Commercial Lines Underwriting Consultant - Associate Director

Willis Towers Watson; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company is seeking an Associate Director to drive underwriting transformation in London. The role focuses on client consulting, strategic development, and leveraging digital tools to enhance underwriting processes. The successful candidate will act as a trusted advisor, driving innovation and collaboration within a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Proven underwriting experience, ideally with exposure to trading and head-office environments.
• Strong understanding of digital decisioning and its impact on underwriting.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead client underwriting transformation projects and align objectives.
• Collaborate to improve underwriting processes and enhance risk selection.
• Develop new propositions in commercial and specialty lines underwriting.

Skills

Stakeholder Management

Strategic Thinking

Innovation

Analytical Skills

Communication

Job description

As an Associate Director within the UK P&C Consulting Practice you will work with some of the market’s top thought leaders designing and implementing cutting-edge solutions to underwriting and pricing challenges faced by the world’s leading commercial insurers.

In your role you will be helping our clients by:

• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) on client underwriting transformation projects, ensuring alignment between client business objectives and operational changes.
• Lead and support client’s underwriting teams in adopting digital decisioning tools and data-driven underwriting strategies.
• Collaborate with internal teams and clients to improve underwriting and pricing processes, enhance risk selection, and optimize portfolio performance.
• Provide insights to clients on portfolio trading and management to support profitable growth and capital efficiency.
• Identify opportunities for automation, technology adoption, and data integration in underwriting decision-making, including how those changes could be integrated into our product offering.
• Support the clients in navigating the evolving commercial and specialty insurance landscape, leveraging market trends and digital innovations.

The Role

Your main responsibilities will be as follows:

Clients

• To build a market profile as a representative and advocate of WTW commercial and specialty lines underwriting and pricing consulting services and software tools
• Develop a trusted advisor relationship with client contacts through effective communication and efficient, quality execution of projects
• Actively seek to be involved in a variety of work to ensure a broad skill set (technical, management and client) is maintained and developed
• Interface with colleagues from other practices and regions on assignments that reflect the client’s broader business issues
• Demonstrate commitment to WTW’s professional standards in managing analyses and in communications with clients

Thought leadership

• To develop new relevant propositions or to enhance current propositions in commercial and specialty lines underwriting and pricing leveraging WTW’s toolset and broader underwriting and pricing intellectual property and resources
• Lead or contribute to the development of the company’s intellectual capital including plans for taking this to market
• Have a desire to establish and enhance a public reputation in a chosen specialism through the production of articles and presentations

Financial and business development

• Meet goals for billable hours and intellectual capital development
• Develop and present proposals to potential clients, demonstrating the economic value of the company’s offerings
• Use contacts within current network to obtain introductions to new contacts; work to develop supporters for company’s products and services

People

• Build relationships internally and collaborate effectively on cross-functional teams
• Serve as a manager and/or mentor to more junior associates training them on the specificities of the London Market, including processes, systems and market operations.

Qualifications

The Requirements

• Proven underwriting experience, ideally with exposure to both trading and head-office environments.
• Experience in operational change within underwriting, such as acting as the SME or team representative in an internal transformation program.
• Strong understanding of digital decisioning and its potential impact on commercial and specialty underwriting.
• Exposure to portfolio trading and/or portfolio management is highly desirable.
• The ability to see the "big picture”, leveraging the resources of related practices to address the clients' business challenges
• A forward-thinking mindset with a desire to innovate and challenge traditional underwriting practices.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage underwriting teams, technology partners, and senior leadership.
• Ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and drive change effectively.
• Advocate for the value of data enrichment in commercial lines pricing and underwriting
• Experience or interest in selling projects to insurance / financial institutions
• Strong communication skills
• Strong interpersonal and team skills
• Self-starter attitude and ability to work within ambiguity
• Strong analytical and creative skills
• Enjoy training / mentoring junior staff
• Availability to travel on an as needed basis, domestically and internationally

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email [e-mail] .