Underwriting Team Leader

Do you have experience managing an Underwriting team? Are you looking to progress your Underwriting Team Leader career with a real people-focused business? What part will you play? If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you’ll find your fit amongst our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realise our potential, we can help others reach theirs. Join us and play your part in something special!

The opportunity: It’s an exciting time to join Markel as our business grows. We have recently moved into brand-new innovative offices in Leeds city centre right next to the train station, and we currently have a new opportunity for an Underwriting Team Leader to join our Life Science, Technology and Professional Risks team. The exciting opportunity is based within the renewals department as a Team Leader of the existing business focused underwriting teams. The successful candidate will be dealing with a wide variety of Life Science and Technology risks and wider financial lines risks in addition to the day-to-day managing of the team (3 days in the office / 2 days from home).

As the Team Leader you will be required to lead and monitor all aspects of workflow within the team, whilst ensuring that financial targets including GWP, renewal retention, cross and up-selling are achieved. You will be required to be pro-active, build and maintain good relationships internally and externally. You will monitor and analyse broker and underwriter activity and performance to identify success and areas for improvement.

What you’ll be doing:

• Provide leadership and direction to the renewal team, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability and continuous improvement
• Lead and monitor both team and individual performance taking action where necessary to improve
• Set business goals, managing resource, prioritising workflow and reviewing key deliverables
• Coach and develop the team to a high level of performance
• Provide excellent service to our brokers, prioritising renewals and mid-term adjustments to ensure deadlines are met and maximising our business development opportunities
• Identify and implement changes to deliver exceptional customer service
• Contribute to the overall profitability and financial performance of the company by ensuring efficient working practices
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with the team and the wider business
• Attend underwriting and broker meetings as required throughout the year and to provide insight into developments, trends and feedback on market conditions

Our must haves:

• Strong people management and project skills and the ability to structure task allocations around critical goals
• Have strong experience in underwriting, ideally life science, technology or commercial combined lines
• Excellent organisational and delegation skills
• Strong technical and communication skills (both written and spoken)
• Strong coaching skills to develop the capabilities of all team members
• A high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Track record in building and developing broker relationships
• ACII and/or similar qualification preferred

What’s in it for you: A great starting salary plus 25% annual bonus & strong benefits package… 25 days paid holiday plus Bank Holidays, with the opportunity to buy/sell extra leave. Fantastic company pension scheme, private medical and dental cover, life assurance, travel insurance cover, income protection, season ticket loan as well as other great benefits on offer. There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we can provide the support needed to do just that!

Are you ready to play your part? Choose ‘Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful.