Senior Market Underwriter, Zurich Municipal

Zurich 56 Company Ltd; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 75,000; Part time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Senior Market Underwriter to join their dynamic team in Birmingham. This role offers a unique opportunity to leverage your expertise in Motor underwriting while mentoring junior talent and shaping underwriting strategies. You'll be part of a supportive environment that values flexibility and work-life balance, allowing you to thrive both professionally and personally. With a commitment to diversity and inclusion, this company fosters a culture where every employee can contribute meaningfully. If you're ready to take your career to the next level and make a significant impact, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Benefits

12% defined non-contributory pension scheme

Annual company bonus

Income Protection

Life cover - four times your salary

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Three days paid volunteering

Access to Private medical insurance

Discounted gym membership

Free flu jab

Access to wellbeing support

Qualifications

• Expertise in Motor underwriting with strong negotiation skills.
• ACII CII qualification is essential for this role.

Responsibilities

• Lead on key customer accounts and underwrite new business opportunities.
• Develop junior talent and share knowledge with the team.
• Engage in external meetings and market events.

Skills

Underwriting experience within Motor

Commerciality and strong negotiation skills

Ability to assess risk

Excellent communication skills

Coaching skills

Relationship building

Active listening

Needs analysis

Education

ACII CII Qualified

Job description

Working hours: This role is available on a part-time, job-share or full-time basis.

Location: Birmingham / Farnborough

Closing date: 2nd February 2025

The opportunity:

Are you looking to build on your Underwriting career? Are you looking for a new challenge? Are you a Motor expert – keen to share your expertise to develop future talent and shape our underwriting strategy? If so, we would love to hear from you. This is a unique opportunity to build your knowledge and experience working with a range of customers and partners at Zurich Municipal.

Zurich Municipal (ZM) is a leading provider of insurance and risk management solutions for the public and voluntary sectors. Since 1993 we’ve insured charities, voluntary organisations, housing associations, and the education and public sectors, helping our customers better understand and reduce the risks they face. We provide insurance for organisations of all sizes across the UK, from insuring a large local authority to small community groups.

This is an important and rewarding role – a position of influence. The roles are within established and experienced market underwriting teams where you will be supported by experienced colleagues who will help to develop your knowledge. This is a great opportunity to experience what makes Zurich Municipal successful and one of the sector's leading carriers – having supported our customers to manage their risk and insurance needs for over 30 years.

Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours. This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you may need.

What will you be doing?

As a Senior Market Underwriter, some of your key activities include:

• Lead on key customer accounts and underwrite priority new business opportunities.
• Use your experience and expertise to challenge underwriting strategies – helping us to evolve our thinking and approaches.
• Develop our junior talent – share your knowledge and wisdom with our talented team – coaching for success.
• Support the team manager in setting performance standards and improving service delivery.
• Develop, maintain & collaborate with Line of Business representatives on referrals and other business-related needs.
• Market visibility – engage in external meetings and market events.

Who are we looking for?

Ideally, you will have the following skills and experience but don’t worry if you don’t tick all of these boxes:

• Underwriting experience within Motor.
• Commerciality and strong negotiation skills.
• Ability to confidently and effectively assess risk.
• Excellent communication and coaching skills.
• Established in relationship building, active listening, and needs analysis.
• ACII CII Qualified.
• Strong knowledge of underwriting philosophy, techniques, national regulations and guidelines would be beneficial but not essential.

Who we are:

At Zurich we aspire to be one of the most responsible and impactful businesses in the world and the best global insurer. Together we’re creating a brighter future for our customers, our people, and our planet. With over 55,000 employees in more than 170 countries, you’ll feel the support of being part of a strong and stable company that has been a long-standing player in the insurance industry.

We’ve made a promise to each other and every employee; to focus on sustainable impact, to care about each other’s wellbeing, to use our diverse expertise to be curious and optimistic and to develop the skills needed for our future.

If you're interested in working in a dynamic and challenging environment for a company that recognises and rewards your creativity, initiatives, and contributions - then Zurich could be just the place for you. Be part of something great.

Our Culture:

At Zurich, our sense of community is strong and we’re particularly passionate about diversity and inclusion, which we’ve won numerous awards for. We want our people to bring the whole of themselves to work and ensure everybody is made to feel welcome, regardless of their background, beliefs, or culture. We want our employees to reflect the diversity of our customers, and so are committed to treating all of our applicants fairly and with respect, irrespective of their actual or assumed background, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We’ve an environment that places real importance on our people’s wellbeing from a physical, mental, social, and financial perspective. We work with our wellbeing partners and industry experts to provide the best advice and access to a wealth of lifestyle support. We’re also committed to continuous improvement, and we offer access to a comprehensive range of training and development opportunities.

We’re passionate about supporting employees to help others by getting involved in volunteering, charitable and community activity. Our charitable arm, Zurich Community Trust, is one of the longest-established corporate trusts in the UK. In that time, we’ve awarded grants and volunteered time to deserving causes in the UK valued at over £90 million.

So, make a difference. Be challenged. Be inspired. Be supported, Love what you do. Work for us.

The financials:

• 12% defined non-contributory pension scheme.
• Annual company bonus.
• Income Protection.
• Life cover - four times your salary.

Time away:

• 25 days holiday a year plus bank holidays.
• You can also request to swap UK bank holidays for days off that have cultural or religious significance to you.
• The option to buy up to an additional 20 days or sell some of your holiday.
• Three days paid volunteering.
• Up to 16 weeks' full pay for maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

Your health is important to us:

• Access to Private medical insurance.
• Virtual GP appointments.
• Discounted gym membership.
• Free flu jab.
• Access to a wealth of support from our wellbeing partners.

We're making a difference:

• Creating a brighter, more sustainable future underpins all that we do here in Zurich. We were the first insurer to sign the ‘UN Business Ambition for 1.5˚C’ pledge.
• Our charitable arm, Zurich Community Trust, has awarded grants and volunteered time to deserving causes in the UK valued at over £90 million.