Senior Underwriter

Markel International; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Excellent benefits

Hybrid working

Job summary

Markel International is seeking a Senior Underwriter for its Manchester base, blending PI and D&O expertise with strategic influence on Direct & Digital insurance propositions. This role sits at the nexus of trading, product, governance and technology, enabling data-led decision-making.

You will collaborate with senior leaders to shape underwriting rules, automation, and risk management, while driving trading performance and customer outcomes in a fast-moving, digitally focused environment.

Qualifications

• Strong PI underwriting expertise.
• Experience underwriting Directors' & Officers' (D&O) risks.
• Experience operating with underwriting authority.
• Exposure to referral underwriting and technical decision-making.
• Strong understanding of underwriting governance and controls.
• Portfolio management and performance monitoring experience.
• Excellent customer management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Apply senior underwriting authority across PI and SME risks.
• Make referral and underwriting decisions outside standard automated rules.
• Support profitable growth through effective risk selection.
• Drive improvements in quote, conversion and retention performance.
• Monitor portfolio performance and trading results.
• Analyse conversion, acceptance rates, loss ratios and profitability.
• Identify trends, opportunities and emerging risks.
• Provide recommendations to improve trading outcomes.

Skills

PI underwriting

D&O underwriting

Underwriting authority

Governance & controls

Customer communication

Education

Relevant underwriting qualification or degree

Job description

Manchester | Hybrid Working | Permanent – Great Salary Generous Annual Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Ready to shape the future of underwriting?

At Markel, we're transforming how SME insurance is bought, traded and underwritten. As we continue to evolve our Direct & Digital business, we're looking for an ambitious and commercially minded Senior Underwriter to play a pivotal role in that journey.

This isn't a traditional underwriting role!

It's an opportunity to sit at the heart of our Direct business, influencing trading strategy, portfolio performance, product development, digital transformation and future underwriting capability across Markel Direct and Caunce O'Hara.

You'll work directly with senior leaders across Trading, Product, Underwriting and Digital teams to help shape a modern, data-led and technology-enabled underwriting model.

About Us

Markel UK is a specialist insurer serving SMEs across a range of sectors through both broker and direct distribution channels. As part of a financially strong global organisation, we're investing heavily in our Direct & Digital proposition as we continue to grow and innovate.

Our Direct business combines:

• Advanced trading capability
• Emerging AI and automation solutions

We're building the next generation of direct insurance, and this role will be central to making that happen.

The Opportunity

This is a newly created and strategically important role within our Direct & Digital business. You'll become the senior underwriting authority supporting our Professional Indemnity and related management liability propositions whilst helping drive trading performance and customer outcomes.

You'll act as the bridge between:

• Trading
• Product
• Digital & Technology
• Governance

You'll have genuine influence over how underwriting evolves within a fast-paced, digitally focused environment. Unlike many underwriting roles, you'll have the opportunity to shape processes, introduce new ideas and contribute to future AI and automation initiatives.

What You'll Be Doing

• Apply senior underwriting authority across Professional Indemnity and SME risks.
• Make referral and underwriting decisions outside standard automated rules.
• Support profitable growth through effective risk selection.
• Drive improvements in quote, conversion and retention performance.
• Monitor portfolio performance and trading results.
• Analyse conversion, acceptance rates, loss ratios and profitability.
• Identify trends, opportunities and emerging risks.
• Provide recommendations to improve trading outcomes.

Product & Digital Development

• Help shape the future of our Direct insurance products.
• Provide underwriting expertise on new product launches.
• Influence underwriting rules, referral pathways and digital journeys.
• Support automation and straight-through processing initiatives.

Strategic Projects

• Contribute to AI, technology and digital transformation projects.
• Improve customer journeys and trading effectiveness.
• Collaborate with senior partners to evolve the Direct trading model.

Technical Leadership

• Act as a subject matter expert for PI and D&O products.
• Support governance, controls and underwriting standards.
• Provide guidance and technical expertise across the business.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who brings strong technical underwriting expertise but also wants to influence wider business strategy.

• Strong Professional Indemnity (PI) expertise.
• Experience underwriting Directors' & Officers' (D&O) risks.
• Experience operating with underwriting authority.
• Exposure to referral underwriting and technical decision-making.
• Strong understanding of underwriting governance and controls.
• Portfolio management and performance monitoring experience.
• Excellent customer management and communication skills.

We'd Love To See

• Direct insurance experience.
• SME commercial insurance knowledge.
• MGA, insurer or commercial broker background.
• Pricing or rating experience.
• Experience working with digital insurance propositions.
• Interest in technology, automation and AI.

Who Will Thrive Here

You'll enjoy this role if you're:

• Commercially minded and comfortable balancing risk and opportunity
• Curious about how technology will shape the future of insurance
• Interested in influencing strategy, not just underwriting risk
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving environment
• Keen to make your mark in a newly created role
• Looking for broader exposure across product, trading, portfolio management and digital innovation

Why Join Markel

This role offers something different from a traditional underwriting career path.

You'll have the chance to:

• Shape a new role and help define its future.
• Work closely with senior leaders across the business.
• Influence trading strategy and portfolio performance.
• Get involved in digital transformation and AI initiatives.
• Broaden your experience beyond pure underwriting.
• Join a business investing heavily in growth and innovation.

What's In It For You

• Competitive salary + 20% annual bonus opportunity
• Private medical insurance
• Life assurance
• Income protection
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• Clear career progression pathways

Interested

If you're a PI and D&O underwriting professional looking for a role where you can combine technical expertise, commercial influence and digital innovation, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today

and help shape the future of underwriting at Markel.

Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful. Please contact us via email at [e-mail] or call us at 0161 507 5827 to request any accommodations that may be needed. This includes any alternative formats of any documents or information on how to apply offline.