Senior Pricing Analyst

Hiscox Underwriting Group Services Ltd (HUGS); City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Senior Pricing Analyst role sits in Hiscox UK Pricing, driving pricing analytics and insights to inform underwriting decisions. You will build and maintain pricing models, mix GLMs with machine-learning techniques, and report on model performance to senior stakeholders.

You will collaborate with Underwriting, Distribution, Operations and Finance, and help implement new pricing software and cloud data tools.

Qualifications

• Graduate calibre with at least three years in a similar role.
• Strong statistical skills applied in a business context.
• Excellent analytical and pragmatic reasoning, with problem-solving ability.
• Proficient in data analysis tools such as Excel and SQL.
• Knowledge of Python, Emblem and SAS as programming/statistical tools.

Responsibilities

• Design and manipulate data models for pricing
• End-to-end architect of technical pricing models
• Create models to predict claims frequency, severity and customer behaviours
• Own regular reporting to compare model predictions with actuals
• Ensure pricing insights drive business decisions and align with UK strategy
• Collaborate with Underwriting, Heads of Underwriting and other stakeholders

Skills

Data modelling

Pricing analytics

SQL

Python

Machine learning

Stakeholder management

Data visualization

Cloud data warehouses

Pricing software

Mentoring

Education

Graduate calibre

Tools

Python

Emblem

SAS

Job description

Job Type: Permanent

Build a brilliant future with Hiscox

The team and role

The UK Pricing team are a fundamental part of the Hiscox UK business, driving analytics and business insight that informs the direction of portfolio underwriting decisions. The UK Pricing team sits within the wider Portfolio Underwriting and Pricing function, whose primary objective is to provide pricing and underwriting services across the UK retail business, with the aim of providing market-leading risk selection and driving profitable growth across the portfolio. The team reports directly to the UK Chief Underwriting Officer and collaborates closely with Underwriting, Distribution, Operations, Marketing, Reserving and Finance. The pricing team is split into Technical and Product-Facing analysts. Product-Facing Pricing Analysts focus more on monitoring, implementing and maintaining production prices, and work with senior stakeholders to prioritise pricing activity aligned with the UK strategy. This role sits within the technical pricing area of the team. You will be someone who loves technical detail but can bring commercial understanding to provide insights that directly influence business decisions. Day to day, you will focus on creating, maintaining, monitoring and embedding pricing models. You will have a passion for data science and for seeing business outcomes influenced by your expertise. As a Senior Pricing Analyst, you will drive pricing analysis and influence the growing book of non-standard high-net-worth household, motor, SME commercial and specialty lines. The Senior Pricing Analyst plays a critical role in supporting and influencing UK pricing and profitable growth. Please note that this role does not require you to pursue, or to have previously pursued, actuarial qualifications.

What you’ll be doing

• Design and manipulate underlying data models to produce standardised data tables that form the basis of all underlying technical pricing models.
• Act as the end-to-end architect of technical pricing models.
• Create models to predict claims frequency, claims severity, conversion, cancellation rates and other customer behaviours using GLMs and machine-learning techniques.
• Own a regular reporting cycle that enables the team to compare modelled predicted behaviours with actual observed behaviours, and decide when the cycle should trigger a revision or update to the underlying models.
• Take accountability for the infrastructure that enables the business to access technical pricing model insights, ensuring these insights are used to drive real change aligned with the UK strategy.
• Define and establish regular feedback cycles with Heads of Underwriting to support continuous improvement and refinement of technical pricing models, enhancing the ability to select and accurately price business according to the risk presented.
• Design, develop and produce regular reporting for the CUO and Heads of Underwriting to monitor the performance of the UK portfolio using technical pricing model outputs.
• Take accountability for your own pricing recommendations and for the performance of all pricing models used for your products.
• Act as a key point of contact for Underwriting Managers and Heads of Underwriting.
• Engage with them to understand underwriting strategy and identify how technical pricing can support their objectives.
• You will need to juggle conflicting priorities between senior stakeholders, build strong relationships, and influence and manage expectations.
• Work with and support the design and implementation of new technologies, including cloud-based data warehouses, data-visualisation products and new pricing software.
• Offer support and coaching to less experienced team members, sharing your experience and expertise to support their development.

Person specification

We are looking for an individual who is highly analytical, driven and detail-oriented, with a passion for excellent execution. You will need to be articulate and demonstrate a track record of good decision‑making, working under pressure and to tight deadlines, with the ability to understand problems quickly and create and implement solutions. Pricing experience is required for this senior analyst role. More importantly, you will have an excellent understanding of the nuances involved in performing detailed analytics, combined with a strong commercial mindset.

Our must-haves

• Graduate calibre, with at least three years of experience and proven success in a similar role.
• Practical application of in‑depth statistical skills within a business environment.
• Strong analytical and pragmatic reasoning skills, with an aptitude for innovative problem‑solving.
• High confidence in using data‑analysis tools such as Excel and SQL.
• Knowledge of programming and statistical tools such as Python, Emblem and SAS.
• Experience of the end‑to‑end process of building technical pricing models.
• A high level of numerical competence and excellent data‑gathering and manipulation skills.
• Experience of working closely with stakeholders and the ability to build strong working relationships.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex information to technical and non‑technical audiences.

Deadline-oriented, hardworking, curious, passionate, enthusiastic and a self‑starter.

Our nice-to-haves

• A good understanding of Commercial Lines and/or Personal Lines insurance through various distribution channels.
• Working towards or having attained relevant professional qualifications.

Diversity and flexible working at Hiscox

At Hiscox, we care about our people. We hire the best people for the job and are committed to diversity and creating a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success. We also understand that working life does not always have to be nine to five, and we support flexible working wherever we can. No promises, but please speak to the resourcing team about the flexibility that may be available for this role. We have introduced hybrid ways of working to encourage a healthy work‑life balance. We anticipate that the successful candidate will be in the office up to two to three days per week. The London office will be the role’s hub, where team and collaboration time will take place. We see it as the best of both worlds: structure and sociability on one hand, and independence and flexibility on the other.

We’re a global, specialist insurer headquartered in Bermuda and listed on the London Stock Exchange. With 3,000 employees and 32 offices in 12 countries we’re a business with lots of opportunity for people with talent, spark and lots of ambition.