Underwriting Analyst - Darwin

Direct Line Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance provider is seeking a passionate underwriter to join its team in Manchester. The role focuses on driving growth and enhancing profitability while ensuring superior customer outcomes. Candidates should have a strong understanding of data-driven decision-making and be able to effectively communicate with various stakeholders. You'll collaborate closely with a dedicated team to innovate and improve underwriting processes, making tangible business impacts. This position also offers hybrid working options and a comprehensive benefits package.

Benefits

9% employer contributed pension

50% off insurance products

Health and Dental insurance

Up to 10% AIP Bonus

EV car scheme

Generous holidays

Employee discounts

Qualifications

• Skilled in using data to make informed underwriting decisions.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements in personal lines insurance.
• Ability to communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Drive growth and improve profitability through smart decision-making.
• Monitor underwriting performance and suggest improvements.
• Manage risks and enhance counter-fraud measures.

Skills

Commercially driven mindset

Technical proficiency in Python, SQL, Tableau

Regulatory & compliance knowledge

Customer focus

Team player

Effective communicator

Insurance industry knowledge

Job description

Overview

DLG is evolving. Across every facet of our business, our teams are embracing new opportunities and putting customers at the heart of everything they do. By joining them, you’ll have the opportunity to not just be recognised for your skills but encouraged to build upon them and empowered to do your absolute best.

Darwin is a tech‑led motor insurance business built by a small, entrepreneurial team with big ambitions.

As part of the Direct Line (now within the Aviva family), we combine the agility and innovation of a startup with the scale, support, and stability of a major insurer. Our customers love what we do — and it shows, with a Trustpilot rating of 4.7 out of 5.

What you’ll be doing

This role sits at the heart of Darwin’s Pricing & Underwriting team, where you’ll have the opportunity to learn and develop all aspects of underwriting including risk management, performance monitoring and counter fraud. You will be central to Darwin’s ambition of growing profitably.

We’ve built the infrastructure every underwriting professional aspires to work with :

• High‑quality, accessible data
• A fast, flexible rating algorithm — deploy changes in hours
• An operating model that gives autonomy to underwriting professionals to dream up an idea and get it live

If you're passionate about using data, tech and creativity to push the boundaries of insurance underwriting, we’d love to hear from you.

This is a rare opportunity to engage in end‑to‑end underwriting working alongside a small, expert team of pricing and underwriting professionals.

Our operating model allows Underwriters to shape the portfolio through risk selection, product development, fraud management and monitoring, but also provides autonomy to innovate and test new ideas.

The primary objective of this role is to drive business growth and increase profitability, whilst ensuring excellent outcomes for our customers.

Examples of things you would be doing to achieve the objective set out above :

• Drive growth by expanding our footprint with a test‑and‑learn mindset, ensuring every initiative is delivered profitably, responsibly, and with strong risk awareness—continuously monitored and refined for optimal results.
• Implement strong performance monitoring frameworks and drive continuous improvement to optimise underwriting outcomes.
• Enhance insurance risk management by defining and adhering to a clear, well‑structured risk appetite across all underwriting activities.
• Enhance and maintain strong counter‑fraud controls to safeguard portfolio integrity and minimize exposure to fraudulent activity.
• Actively collaborate and share best practices within the Motor Underwriting community and Darwin team to foster alignment and innovation.

Our hybrid model offers a 'best of both worlds' approach. When you'll be in the office depends on your role and team, but colleagues spend at least 50% of their time in the office.

What you’ll need

• Commercially driven mindset – you're motivated by delivering tangible business value through smart, data‑led decisions.
• Technical proficiency – skilled in tools such as Python, SQL, Tableau, or similar, with the ability to extract insights from complex datasets.
• Regulatory & compliance knowledge – good understanding of regulatory and compliance in personal lines insurance.
• Customer focus – you understand the impact of underwriting decisions on customers and can proactively offer mitigating actions.
• Team player - ability to work with Engineering, Data and Pricing teams on proposing, testing and assessing complex changes.
• Effective communicator – confident presenting ideas and insights to senior stakeholders across the business.
• Insurance industry knowledge - background in personal lines underwriting, ideally with motor insurance experience.

Benefits

• 9% employer contributed pension
• 50% off home, motor and pet insurance plus Green Flag breakdown cover
• Additional optional Health and Dental insurance
• Up to 10% AIP Bonus
• EV car scheme allows all colleagues to lease a brand‑new electric or plug‑in hybrid car in a tax efficient way.
• Generous holidays
• Buy as you earn share scheme
• Employee discounts and cashback
• Plus, many more

We want everyone to get the most out of their time at DLG. Which is why we’ve looked beyond the financial rewards and created an offer that takes your whole life into account. Supporting our people to work at their best – whatever that looks like — and offering real choice, flexibility, and a greater work‑life balance that means our people have time to focus on the things that matter most to them. Our benefits are about more than just the money you earn. They’re about recognising who you are and the life you live.

Be yourself

Direct Line Group is an equal opportunity employer, and we think diversity of background and thinking is a big strength in our people. We're delighted to feature as one of the UK's Top 50 Inclusive Employers and are committed to making our business an inclusive place to work, where everyone can be themselves and succeed in their careers.

We know you're more than a CV, and the things that make you, you, are what bring potential to our business. We recognise and embrace people that work in different ways so if you need any adjustments to our recruitment process, please speak to the recruitment team who will be happy to support you.