Legal Counsel – Underwriting & Claims

AXA UK; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

AXA UK is seeking a Legal Counsel to join its Underwriting & Claims team in London. This role involves providing legal support across their insurance and reinsurance operations, including drafting contracts and advising on regulatory issues. Ideal candidates will be qualified solicitors with significant experience in English insurance law and excellent stakeholder management skills. This is a full-time permanent position offering competitive benefits and opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

30 days holiday with the option to buy additional days

Flexible working opportunities

10% employer contributions to pension plan

Comprehensive private medical insurance

26 weeks leave at full pay for new parents

20 days remote work abroad per year

Sustainable investing initiative

Cycle-to-Work options

Qualifications

• Minimum of 4 years' post-qualification experience.
• Thorough understanding of English insurance law and the London insurance market.
• Good technical knowledge across commercial insurance business.
• Sound understanding of UK general insurance regulation.
• Experience of multi-jurisdictional work is preferable.

Responsibilities

• Provide clear, practical legal advice on insurance and reinsurance matters.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts focusing on legal robustness.
• Support Senior Legal Counsel in delivering legal strategy.
• Assist in training on legal and regulatory topics.
• Monitor legal developments and emerging risks.
• Build relationships with stakeholders across the business.

Skills

Business Law

Communication

Contract Management

Critical Thinking

Intentional collaboration

Legal Consulting

Legal Documents

Legal Risk

Litigation Management

Managing performance

Negotiation

Research Analysis

Sound Judgment

Stakeholder Management

Team Management

Education

Qualified solicitor or barrister

Job description

Legal Counsel – Underwriting & Claims team

Location: London

Type: Full time, Permanent

The opportunity

We have a great opportunity for a Legal Counsel to join a highly regarded in house Legal team as a trusted legal advisor across our UK insurance and reinsurance operations, supporting them in the execution of their strategy by providing pragmatic solutions on a wide range of legal and regulatory matters.

Your new role

• Provide clear, practical legal advice on a broad range of insurance and reinsurance related underwriting and distribution matters, , regulatory developments, and business projects.

• Support the Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Legal, Underwriting & Claims in delivering legal strategy and frameworks for managing legal risk.

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts with a focus on legal robustness and commercial viability.

• Ad hoc advice on contentious matters, claims coverage, contract interpretation, and legal aspects of claims handling.

• Assist in training on legal and regulatory topics.

• Monitor and analyse legal developments and emerging risks, ensuring the business remains informed and compliant.

• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across the business and promote the Legal team as a valued and accessible resource.

• Contribute to the continuous improvement of legal processes, controls, and risk awareness.

• Represent the Legal team in cross-functional initiatives and support group-level projects.

• Participate in the legal duty solicitor rota.

• Foster strong internal relationships within the legal team.

About you

• Qualified solicitor or barrister with a minimum of 4 years’ post-qualification experience.

• A thorough understanding of English insurance law and the London insurance market and a good technical insurance knowledge across commercial insurance business

• Sound understanding of UK general insurance regulation relevant to insurance distribution and product governance is preferable

• Experience of multi-jurisdictional work is preferable

• Excellent drafting and client management skills

• Ability to prioritise and work under pressure

• Good presentation and negotiating skills

• Experience of direct client contact

• Confidence to act independently and make technical decisions within competence, with ability to judge when to seek advice

• Forward thinking and proactive in approach to work

Why QBE? At My Best

At QBE, we want our people to feel rewarded and inspired to perform at their best, that’s why we have created “At My Best”.It’s our connection, our way of showing we have your back. We understand that one size doesn’t fit all and that priorities can change depending on your life stage. That is why our blend of wellbeing initiatives and benefits offer flexibility to suit what matters most to you. It’s in the culture of our business, our QBE DNA, to support our people. Everything we do is underpinned by our QBE DNA.

We’re an international insurer that’s building momentum towards realising our vision of becoming the most consistent and innovative risk partner. We can never really predict what’s around the corner, but at QBE we’re asking the right questions to enable a more resilient future – helping those around us build strength and embrace change to their advantage.

