Senior SME Underwriter

We insure small businesses and enable big dreams – not just for our customers, but for our people and communities too. With over 1,000,000 active insurance policies, we protect builders, bakers, landlords and more than 1,200 other trades.

We’re a technology company as well as one that sells insurance. That means we build, we fail, we learn and we improve. Through our global social impact strategy, called 'The Big Dreams Project’, we're working to help 10,000 small businesses start or grow by 2030.

You will play a pivotal role in supporting the small business cause by managing a diverse portfolio of risks at a macro level. This isn’t just about technical frameworks; it’s about championing small business success by leading technical excellence and using market research to develop world-class underwriting. You will have a direct impact on the business by monitoring account performance and driving frequent pricing and product actions.

What makes this role different is the level of visibility and empowerment you’ll have. Unlike many underwriting positions, you’ll have unique end-to-end exposure to the entire insurance business, allowing you to see the impact of your work across the board. You’ll be a pioneer, bringing fresh ideas to the table that challenge the status quo and move the business forward while coaching and training junior members to elevate our collective standards.

As one of our Senior Underwriters, you’ll:

• Take ownership of portfolio performance, understanding and improving the book to ensure long-term sustainability.
• Collaboratively manage technical frameworks, including pricing models, underwriting rules, policy wordings, and endorsements.
• Exercise underwriting authority by making expert judgements and managing the technical referral process for the wider team.
• Build and own strategic relationships with key stakeholders and insurer partners to maintain strong foundations.
• Maintain technical rigor by supporting our audit and peer review processes to ensure high standards and accuracy.
• Deliver large-scale internal projects with a focus on ensuring our products provide genuine and honest value to our customers.

We’re looking for someone who is:

• An expert in the commercial SME market with a deep underwriting background.
• Knowledgeable in portfolio mechanics, with the ability to control and manage a diverse book of business.
• Data-driven and analytical, using a logical approach to technical underwriting to inform your decisions.
• A strong communicator who can simplify complex technical work for others while maintaining a close eye on the detail.
• A natural relationship builder who can articulate success and negotiate commercials with insurer partners.
• Committed to professional learning, ideally having completed or being near completion of an ACII qualification.

We encourage people of all different backgrounds and identities to apply. We are committed to maintaining an inclusive, supportive place for you to be you and do your very best work.

By ensuring our underwriting is as innovative and robust as the businesses we protect, you’ll be directly enabling big dreams for small businesses across the UK. Apply today.

What are the benefits of working at Simply Business:

• We offer a great work-life balance where workloads are manageable and everyone has the flexibility to work hybrid.
• On top of the 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), we offer the option to buy five more days of holiday with your flexible benefits.
• Our flexible parental leave allows you to approach an important time how you want - with six months full pay to the primary caregiver and four weeks full pay if you're the secondary caregiver.
• Our life event leave is an extra day’s leave every two years for those big moments in your life like moving house or your birthday. Long-serving employees get a two-week paid sabbatical after five years of service, then four weeks off after ten years of service.
• Private medical insurance through BUPA, that covers any pre-existing condition is a core benefit. Plus a health cash plan that covers your everyday medical expenses.
• We offer a competitive salary based on your experience and the current market. Plus the potential to earn an annual bonus based on performance.
• Access to tools to support your personal development on our dedicated learning platform. As well as support for your mental health with access to counselling.
• We match what you put into your pension up to five per cent. And pass on a tax-free sum that's four times your basic salary with our life assurance policy, with the option to increase it to ten times through our flexible benefit scheme.
• Our salary sacrifice car scheme gives you the option to buy a brand new, fully insured, and maintained car for a convenient fixed monthly amount taken from your gross salary (after 6 months service).
• Our flexible benefits scheme gives you an allocated amount to use each year on benefits like critical illness cover, dental insurance, travel insurance, or a gym membership.

Simply Business is committed to providing equality and opportunities for all employees and candidates considering a career with us. We offer a workplace where colleagues are treated with respect and dignity. We don’t (and won’t) discriminate either directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, colour, religion, belief, political opinion, disability, nationality, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation or relationship status at any stage of the hiring process or during the course of your employment.

At Simply Business, we insure small businesses and enable big dreams. Not just for our customers, but for our people, our communities and our environment. We believe a world-class company culture is crucial to achieving our business goals as we make insurance more accessible to small business owners. We’re building a better way to buy small business insurance, and we’re using technology to get the job done. That includes developing cutting-edge data gathering and analysis capabilities; living and breathing testing and experimentation; and harnessing the many benefits of AI and other emerging technologies.

We’re a values-led business. Our people all have a part to play in building a culture that lives these values: learning, empowerment, authenticity, pioneering, and simplicity.