Legal Counsel

Munich Re; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days Annual Leave + bank holidays

10% Non-contributory Pension

Eligibility for an Annual Bonus

Private Medical + Dental Insurance

Critical illness insurance + Life and

Wellbeing and Development Scheme + EAP

Hybrid Working + IT Home Set-up

Job summary

Munich Re, London/Manchester hybrid, seeks an experienced Legal Counsel to support UK and London specialty markets. You will advise on (re)insurance law, wordings, and regulatory matters, liaising with internal teams and external counsel as needed.

You will work across distribution channels, advise on contracts, and contribute to strategic projects while building knowledge sharing across the Global Markets legal function.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with 5-6 years PQE in private practice (insurance).
• Experience with UK insurance market and Lloyd's is essential.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills for standard and bespoke contracts.
• Knowledge of regulatory law and consumer products exposure.
• Ability to deliver research/analysis crisply in fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Advise on (re)insurance law issues including wordings and distribution contracts.
• Advise commercial/product teams on wordings and governance, including regulatory aspects of new products.
• Advise in contentious matters including non-claims litigation and investigations.
• Support compliance on complex regulatory matters and sanctions.
• Provide legal support to distribution channels including Lloyd's Europe and regional hubs.
• Collaborate with UK-based Munich group legal teams and ensure group guidelines are understood.
• Advise on intra-group and third-party service contracts to optimise agreements.
• Lead strategic legal projects with stakeholder engagement across teams.
• Provide training, templates, and knowledge sharing across the business.

Skills

Insurance law

Regulatory law

Drafting & negotiation

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Research & analysis

Project management

Education

2:1 undergraduate degree

Qualified lawyer (English/common law)

Job description

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets (MRS-GM), it is our ambition to become the leading Primary Specialty Insurance provider, underpinned by an effective and adaptablestrategy, superior products and industry leaders working in a supportive environment to achieve this.

At the heart of our success is a strong culture where people are encouraged to be present, bold and curious, allowing them to achieve their individual goals.

Legal Counsel

We are looking for a Legal Counsel to join our London Office or our Manchester Office on a full-time basis with hybrid working of 2-3 days per week.

You will support our UK team with expertise in the London and UK specialty insurance market on a full time permanent basis with hybrid working. Experience in the European insurance market is advantageous.

You will act as trusted advisor to the business on cross-disciplinary legal topics across MRS-GM. This includes advice on distribution contracts, underwriting, wordings, (re)insurance, service contracts, regulatory and compliance support and assisting the business with day-to-day legal questions on a broad range of other subjects and leading strategic project work from time to time.

You will have excellent technical capability in (re)insurance law, including regulatory law, (re)insurance coverage, and experience in negotiating Lloyd’s and Company market wordings/clauses and contracts spanning a wide range of property and casualty and specialty lines of business.

As an experienced Legal Counsel, you combine strong autonomy with a collaborative mindset, supporting and developing colleagues and contributing to the wider Global Markets legal strategy and knowledge sharing process.

Responsibilities

• Advise on (re)insurance law issues including wordings, delegation and distribution contracts.
• Advise commercial and product teams on wordings and related governance processes, including regulatory considerations for new products/emerging areas.
• Advise in contentious matters including non-claims litigation and investigations.
• Advise and assist compliance team on complex regulatory matters and sanctions matters.
• Provide legal support to MRS-GM’s distribution channels including international offices and in relation to Lloyd’s Europe and (occasionally) to the MRS-GM European Hub and regional network.
• Work with Munich Re Corporate Underwriting and other Munich-based lawyers to ensure all relevant group guidelines are understood and implemented across MRS-GM. Maintain wordings and processes in accordance with group wide policies.
• Collaborate with other (UK based) legal teams within the Munich group aligned with functional organisational activity.
• Advise on commercial and corporate contract issues to include optimising approach to intra-group agreements and third-party service contracts.
• Advise on and lead (strategic) projects from a legal side including stakeholder involvement and engagement with other teams.
• Provide training, develop template contracts and share relevant knowledge across the business and or (other) legal function.
• Identify any significant legal exposures, provide legal updates to the business and where appropriate manage external counsel instructions.
• Help drive forward good Conduct for the business to deliver the best outcomes for customers / policyholders.
• Contribute to enhancing processes aimed at achieving consistency, efficiency gains, and streamlined provision of legal advice (including appropriate use of AI).

Knowledge And Skills

• Qualified lawyer – 5-6 years PQE with experience in private practice (insurance). Inhouse experience is welcome but not essential.
• Background and specialisation in insurance and insurance regulatory law. Comprehensive understanding of and experience working with the UK insurance industry and Lloyd’s is essential.
• Education: Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree. Conversion course at least commendation. English or common law jurisdiction qualified lawyer. Dual/additional legal qualifications are advantageous.
• Research and analysis - ability to provide complete and comprehensive research whilst delivering crisp, targeted and on-point analysis in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills to develop standard form and bespoke documentation and contracts.
• Comprehensive understanding of legislative, regulatory, and competitive environment including consumer products.
• Commercially aware and strong business understanding.
• A team player with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative and open mind set.
• Focus on efficiency and timeliness with timely delivery of work products whilst maintaining a clear, proactive communication on timelines, dependencies, and expected completion dates.
• Strong communication (in writing and face-to-face), presentation and negotiation skills. Able to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders (in particular underwriters and management).

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At Munich Re, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion foster innovation and resilience and enable us to act braver and better. Embracing the power of DEI is at the core of who we are. We recognise diversity can be multi-dimensional, intersectional, and complex, so we want to build a diverse workforce that includes a wide range of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities; economic and geographic backgrounds; physical abilities; ages; life, school, and career experiences; and political, religious, and personal beliefs.

Additionally, we are committed to building an equitable and inclusive work environment where this diversity is celebrated, valued, and has equitable opportunities to succeed.

All candidates in consideration for any role can request a reasonable adjustment at any point in our recruitment process. You can request an adjustment by speaking to your Talent Acquisition contact.

Learning and innovating today, striving for sustainable societies and business tomorrow

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets our approach to ESG is underpinned by our desire to seize business opportunities and to nurture a stimulating and inclusive work environment. Our ESG strategy aims to deliver holistic impacts across environmental, social and governance topics including supporting a number of local initiatives within our community and offering volunteering opportunities for colleagues.

Benefits

• 25 days Annual Leave + bank holidays
• 10% Non-contributory Pension
• Eligibility for an Annual Bonus
• Private Medical + Dental Insurance
• Critical illness insurance + Life Assurance + Permanent Health Insurance
• Wellbeing and Development Scheme + EAP + Health Assessments (subject to scheme eligibility)
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme
• Study & continuing Professional Development Support
• Hybrid Working + IT Home Set-up Support

#BePresent #BeBold #BeCurious