QBE aims to build a workplace that is fair and inclusive because we want to attract and retain the best people to do the job, we have adopted flexible working across the company and welcome this conversation (https://qbeeurope.com/careers/flex-qbe/).

With more than more than 13,000 people working across 27 countries, we’re big enough to make a real impact, but small enough to provide a friendly workplace, where people are down-to-earth, passionate, and kind.

To find out more about why you should work for QBE, visit ourcareers website.

At My Best - QBE Benefits

You are more than your work – and QBE is more than a workplace, which is why we provide you with the benefits, support and flexibility to help you concentrate on living your best life personally and professionally.FOR UK ONLY: As well as the benefits below we also offer an extensive choice of other options to suit you!

30 days holiday a year with the option to buy up to 2 additional days.

Flexible working -balancing work and life is important so our flexible working opportunities are open to all, this can include part-time, job share and compressed hours.

Pension – you are automatically enrolled into the QBE pension plan, which entitles you to receive employer contributions of 10% of your basic salary.

Private medical insurance – we fund fully comprehensive private medical cover for you and all the family.

Family friendly policies – we offer 26 weeks leave at full pay regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation or how you become a parent.

Short term remote work abroad -you can request up to 20 days per year to work remotely from certain locations abroad.

Sustainable investing - we believe sustainable integration is important for long term financial, environmental, and social outcomes. Our pension strategy supports our net-zero goal to achieve year-on-year reductions in carbon footprint, by investing more in green businesses than the broader market, so your savings are looking after the planet's future, as well as your own.

Cycle-to-Work – benefit from regular exercise whilst making your commute greener and cheaper, select andbike and/or accessories up to the value of £5,000.

To find out more visit ourReward Page

QBE Awards

Some of the award’s QBE are proud to have won, been a finalist for, and shortlisted for include;

AXCO Global Insurance Awards 2024 Winner: Network Management of the Year

Insurance Business UK 5-Star Cyber Awards 2024: QBE rated as a 5-Star Cyber Insurer

UK IT Industry Awards 2023 Winner: Green Technology Innovation of the Year

Working Dads Employer Awards 2023 Winner: Parental Policies Award

Insurance Post British Insurance Awards 2023: QBE rated as a 5-Star Employe

You can view all our awards here

Inclusion of Diversity

We are striving to create a workplace culture where all our people feel included, and we are committed to building a diverse workforce that is reflective of the communities we operatein.We are proud to have partnerships with organisations such as Stonewall and Working Families, and our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles and Race at Work charter helps keep us accountable and transparent. For more information on our strategy targets please take a look at ourCareers Page

Accessibility

Here at QBE, we are promoting an accessible workplace for all, which includes supporting candidates to perform at their best during their recruitment process. If you require any accommodations, please make your Talent Acquisition contact aware.

ESG & Sustainability

At QBE, we believe that integrating sustainability into our business helps us deliver on our purpose of enabling a more resilient future.Our three key focus areas include fostering an orderly and inclusive transition to a net-zero economy, enabling a sustainable and resilient workforce, and partnering for growth through innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions. For further information regarding QBE’s sustainability targets, including our net-zero pledges and inclusion of diversity targets, and our award-winning impact investment initiative ‘Premiums4Good’, please visit our Sustainability homepage and read our latest Sustainability Report

What next?If you have a passion to contribute to QBE’s vision of enabling a more resilient future for our customers and the community, we encourage you to apply! Simply click the “apply” button to submit your CV and other relevant documents, and a member of our friendly Talent Acquisition team will be in contact to discuss your interest further if you meet the requirements of the role.

We believe this is our moment – what if it was yours too?

APPLY NOW and let’s make it happen!

Skills:

Business Law, Communication, Contract Management, Critical Thinking, Intentional collaboration, Legal Consulting, Legal Documents, Legal Risk, Litigation Management, Managing performance, Negotiation, Research Analysis, Sound Judgment, Stakeholder Management, Team ManagementApplication Close Date: 31/07/2025 11:59 PM

How to Apply:

To submit your application, click "Apply" and follow the step by step process.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

QBE is an equal opportunity employer and is required to comply with equal employment opportunity legislation in each jurisdiction it operates.