Director of Underwriting in London

Founding Underwriting Directors / Specialty Practice Leaders

London / UK | Full-time | Specialty Insurance / MGA

Senior leadership remuneration - competitive base salary and wider package, dependent on experience, business proposition and scope

The opportunity

Sanderson King is conducting a confidential search for entrepreneurial underwriting leaders interested in establishing, developing and scaling specialist underwriting businesses within an established, well-backed MGA platform.

Our client is actively exploring opportunities to expand its specialty underwriting capabilities by partnering with experienced professionals who have the technical expertise, commercial relationships and ambition to build something of their own.

We are particularly interested in individuals who have successfully developed underwriting portfolios, led specialist teams or identified opportunities to establish new products and classes of business.

This is not a conventional recruitment exercise for a predetermined underwriting vacancy.

Instead, the organisation is looking to engage with talented underwriting leaders who can articulate a compelling proposition and see the opportunity to create a substantial, profitable business with the support of an established specialty insurance platform.

For the right individual, this could offer the entrepreneurial appeal of launching a new underwriting operation without having to establish an independent MGA from the ground up.

The platform

The opportunity sits within an established specialty MGA business with existing underwriting operations, Lloyd's market relationships, coverholder capabilities and wider distribution infrastructure.

The organisation has ambitions to broaden its specialty underwriting offering by developing new products and supporting experienced underwriting teams.

The approach is deliberately entrepreneurial: identify strong underwriting talent, understand the commercial opportunity and explore how the right platform, resources and market relationships could support a successful launch.

Rather than requiring every candidate to fit an existing organisational structure, the business is open to discussing different propositions based on the individual, their expertise and the opportunity they can develop.

Specialty classes of interest

We would welcome confidential conversations with underwriting leaders across a range of specialty and commercial insurance classes, potentially including:

• Financial Lines: Directors & Officers, Professional Indemnity, Management Liability and Financial Institutions.
• Property: Commercial Property, Specialty Property and complex or distressed risks.
• Casualty: General Liability, International Casualty, Excess Liability and specialist liability classes.
• Construction & Engineering: Contractors' All Risks, Engineering, Construction Liability and related specialist products.
• Marine & Energy: Marine Cargo, Hull, Marine Liability, Energy and associated specialty exposures.
• Accident & Health: Personal Accident, Group Accident, Travel and specialist A&H propositions.
• Trade Credit & Political Risk: Credit, Contract Frustration, Political Risk and related products.
• Other Specialty Classes: Niche or underserved markets where there is a compelling underwriting opportunity and credible distribution.

These areas are illustrative rather than a fixed list of approved launches. We would also be interested in hearing from leaders with propositions outside these classes.

The central consideration is the strength of the underwriting opportunity, the individual or team's capabilities and the potential to establish a sustainable, profitable portfolio.

The remit

Develop the underwriting proposition

• Identify an attractive market opportunity and articulate a clear underwriting strategy.
• Define the target market, product offering, distribution approach and competitive positioning.
• Develop an underwriting appetite and business plan grounded in risk selection, pricing discipline and commercial opportunity.
• Assess the resources, infrastructure and capacity arrangements required to establish the operation.
• Work with senior stakeholders to evaluate the proposition and determine an appropriate development plan.

Build and manage the portfolio

• Establish the technical underwriting framework and standards appropriate to the class of business.
• Take responsibility for portfolio development, risk selection and underwriting performance.
• Develop a disciplined approach to pricing, coverage, exposure management and profitability.Monitor market conditions, emerging exposures and opportunities to refine the offering.
• Balance commercial growth with appropriate underwriting controls and governance.

Develop distribution and market relationships

• Leverage established broker and market relationships to support the development of the proposition.
• Identify new distribution opportunities and build a commercially attractive offering.
• Engage with relevant capacity providers and market participants alongside the wider business.
• Develop long-term trading relationships built on credibility, technical expertise and consistent delivery.
• Represent the specialist underwriting operation externally and contribute to its market positioning.

Build and lead the team

• Determine the skills and structure required to establish and grow the business.
• Recruit and develop underwriting professionals as the portfolio expands.
• Establish clear responsibilities, underwriting authorities and performance expectations.
• Create a collaborative, commercially focused culture with strong technical standards.
• Develop the leadership capability required to support sustainable growth.

Your background

We are interested in speaking with experienced underwriting professionals who combine strong technical expertise with commercial ambition and the ability to develop a specialist business.

You are likely to demonstrate:

• Substantial underwriting experience within a recognised specialty or commercial insurance class.
• Responsibility for a meaningful portfolio, product line, underwriting team or business unit.
• A strong understanding of underwriting profitability, pricing, risk selection and portfolio performance.
• Established relationships with brokers, distributors or other relevant market participants.
• Experience developing new business, expanding portfolios or launching underwriting products.
• The ability to lead, recruit and develop specialist underwriting professionals.
• A commercially credible view of how your chosen class could develop within an MGA environment.
• An entrepreneurial outlook and the ambition to take greater ownership of a business.

You may currently be a Head of Underwriting, Underwriting Director, Portfolio Director, Active Underwriter, Class Underwriter or senior specialty underwriting leader .

We are equally interested in individuals whose responsibilities and achievements exceed their formal job title.

Established underwriting teams

We are particularly keen to engage with underwriting leaders who may be interested in developing a new operation alongside an established team or a small group of trusted colleagues.

This could include professionals who have successfully worked together within an insurer, syndicate or MGA and believe there is an opportunity to establish a specialist proposition with greater commercial autonomy.

Potential discussions may explore:

• The underwriting expertise and complementary capabilities within the proposed team.
• The class of business, target market and commercial proposition.
• Existing market relationships and credible distribution opportunities.
• The infrastructure, capacity and resources required to support the business.
• The longer-term opportunity to establish and grow a specialist underwriting division.

Any team-related discussions would be conducted confidentially and with appropriate regard to contractual, regulatory and professional obligations.

Why explore this opportunity?

The opportunity to help create and develop a specialist underwriting business, rather than simply manage an existing portfolio within a large organisation.

Access to the infrastructure, operational support and market relationships of an established specialty MGA business.

Commercial influence

The ability to help shape the underwriting strategy, product offering, distribution approach and longer-term direction of the operation.

Team-building opportunity

Potential to establish and lead a specialist team, developing the capabilities required as the business grows.

Long-term growth

The opportunity to develop a meaningful underwriting portfolio within an organisation actively exploring expansion into additional specialty classes.

The conversation

This is an exploratory leadership opportunity rather than a single, predefined appointment.

The precise title, responsibilities, operating structure, remuneration and wider commercial arrangements would depend on the individual, the proposed class of business and the strength of the opportunity.

Initial discussions will focus on your underwriting background, commercial achievements, market relationships and ambitions for developing a specialist business.

We welcome confidential conversations with both individual underwriting leaders and established teams interested in exploring a new platform.

All approaches will be treated in the strictest confidence.

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