Role Purpose
As Portfolio Underwriter, you will be directly accountable for driving the performance and profitability of product and scheme portfolios.
This role combines technical underwriting expertise with strategic portfolio management, working across multiple product lines to ensure delivery of profitable growth, alignment with risk appetite, and excellent customer outcomes. Using data-driven insights to monitor performance, identify trends, and recommend adjustments to underwriting strategy, rules, and pricing.
Input will be crucial in strategic projects focused on commercial growth and product development, helping shape the future risk mix and setting clear strategies for our regional and underwriting units. Helping to shape our underwriting approach and product proposition to meet evolving market, customer, and regulatory needs.
This is an exciting opportunity to work in a dynamic and entrepreneurial environment, applying your technical expertise and market knowledge to drive profitable growth.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
Portfolio Management
- Own the performance and profitability of assigned products/portfolios, ensuring delivery against budgeted targets.
- Monitor, analyse, and interpret MI to identify trends, opportunities, and risks; recommend and implement corrective actions where necessary.
- Lead the development, refinement, and implementation of portfolio underwriting strategies, rules, and terms aligned to business objectives and risk appetite.
- Undertake deep dives into performance data, providing actionable insights to improve conversion, retention, and claims outcomes.
- Design, development and production of regular portfolio management reporting to monitor performance of the portfolio.
- Independently producing analysis on a monthly basis to further understand changing trends and analyse quote conversion, policy retention, customer behaviour, claims experience with the aim of driving change into the business aligned with the underwriting strategy.
- Apply knowledge of the underwriting cycle and the external insurance market to make portfolio decisions.
- Support the full product lifecycle, ensuring documentation, underwriting guides, and rules are up-to-date and reflect portfolio strategy.
Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy
- Build strong relationships and collaborate with stakeholders to set strategy, review competitiveness, and optimise rating approaches
- Influence and engage senior stakeholders using clear, evidence-based recommendations.
- Contribute to strategic initiatives and projects to evolve product and portfolio performance.
- Represent the company in relevant market forums, maintaining a strong presence in the MGA sector.
- Support the development of new products or enhancements to existing offerings.
Must Haves
- Proven track record of managing portfolio risk selection and being accountable for underwriting performance.
- Strong technical skills in commercial underwriting (SME property liability) with a good understanding of wider functions such as pricing.
- Demonstrated ability to interpret and leverage data to drive strategic decisions and insights generation.
- Experience of portfolio MI analysis underwriting rules management and strategic product development preferably in MGA insurer or delegated authority environments.
- Expert knowledge of underwriting principles risk selection and portfolio management.
- Strong analytical skills with ability to translate data into actionable insights.
- Excellent communication presentation and storytelling skills to influence at all levels across multiple functions.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to challenge the status quo and propose practical solutions.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
Chartered Insurance Institute ACII/DIP qualification or progression towards preferred.