Team Leader

Howden UK Brokers; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Magenta Insurance in the UK is seeking a Team Leader to lead and manage a Senior Property Underwriter function, overseeing workflow, performance, and broker relationships within a wholesale distribution model.

The role emphasizes technical underwriting, training, and delivering service targets while maintaining compliance and high standards across teams. This is a dynamic, collaborative environment requiring strong leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience leading underwriting teams and managing performance.
• Strong knowledge of property insurance and underwriting guidelines.
• Excellent broker relationships and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a property underwriting team.
• Oversee technical referrals and underwriting decisions.
• Ensure service levels and broker relationship management.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to improve work processes.

Skills

Team leadership

Underwriting expertise

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Job description

About DUAL

Working across 21 countries, DUAL has built a reputation as a specialist underwriting group and the market of choice for insurance intermediaries around the world. That's how we have become one of the world's largest international underwriting agencies (or MGAs) with US$3.4bn GWP.

DUAL is part of Howden, a leading global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Founded in 1994, it provides insurance, reinsurance and underwriting services to clients ranging from private individuals to the largest multinational companies. The Group operates in 57 countries, employs over 24,000 people and manages premiums totalling US$50bn on behalf of its clients.

Team Leader

About Us

Magenta Insurance, a Chartered Insurance Underwriting Agent, boasts nearly 30 years of market experience, long-standing relationships, and an excellent reputation. We specialize in underwriting predominantly non-standard and distressed residential property policies, providing solutions that others find challenging to place .

Our team works closely with brokers across a varied portfolio, including Portal and EDI business, giving you exposure to a spectrum of risks including within a Lloyd's-linked environment .

Role overview

Lead and manage a team while performing the technical and trading responsibilities of a Senior Property Underwriter. Deliver agreed service and performance objectives through effective people management, workflow oversight, technical support and broker relationship management within a wholesale distribution model.

Role responsibilities

Team Leadership & Performance

• Set clear team objectives and priorities aligned to business requirements.
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, agree and follow up actions, provide constructive feedback and support development and career progression.
• Manage routine performance, attendance and wellbeing matters within delegated management responsibilities and company procedures, involving the Associate Director and HR where required.
• Coordinate onboarding and training, promote an inclusive team environment and address concerns constructively.
• Lead by example, setting the standard for behaviour, attendance and engagement, and hold the team to account.
• Provide cover for other Team Leaders and Associate Director (Operations) where required.

Service Delivery & Workload Management

• Take day-to-day responsibility for telephone service, timely and accurate document issuance, and performance measures appropriate to the team, such as agreed enquiry, quotation and referral turnaround times or renewal retention.Review queues, task lists, referrals and aged work throughout the day; allocate and redistribute work fairly according to capacity, competence, authority and priorities.
• Coordinate telephone cover, breaks and service commitments, prioritising urgent broker enquiries and time-sensitive cases.
• Monitor service shortfalls, take corrective action within the role's remit and promptly escape capacity, system, broker-service or conduct risks.
• Use service information and team feedback to investigate recurring operational issues, recommend improvements to workflows and systems, and support agreed changes.

Senior Underwriting & Technical Referrals

• Assess, negotiate and underwrite in accordance with documented underwriting authority, underwriting guides, insurer requirements and company procedures.
• Maintain an allocated personal underwriting workload, including complex cases.
• Act as the team's first point of contact for technical underwriting queries, referring onwards where higher authority or specialist guidance is required.
• Identify recurring technical queries and share learning to support consistency and reduce avoidable repeat referrals.

Appointment as Team Leader does not create or extend underwriting authority. The holder must remain within documented authority and sign-off status and must not override insurer requirements.

Communication & Collaboration

• Act as the team's operational contact, remain accessible during agreed working hours and communicate business updates clearly.
• Maintain effective internal stakeholder relationships and work with other Team Leaders to ensure consistent standards, clear work ownership and effective handovers. Agree cross-team cover with the Associate Director and escalates unresolved resource conflicts.

Trading & Distribution Channel Performance

• Agree appropriate performance measures with the Associated Director (Operations)
• Monitor performance and take improvement action where required.
• Review quote activity and conversion and / or renewal retention, , broker feedback and reasons for lost business; work with Business Development, underwriting management and support teams to increase business levels and address barriers.
• Proactively manage broker relationships within the allocated channel, addressing service concerns and supporting commercially sound decisions without compromising appetite, pricing discipli