[OR] [MLRE] [E3] [CBS] [1] [MD] Map Dependency

Written by Moh Heng Goh | Feb 10, 2026 3:31:19 AM

CBS-1 Reinsurance Underwriting & Pricing

Introduction

Operational resilience depends on understanding how critical business services (CBS) are enabled through interconnected functions, resources, and stakeholders.

For Malaysian Life Reinsurance, CBS-1: Reinsurance Underwriting & Pricing is foundational to financial stability and market performance. It entails a complex interplay of risk strategy, actuarial analytics, underwriting decisions, pricing formulation, compliance, governance, documentation, and analytics feedback loops.

Mapping dependencies — particularly across people, processes, technologies, and third parties — is vital to identifying fragilities, understanding cascading impacts, and designing effective continuity, recovery, and shock absorption strategies.

Insights from the 2025 BNM Discussion Paper on Operational Resilience further reinforce that regulated financial institutions must demonstrate robust dependency visibility—especially when third-party services and technology platforms are critical—to maintain service continuity and regulatory compliance under stress.

Table P2: Map Dependency for CBS-1

Sub-CBS Code	Sub-CBS	Dependency Type	Dependency Detail	Connectivity (How it interacts with the CBS or other components)
1.1	Risk Appetite & Strategy Setting	People	Chief Risk Officer, Underwriting Head, Actuarial Leads	Strategy outputs guide pricing tolerances and underwriting thresholds; impacts 1.5, 1.6, 1.8 decisions
		Process	Risk governance framework & board reports	Processes ensure alignment to corporate risk appetite; informs portfolio limits
		Technology	Risk management system & strategy dashboards	Data feeds into pricing models and risk thresholds
		Third Party	External consulting (e.g., risk advisory firms)	Provides benchmarking data; influences risk strategy
1.2	Data Acquisition & Validation	People	Data analysts, data stewards	Collect/validate risk and market data for modelling
		Process	Data governance & validation procedures	Ensures accurate inputs for actuarial models
		Technology	Data warehouses, ETL tools	Supports ingestion, cleansing and storage of underwriting data
		Third Party	Data vendors (e.g., mortality tables, industry aggregators)	Supplies key risk exposure and market benchmarks
1.3	Risk Modelling & Pricing Analytics	People	Actuarial and analytics team	Develop models to calculate expected losses and price adequacy
		Process	Modelling standards, model validation procedures	Controls model risk; connects to compliance
		Technology	Statistical modelling & actuarial tools	Outputs pricing parameters used in 1.6
		Third Party	Actuarial software vendor support	Critical for model accuracy & updates
1.4	Underwriting Submission Intake	People	Underwriters, Intake clerks	Receive and classify new submissions
		Process	Intake procedures & triage rules	Ensures completeness ahead of risk assessment
		Technology	Submission intake platform, document management	Routes files to risk assessment workflows
		Third Party	Brokers & agents	Source of submissions; influences workload
1.5	Underwriting Risk Assessment	People	Underwriters, actuarial reviewers	Assess risk details against strategy
		Process	Assessment guidelines, risk scoring frameworks	Standardizes risk evaluation
		Technology	Underwriting decision support systems	Produces risk scores for pricing
		Third Party	External medical & actuarial experts	Supplement risk assessment for complex cases
1.6	Pricing & Quotation Formulation	People	Pricing committee, actuarial pricing analysts	Formulate competitive and risk-adjusted prices
		Process	Pricing methodology guidelines	Ensures consistency and fairness
		Technology	Quotation tools, pricing engines	Generates official pricing proposals
		Third Party	Market benchmarking providers	Offers competitive price insights
1.7	Regulatory & Compliance Review	People	Compliance officers, legal advisors	Validate adherence to regulatory requirements
		Process	Compliance checklists, review workflows	Gate pricing & underwriting outputs before release
		Technology	Compliance tracking & audit tools	Tracks reviews and exceptions
		Third Party	Regulatory bodies (BNM, industry associations)	Provide rules, guidance and updates
1.8	Decision Governance & Approval	People	Governance board, senior approvers	Approve final pricing & underwriting decisions
		Process	Approval meeting protocols, escalation paths	Ensures sound governance
		Technology	Workflow and approval systems	Tracks status and decision history
		Third Party	External auditors	May review governance adherence
1.9	Documentation & Contract Issuance	People	Documentation specialists, legal	Draft, validate, issue final contracts
		Process	Contract templates, quality assurance procedures	Ensures enforceability
		Technology	Contract management systems	Stores templates and final documentation
		Third Party	Printing & fulfillment services (if outsourced)	Delivers final contracts
1.10	Portfolio Monitoring & Experience Analysis	People	Portfolio analysts, reporting leads	Track outcomes and trending experience
		Process	Monitoring frameworks, KPIs	Triggers repricing or strategy adjustments
		Technology	Analytics platforms, dashboards	Generates analytics for decision loops
		Third Party	Industry experience studies	External data for benchmarking
1.11	Exception & Escalation Handling	People	Escalation coordinators, risk officers	Handle deviations or complex cases
		Process	Escalation matrices & response protocols	Ensures rapid triage of issues
		Technology	Incident & case management tools	Tracks exceptions
		Third Party	External claims consultants	Support exception handling
1.12	Reporting & Feedback Loop	People	Report authors, senior management	Analyze and act on performance reporting
		Process	Reporting calendars, feedback meetings	Ensures lessons are captured
		Technology	BI/reporting systems	Delivers metrics to stakeholders
		Third Party	Regulatory reporting platforms	Required submissions to authorities

Dependency Mapping Highlights / Key Observations Interdependence Insights

Many people dependencies are cross-cutting (e.g., actuarial, compliance, governance) — indicating that skills shortages or unavailability may significantly impact multiple Sub-CBS.
Technology platforms (data warehouse, underwriting systems, modelling tools, compliance tech) act as backbone enablers; failure of tech components typically ripples across pricing, assessment, governance, and reporting.
Process dependencies provide structure and resilience, especially where formal procedures (validation, escalation, compliance checks) mitigate risk and ensure continuity.
Third parties (data vendors, regulatory bodies, brokers, actuaries) are critical external dependencies — especially for market data, regulatory inputs, and high-end expertise.

Mapping dependencies for CBS-1: Reinsurance Underwriting & Pricing offers Malaysian Life Reinsurance a clear view of how critical elements — people, processes, technology, and third parties — integrate to sustain this foundational service.

This exercise reveals where potential points of fragility exist, where redundancies may be needed, and where resilience strategies should be emphasized.

A robust mapping supports not only operational continuity planning but also aligns with regulatory expectations under the 2025 BNM Discussion Paper on Operational Resilience — particularly in identifying key third-party service providers, technology platforms, and governance mechanisms whose disruption could materially affect service delivery.

By continuously reviewing and stress-testing these dependencies, Malaysian Life Reinsurance can strengthen its ability to respond to shocks, maintain stakeholder confidence, and uphold regulatory compliance through sustained underwriting and pricing performance.

Building Organisational Resilience: An Operational Resilience Guide for Malaysian Life Reinsurance
eBook 3: Starting Your OR Implementation
CBS-1 Reinsurance Underwriting & Pricing
CBS-1 DP	CBS-1 MD	CBS-1 MPR	CBS-1 ITo	CBS-1 SuPS	CBS-1 ST

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