Pricing Analyst – Discovery Employee Benefits

Company: Discovery Corporate and Employee Benefits

Industry: Financial Services, Group Risk, Life Insurance & Retirement Savings

Business Unit: Discovery Employee Benefits (DEB)

Function: Data Analysis / Pricing & Underwriting

Location: Sandton / Johannesburg, Gauteng

Position Type: Full-Time Permanent

Posted Date: 30 July 2026

Closing Date: Open / Rolling Applications

About Discovery Employee Benefits (DEB)

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. Discovery Corporate and Employee Benefits is a pioneer in the financial services sector, integrating behavioral science and shared-value incentives into retirement savings and group life insurance for corporate clients.

As a Pricing Analyst, you will manage new business quotations, perform group risk assessments, support existing scheme renewals, and execute data analysis to ensure the long-term profitability and competitiveness of Discovery’s employee benefits book.

Key Result Areas & Operational Workstreams

Your key operational deliverables will cover five core pillars:

1. Risk Assessment & Quotation Processing

  • Scheme Quoting: Conduct risk assessments and process Group Risk & Retirement quotes for schemes
  • Data Validation: Ensure incoming corporate scheme data is complete, identifying and resolving discrepancies prior to actuarial modeling.
  • Facultative Reinsurance: Liaise with external reinsurers for scheme profiles falling outside standard treaty terms.

2. Actuarial Policy Compliance & Rate Analysis

  • Underwriting Policy: Analyze scheme profiles in accordance with internal Actuarial Policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
  • Rate Analysis: Conduct in-depth statistical analysis of risk rates, free cover limits (FCLs), and premium structures to guide pricing decisions.

3. Sales, Servicing & Renewal Support

  • Stakeholder SLA: Process and issue quotes within strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for Business Consultants (BCs) and Servicing Consultants (SCs).
  • Retention & Renewals: Support servicing and renewal teams with competitor rate analysis and scheme retention strategies.

4. Market Intelligence & Competitor Benchmarking

  • Competitor Analysis: Analyze rival insurers’ pricing strategies, identifying market trends and making actionable rate recommendations.

5. Systems Testing & Special Projects

  • System Testing: Participate in System Development Testing across QA and Production environments.
  • Reporting: Generate ESQS general reports, log quote metrics, and execute ad-hoc analytical projects for the Pricing Manager.

Candidate Profile & Requirements

To qualify for this analytical role, candidates must meet the following criteria:

  • Academic Qualifications:
    • Matric / Grade 12: Essential.
    • Degree Requirement: Completed Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree (or equivalent commercial qualification) which must include at least 1st-year Mathematics or Statistics.
    • Advantageous: Recognized insurance industry qualifications (e.g., COP/ICiBSA).
  • Work Experience: Minimum of 2 years of experience in Group Risk Pricing and financial data analysis.
  • Technical & Software Skills:
    • Microsoft Excel: Intermediate to advanced Excel proficiency for data manipulation and modeling.
    • Microsoft Office Suite: Strong general proficiency.
    • Advantageous: Hands-on skills in Power BI and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
  • Industry Knowledge: Solid understanding of South African group risk products, insurance trends, and underwriting objectives.
  • Key Attributes: Strong numerical accuracy, deadline-driven, ability to simplify complex analytical findings, and comfortable working under pressure.

Career Advice for Discovery Applicants

  1. Highlight BCom Math/Stats Coursework: Discovery strictly checks academic transcripts for university-level Mathematics or Statistics modules. Ensure these are explicitly listed on your CV.
  2. Detail Group Risk Experience: Emphasize any hands-on exposure to group life, disability, funeral, or retirement scheme pricing, free cover limit calculations, or reinsurer treaty structures.
  3. Showcase Excel & Power BI Capabilities: Highlight specific functions (e.g., VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, SUMIFS, Power Query) and any dashboard building experience in Power BI or VBA automation.

Sample Technical & Pricing Interview Questions

Group Risk & Underwriting Questions

  • Question (Free Cover Limits): “How do you evaluate scheme demographic data (e.g., age distribution, salary profile, industry risk) when setting Free Cover Limits (FCL) for a group risk quote?”
  • Question (Data Cleaning): “What steps do you take when incoming employee benefit data contains missing salaries, inconsistent job titles, or date-of-birth anomalies?”

Competitor Benchmarking & Excel

  • Question (Rate Benchmarking): “How do you approach analyzing competitor pricing when Discovery’s rates are higher, but our shared-value benefits offer broader long-term value?”

How to Apply

Submit your application directly through the official Discovery Careers portal:

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