Overview

Branch Underwriting Manager - Leeds / Newcastle

AXA UK, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom

AXA Commercial supports business customers by making it easy to do business with us via brokers, direct phone, or online channels. We are expanding the commercial team and inviting you to join as a Branch Underwriting Manager. Reporting to the Branch Manager, you will lead and manage the operational underwriting function of the Leeds and Newcastle Branch, applying underwriting and pricing strategy and policies to build technical excellence and deliver profit and income targets.

We balance work between home and office, and you will work at least 60% of your week away from home, visiting our office locations in Leeds and Newcastle to meet clients or attend industry events.

What you’ll be doing

• Deliver planned underwriting results through underwriting account management, financial planning, account monitoring, and analysis of underwriting trends.
• Take responsibility for profitability, underwriting governance, and control of all business traded through the Branch.
• Demonstrate loss ratio control by effectively implementing and monitoring underwriting controls.
• Build a reputation as an underwriting expert and strengthen the Branch’s underwriting capability.
• Set and monitor underwriting standards across the Branch, enabling empowerment and clarity for underwriters seeking progression through licence levels.
• Coach and develop underwriting staff, fostering a culture of high performance.
• Lead teams to achieve financial KPIs including New Business, Retention, Rate, Pipeline, and GWP.
• Manage underwriting relationships with key customers and brokers.
• Model good decision-making behaviours on technical and trading issues to deliver strategic objectives.
• Manage the underwriting team through performance management and ongoing capability development.

What you’ll bring

• Previous experience at a senior level within a commercial insurance environment.
• Sound understanding of the insurance market and processes.
• Excellent relationship management skills and experience building long-term internal and external relationships.
• People and resource management skills with the ability to lead and motivate teams.
• Pragmatic decision-making with strong analytical and numerical reasoning skills.
• Long and short-term planning with proven experience in operational and strategic planning.
• Experience in decision making on a range of technical underwriting scenarios, including large-case and portfolio management in a Commercial environment.
• Technical underwriting expertise in a commercial insurance environment.
• Understanding of profitability of business within the intermediary channel.
• ACII qualifications are desirable.

As a precondition of employment, you must be eligible and authorised to work in the United Kingdom.

This role is defined under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD). In addition to pre-employment screening checks, the successful candidate will be subject to background screening every 4 years with an annual declaration in interim years.

What we offer

• Competitive annual salary
• Annual company & performance-based bonus
• Contributory pension scheme (up to 12% employer contributions)
• Life Assurance (up to 10 x annual salary)
• 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
• Car allowance
• Up to 21 hours volunteering leave per year
• Option to buy up to 5 extra days leave or sell up to 5 days leave
• AXA employee discounts
• Private health cover
• Wellbeing resources

To apply, click on the ‘apply for this job’ button and log in or create a profile to submit your CV.

We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. If you have a long-term condition or disability and require adjustments during the application or interview process, we offer access to the AXA Accessibility Concierge. For assistance, please email mel.ainscough@axa-insurance.co.uk.

Who we are

AXA Commercial protects businesses, from multinationals to micro start-ups, helping them grow with confidence. We are investing to develop the expertise and skills needed to be the best and are a vibrant community where everyone is supported to learn, develop, and take ownership of their work.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Finance and Sales