Head of Construction Underwriting – Bespoke Insurer!

The Background
Our client has been writing Construction Risks for the past six years and are seeking to hire a Head of Construction Underwriting who will have a pan European remit to broaden the scope of this unique offering.

The Position
In your first 12 months you will:
• Plot a way to get the construction book back to critical mass of €10M if not beyond.
• Turn the book around and identify and put in place a few extra MGA partners who are extra strong in the construction underwriting area.
• Have this firm flying under the radar and have pushed up their new business and consolidated the portfolio across various lines.
• Brought new partners on board who can do multi line business.
• Meet regularly with MGA partners (at least once a month) discussing what they’re writing, how the construction market looks and exploring what else you can do together.
• Strategized on the long-term future for Construction within the portfolio and brought it to a point where there is a meaningful limit and where if there is a significant claim, because of their spread across numerous territories will be cushioned.

The Person
This is someone who will be constantly looking for ways to introduce ideas (not necessarily new products) into the business and will be able to turn it around and enter into multiple markets. You have the ability to go off and research a new market or distribution point, develop a presentation that can be brought to the underwriting committee and delivered upon by the directors. You have a dynamic approach to underwriting and can take the book to the next level with great ideas and make it easy for the Underwriting Director to back them. Eg. You can present a case on the Spanish market and take that through to the underwriting committee and bring a strategic thought process to this. Our client are looking for a quality hire for this opening, someone who demonstrates good knowledge of the Construction market but who is open minded and who can think on their feet. You are someone who can react positively to new information and are willing to listen and able to influence and make the right calls around the types of construction risks they’ll write. You must be a team player (no glory hunters), open to discussion, not fixed in your ways and can think laterally.

The Team
This will be a standalone opening from day one but you will have the support of some colleagues in the UK with the intention being to build a team down the road as this takes off. A lot of the heavy lifting will be done on the ground by the MGA’s whom you’ll engage with on the day to day activities. Our client has 25 people in the office including 7 in Underwriting, 2 in Business Development, 2 in Risk & Compliance, 2 in Claims. This Head of Construction Underwriting will report directly into the Underwriting Director who operates an open-door policy, hands off management style and is all about team players.

The Opportunity
This is your chance to join an established, licensed Insurance company based in Ireland since 2005, celebrating 150 years in business, and backed by an A+ financial rating. You’ll join a niche firm where there is a sense of an unrelenting focus on what they do well with the opportunity to develop your career trajectory further. You’re joining an A+ rated Insurer that have been successfully writing Affinity Lines products for the past eighteen years across Europe with excellent underwriting limits and with the ability to go pan European in a controlled manner.

The Package:
Base Salary + performance-based bonus (approximately 10-15%) paid annually and predominantly driven by the company’s performance + DC Pension (3% & 7%) + Life Cover + 25 days Annual leave entitlement.

The Next Steps:
Subject to your interest in pursuing this further, please send your CV to [email protected]