Field based Commercial Underwriter - South West patch

NFU Mutual; Devon and Torbay; Hybrid; GBP 49,500 - 60,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus (up to 17.5% of salary)

Contributory pension scheme up to 20%

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Family Friendly policy

£20 gym membership contribution

Health and wellbeing plan

Employee Volunteering

Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary

Employee discounts on insurance policies

Job summary

NFU Mutual is seeking a Field based Commercial Underwriter for the South West patch, focusing on building trusted relationships with Agency partners. This role involves managing complex underwriting cases, providing expert guidance across a diverse portfolio of commercial insurance risks while supporting a collaborative team environment.

Applicants should have a proven record in commercial underwriting, a strong grasp of technical insurance products, and the ability to work independently. The position offers a salary up to £55,000 plus excellent benefits including an annual bonus and a contributory pension scheme.

Qualifications

• Experience handling complex and technical insurance cases.
• Confidence in decision-making across a wide geographical area.

Responsibilities

• Build long-term relationships with Agency partners.
• Manage complex commercial underwriting cases.
• Provide expert underwriting insight to the Agency Network.

Skills

Proven experience in commercial underwriting

Strong technical knowledge of insurance products

Stakeholder influence and guidance

Analytical confidence

Education

Relevant insurance qualifications (such as CII)

Job description

Field based Commercial Underwriter - South West patch

• Build trusted, long‑term relationships with established Agency partners across the Midlands
• Manage complex commercial underwriting cases with real autonomy and technical depth
• Field based role with regular travel across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, as well as up to 2 days per week homeworking

Commercial Underwriting at NFU Mutual

At NFU Mutual, our Commercial Underwriting division has a clear roadmap for digital development that supports our commercial growth objectives and opens exciting opportunities to contribute more value-added activities.

Our 280-strong team of dedicated commercial underwriting professionals work on a diverse portfolio of accounts, ranging from new business and development underwriting right through to renewals, mid-term adjustments, and onsite underwriting opportunities. They understand that effective underwriting involves not only assessing risk but also delivering underwriting solutions that support our customers ever-changing and evolving insurance needs. Our close partnership with the NFU Mutual Agency Network across the UK enhances our capacity, enabling us to serve our customers effectively and provide the right insurance solutions to protect their livelihoods. This distinctive aspect of our approach sets us apart from other insurers and is the cornerstone of our continued success.

Being a great place to work is at the heart of our company strategy, and while farming insurance remains a key priority, our focus is on commercial growth. By working in collaboration with our underwriting teams across the business and continually developing your skills, you could play a pivotal role in contributing to our future. Now is the time to join us.

About the role:

As a Field based Commercial Underwriter at NFU Mutual, you’ll play a key role in supporting our Agency Network by providing expert underwriting insight, guidance and decision making across a broad portfolio of commercial insurance risks (including property and casualty lines of business, with premiums from £35K to >£100K).

You’ll work closely with Agents across your patch, spending around two to three days a week on‑site, and the remainder working from home. This role focuses entirely on existing business, allowing you to develop deep, long term relationships and provide consistent, high quality underwriting support.

Working as part of a national team of experienced underwriters, you’ll review and evaluate complex commercial risks, negotiate policy terms within your authority and support large account reviews. You’ll also act as a trusted adviser to Agents, helping to strengthen underwriting capability, improve technical knowledge and support strong customer outcomes.

NFU Mutual will support you with a structured induction, specialist underwriting training and ongoing peer support. As the team continues to evolve, the role also offers exposure to wider underwriting activity and future opportunities across NFU Mutual.

This is a field-based role covering a South‑West patch – including agencies in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall – so a full current driving licence is a requirement.

This role is known internally as: Onsite Underwriter.

About you:

You are an experienced commercial underwriter with a strong track record of handling complex and technical insurance cases. You bring confidence in your decision making, enjoy building professional relationships and are comfortable working independently across a wide geographical area.

So to recap, to join NFU Mutual, you’ll need to bring:

• Proven experience in commercial underwriting, including dealing with complex and higher value risks (i.e., up to £100k premiums)
• Strong technical knowledge across a range of commercial insurance products and underwriting principles including Property and Casualty lines of business
• Experience of working closely with stakeholders, influencing decisions and providing expert guidance
• Confidence analysing performance, identifying trends and supporting continuous improvement
• Relevant insurance qualifications (such as CII), or significant progression towards them

At NFU Mutual, we support an inclusive workplace and value all the differences that make us unique. We celebrate the creativity and innovation that comes from diverse perspectives and experiences and share a common vision of doing the right thing for our customers and employees.

We recognise that some candidates may experience barriers during the recruitment process. So, we encourage candidates to discuss any adjustments or accommodations they need to be the best they can be throughout our recruitment process.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Race at Work and Women in Finance Charter signatory and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, disability, neurodiversity, gender, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Benefits and Rewards:

When you join our team, you can expect a supportive culture and an attractive range of rewards and benefits including:

Level 4

• Salary of up to £55,000
• Annual bonus (up to 17.5% of salary)
• Contributory pension scheme, up to 20%, including your 8% contribution
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + buy/sell/save holiday trading scheme
• A Family Friendly policy that helps you balance your work and family responsibilities
• Access to savings at High Street brands, travel and supermarkets
• £20 contribution to a monthly gym membership – subject to T&Cs
• Health and wellbeing plan - cashback for dentist, opticians, physio and more
• Access to voluntary benefits, including health assessments, private medical insurance and dental insurance
• Employee Volunteering - volunteer in the community for one day each year
• Unlimited access to Refer a Friend £500 bonus scheme
• Life Assurance cover of 4 x salary
• Employee discounts of 15% on a range of NFU Mutual insurance policies.
• Salary sacrifice employee car scheme - subject to eligibility

Working at NFU Mutual:

We’re one of the UK’s leading general insurance and financial services organisations, and for over 110 years we’ve put our customers at the heart of everything we do. Our people are just as important to us, so we’re proud to be recognised as “a great place to work”.

Our Gallup Exceptional Workplace 2025 award was not only awarded with Distinction, but it also marked us as the first UK based company to earn a Gallup Exceptional Workplace award for ten consecutive years. We’ve also been consistently recognised by Glassdoor. We appeared in the Glassdoor Best Places to Work UK list in 2023, 2024 and 2026 — and in 2026, we were the highest ranked insurance business in the UK, highlighting our strong employee experience and the positive feedback our people share on the platform.

Additionally, we were named in the LinkedIn Top 15 Companies 2025 list of “Best midsize employers to grow your career in the UK”, and we’ve been certified as a UK Top Employer by the Top Employers Institute in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

We offer a supportive and empowering culture where people are inspired to perform, given opportunities to grow, and recognised and rewarded for their contribution. Our people are proud to work for a company that respects them and their communities, and they trust us to be financially sustainable—so we’re successful now and in the future.