Underwriting Manager

Title: Class Underwriting Performance Manager
Location: London/ Hybrid 
Salary: Competitive 

The client 
The world’s leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace. They share the collective intelligence and risk sharing expertise of the market’s brightest minds, working together for a braver world. 
 
Their role is to inspire courage, so tomorrow’s progress isn’t limited by today’s risks.  
 
Our shared values: we are brave; we are stronger together; we do the right thing; guide what we do and how we act. If you share our values and our passion to build a future that’s more sustainable, resilient and inclusive – build a braver future with us. 

About the role 

To support the delivery of sustainable profitability of product lines and develop the underwriting policy for those products. 

This is achieved by working with the market, other external stakeholders, colleagues in Underwriting and more widely across the Corporation to understand all underwriting risks to the product line (prudential, performance and reputational) and work with stakeholders internally and externally to identify appropriate action to ensure sustainable profitability of the product line (including performance against Syndicate Business Plans and Forecasts).

Working to meet the strategic needs of the Corporation, and their purpose to:

1. long-term combined operating ratio is top quartile amongst London and global insurance market peers.

2. Protect the reputation of the business market by ensuring that the product line delivers a sustainable profitable performance.

Principal Accountabilities: 

1. To act as the leader of individual product line underwriting policy for the market

2. Leading the identification and mitigation of risks associated with their group of product lines which might present a prudential risk to the Corporation, performance risk or reputational risk particularly in the context of the risk appetites of the organisation.

3. Supporting the long-term performance of their group of product lines, taking corrective action (with Syndicate Performance and other functions) where product lines are performing adverse to expectation. 

4. Address performance issues using a risk-based approach to ensure that actions are proportionate to the risks and issues presented.

5. Analysis of product line performance at overall market and syndicate level that drives clear and consistent insight and information that influences and contributes to Syndicate Business plan approval and portfolio management actions. 

6. Contribute to a strong underwriting oversight environment by providing independent challenge and oversight of the underwriting profitability principle (within the Principles for Doing Business framework).

7. Actively seek to share knowledge and raise Underwriting standards for their group of product lines by ensuring that adequate and appropriate market insight is provided to internal and external stakeholders to improve performance.

8. Ensuring that the agreed control processes and tools are effectively used for the oversight of underwriting risks and product line performance, including escalating issues appropriately.

9. Identifying key performance issues and insights in a concise and compelling way as well as making clear recommendations for ongoing performance oversight 

Leadership expectations

This role is a technical leadership role. 

The role holder is expected to role model the leadership profile and capabilities with a focus on:

• Communicate with impact.

• Make courageous decisions.

• Building trust and fostering collaboration with internal and external stakeholders

Management of Risk and Internal Controls

Adhere to and deliver key risk management processes and internal controls

Role Dimensions

Working in the Class Underwriting Performance team responsible for a group of product lines assessing performance and underwriting risk in the interests of supporting a sustainable profitable performance.

Skills Knowledge and Experience

• Insightful – capable of quickly identifying emerging issues within their group of product lines and ensure that the appropriate action is taken 

• Enduring - consistently high performing over time, demonstrating resilience, energy and flexibility to achieve personal goals

• Adaptable – able to deal with ambiguity, change and complexity 

• Passionate – driven to deliver high performance outcomes with energy and pace

• Forward thinking – aware of the longer-term implications and keep the big picture in mind, and identify actions to meet future challenges

• Able to communicate with impact at all levels with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and have strong influencing skills in order to achieve the Underwriting teams’ objectives and corporation strategy 

• In conjunction with Syndicate Performance, other functions and managing agents, identify drivers for underperformance and agree actions necessary to improve performance as necessary

• Be able to summarise key performance issues and insights in a concise and compelling way and make clear recommendations 

• Remain objective and proportionate in dealing with syndicate performance and remain appropriately challenging of assumptions and outcomes

• When necessary, have clear and challenging conversations that manage the expectations of Underwriters, LMA, Syndicates and MA’s in the context of improving performance 

Knowledge

• Knowledge of position in the global (re) insurance marketplace

• A good understanding of the competitive environment

• A strong understanding of insurance P&L accounting practices and the drivers of performance

• Identify key stakeholders and know how to influence them

• Strong analysis skills as they relate to their group of product lines 

• Understanding of portfolio management and how it operates within syndicate business plans 

• Strong underwriting expertise and knowledge 

Experience 

• Significant and relevant insurance/reinsurance industry experience required.

• Being able to apply a risk based approach to the oversight of their group of product lines

• Strong communicator with the ability to influence key stakeholder

• Experience acting as an escalation point for underwriting issues

• Regular exposure and experie

Qualifications - as applicable

• Tertiary education in a business or numerate discipline is preferable.

• ACII/FCII, ACA, Actuarial, MBA is preferable