cross-functional teams (operations, product, legal, vendor partners, IT) to support systemic remediation, automation opportunities and policy clarifications.
Use data analytics and sampling methodology to prioritize audit coverage and focus on higher-risk segments, new product launches, or areas with elevated defect rates.
Support underwriting governance forums by preparing executive-ready reports, root cause summaries, remediation status, and risk posture updates for senior leadership.
Monitor and report on policy exception volumes, escalation trends and exception remediation timelines, including tracking of who granted exceptions and whether follow-up actions were completed.
Manage vendor or third-party quality review partners when outsourced file review is used; ensure vendor deliverables meet internal standards and SLAs.
Document all audit activities, testing artifacts, and correspondence in a compliant evidence repository to support internal and external audits, regulatory exams and investor reviews.
Identify and coordinate system or workflow changes with IT/Automation teams to reduce manual work, enforce controls at points of variation, and enable automated validations where feasible.
Support underwriting policy rollout by validating adherence to updated guidelines during pilot phases and capturing any unintended consequences that require policy adjustment.
Maintain confidentiality of customer and company data, follow secure handling of PII/PHI, and ensure QA processes meet privacy and information security standards.
Continuously benchmark underwriting quality metrics against industry standards and competitor practices and propose enhancements to keep the QA program best-in-class.
Assist with ad hoc portfolio reviews, special investigations (e.g., fraud indicators or regulatory concerns), and post-close audits to identify latent risk drivers.

Secondary Functions

Prepare and present monthly and quarterly quality performance reports for underwriting leaders and executive stakeholders that highlight trends, risks, industry comparators and recommended actions.
Support internal audit and regulatory exam processes by coordinating evidence requests, responding to findings related to underwriting quality and participating in remediation planning.
Participate in product launches and change control boards to advise on potential underwriting quality impacts and QA test plans prior to rollout.
Coordinate with learning & development teams to update onboarding curricula for new underwriters based on audit findings and observed knowledge gaps.
Maintain QA documentation, control libraries and playbooks so that audit processes are repeatable, auditable and optimized for efficiency.
Serve as a subject-matter expert on underwriting tolerances, scoring rules and exception adjudication during cross-functional project sprints.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Underwriting audit methodologies and quality assurance program design (sampling plans, scorecards, defect taxonomy).
Deep knowledge of underwriting guidelines for relevant products (mortgage, consumer lending, commercial insurance, or specialty lines) and investor/regulatory overlays.
Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, complex formulas, conditional formatting) and ability to build management-quality dashboards.
Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau) to create KPI dashboards and trend reports.
Familiarity with SQL or data query tools to extract, validate and analyze underwriting data sets and sample populations.
Experience with underwriting systems and workflow platforms (e.g., Encompass, Salesforce, Guidewire, AMS360, agency management systems) and ability to review files both in-system and in paper/electronic form.
Root cause analysis methodologies and corrective action plan (CAP) design, tracking and validation.
Working knowledge of regulatory frameworks relevant to the line of business (e.g., CFPB, RESPA, HMDA, state insurance departments, investor requirements like Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac).
Experience with statistical sampling techniques and basic statistical analysis to ensure representative QA sampling.
Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or other process improvement frameworks and experience applying them to reduce defects and cycle time.
Strong documentation and evidence management practices to support audits, exams and legal reviews.
Vendor management experience when coordinating third-party quality providers or outsourced review partners.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication skills for preparing executive summaries and delivering feedback to underwriting teams.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to synthesize complex data into actionable insights.
Coaching and training aptitude; able to deliver constructive feedback and influence behavior change without direct authority.
High attention to detail and disciplined approach to documentation and compliance.
Stakeholder management and collaboration skills to partner across operations, product, compliance and IT.
Time management and prioritization skills to handle multiple audits, projects and ad hoc requests under tight deadlines.
Ethical judgment and commitment to confidentiality when handling sensitive customer and business data.
Adaptability to changing regulatory environments, product updates and evolving business priorities.
Critical thinking with a continuous improvement mindset aimed at reducing risk and increasing underwriting consistency.
Positive, customer-focused attitude with an emphasis on enabling frontline underwriters to make effective decisions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Risk Management, Economics, Accounting, Insurance, or a related field — OR equivalent practical experience in underwriting quality, auditing, or operations.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree (MBA, MS in Analytics) with coursework or certificates in risk, quality, or process improvement.
Professional certifications such as Lean Six Sigma (Green/Black Belt), AICPA (for auditors), Certified Credit Professional (CCP), or industry-specific certifications are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance, Accounting or Economics
Risk Management, Insurance, Business Administration
Data Analytics, Statistics or Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years in underwriting, underwriting quality, QA auditing, or a related control function within insurance, mortgage lending, or consumer/commercial finance.

Preferred:

3–7 years of progressive experience with hands-on underwriting file review, QA program management, or internal audit in relevant product lines.
Demonstrated experience building scorecards, dashboards and remediation plans that measurably reduced underwriting defects and improved compliance.
Prior exposure to regulatory exams, investor reviews, or internal/external audit interactions preferred.