New Vacancy - Head of Underwriting (Motor/Household/Pet)
Romford / Hybrid
Salary - £ Competitive

I am currently partnered with a top, growing insurer who are looking to add a Head of Underwriting to their team.

This role will oversee a small team made up of Underwriters, Audit, and Governance and the ideal candidate will have extensive experience within Personal Lines (Motor, Household and Pet insurance). They are looking for someone who can make and lead decisions, review underwriting rules and more.

Key Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for Product Governance and Consumer duty from an Underwriting perspective
• Lead the development of products with MGA's, including enhancing wordings, Underwriting rules, and risk selection
• Set the risk appetite for Underwriting by product in collaboration with MGA's
• Collaborate with the pricing team to develop Mix metrics and Underwriting strategy for various products such as Coverage, Flood, Subs, Property Type, Postcodes, Vehicle Types, and Trade Types
• Ensure that portfolios are moving towards the desired mix and take corrective action if they deviate from the long-term mix; monitor the impact of these actions
• Collaborate with the pricing team to develop renewal and New Business (NB) strategies for products
• Maintain oversight of underwriting quality through quality assurance Management Information (MI) and implement actions or training plans to enhance the quality of underwriting
• Review significant losses and create loss quadrants to identify trends and develop actions to minimize underwriting leakage
• Oversee insurance risk (Underwriting, reserving, and Catastrophe risk) and regularly share trends and insights with the Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO), implementing actions to improve portfolio performance
• Stay updated on emerging risks in the market and devise strategies to mitigate these risks, such as cyber risks, transition risks, and climate change risks
• Provide regular market intelligence and competitor insights by collaborating with MGA's
• Lead the Quality Assurance/Audit process with the MGA's, creating a plan and executing it throughout the year to ensure effective governance and control
• Develop strong relationships with Underwriting product heads and Customer teams at MGA's
• Lead the due diligence process for new opportunities from an underwriting perspective and have the authority to approve portfolio transfers within delegated authority, in conjunction with the Pricing Head
• Review Binding Authority and deliverable schedule, ensuring that MGA's operate within the required Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and binding authority requirements
• Regularly review third-party suppliers and any sub-delegations to ensure effective oversight and control
• Serve as a thought leader and provide recommendations to enhance Underwriting processes and operations at the MGA's
• Prepare strategic papers and regular reports for the CUO, as required for Executive Committees and the Board.