Head of Underwriting

Who Are We?

We insure small businesses and enable big dreams – not just for our customers, but for our people and communities too. With over 1,000,000 active insurance policies, we protect builders, bakers, landlords and more than 1,200 other trades.

We’re a technology company as well as one that sells insurance. That means we build, we fail, we learn and we improve. Through our global social impact strategy, called 'The Big Dreams Project’, we're working to help 10,000 small businesses start or grow by 2030.

Why not check out our advert on YouTube: Simply Business TV advert 2024: 'Simply the Best'.

Job CategoryUnderwritingPosition TypePermanentTarget Openings1What Is the Opportunity?As our Head of Underwriting, you’ll take on a pivotal mid-senior leadership role within our Managing General Agent (MGA) team in London. This isn't just about managing risk; it’s about being a primary role model for Simply Business, setting the cultural standard, and driving the profitable expansion of our MGA through market-leading risk selection and sophisticated pricing capabilities.
What makes this role different is the opportunity to be a true pioneer. You’ll identify and develop new revenue streams by launching innovative products and exploring fresh distribution opportunities in the SME sector. You’ll lead critical relationships with capacity providers and reinsurance partners while using data-driven insights from claims to directly improve our product performance.

As one of our Head of Underwriting’s, you’ll:

• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of underwriters, fostering an environment of continuous learning and empowerment.

• Maintain rigorous governance of the MGA, ensuring all activities adhere strictly to our established governance frameworks.

• Operate within an FCA-regulated role, upholding specific responsibilities under the Senior Manager and Certification Regime (SM&CR).

• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels, effectively interacting and influencing both internally and externally.

• Apply deep knowledge of the UK SME insurance market to challenge the status quo and deliver refreshing, pioneering results.

• Utilise your quantitative skills to remove complexity from underwriting principles, making our processes more efficient and "to the point".

We’re looking for someone who is:

• An insurance expert with a proven track record in underwriting leadership and extensive industry expertise.

• A proven leader with demonstrated success in managing and developing professional underwriting teams.

• Highly analytical, with the ability to translate complex data sets into clear, actionable underwriting strategies.

• A change-maker experienced in pioneering new ways of working and challenging traditional insurance status quo.

• A strong communicator and highly-motivated collaborator who can explain complex principles in plain English.

• A strategic partner with a strong understanding of the MGA market landscape and its current challenges.

This role may be subject to FCA regulations, which we'll determine during the hiring process. If it is regulated, there will be specific responsibilities under FCA regulations, including enhanced checks and referencing. We'll explain everything in more detail as part of the hiring process.

Ready to enable big dreams? Click apply to start your journey with Simply Business.

What are the benefits of working at Simply Business:

• we offer a great work-life balance where workloads are manageable and everyone has the flexibility to work hybrid

• on top of the 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), we offer the option to buy five more days of holiday with your flexible benefits

• our flexible parental leave allows you to approach an important time how you want - with six months full pay to the primary caregiver and four weeks full pay if you're the secondary caregiver

• our life event leave is an extra days leave every two years for those big moments in your life like moving house or your birthday. And our long-serving employees get a two week paid sabbatical after five years of service, then four weeks off after ten years of service

• private medical insurance through BUPA, that covers any pre-existing condition is a core benefit. Plus a health cash plan that covers your everyday medical expenses

• we offer a competitive salary based on your experience and the current market. Plus the potential to earn an annual bonus based on performance

• access to tools to support your personal development on our dedicated learning platform. As well as support for your mental health with access to counselling

• we match what you put into your pension up to five per cent. And pass on a tax-free sum that's four times your basic salary with our life assurance policy, with the option to increase it to ten times through our flexible benefit scheme

• our salary sacrifice car scheme gives you the option to buy a brand new, fully insured, and maintained car for a convenient fixed monthly amount taken from your gross salary (after 6 months service)

• our flexible benefits scheme gives you an allocated amount to use each year on benefits like critical illness cover, dental insurance, travel insurance, or a gym membership

Ready to join us and drive our success as a high-performing team? Apply today.

Employment Practices

Simply Business is committed to providing equality and opportunities for all employees and candidates considering a career with us. We offer a workplace where colleagues are treated with respect and dignity. We don’t (and won’t) discriminate either directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, colour, religion, belief, political opinion, disability, nationality, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation or relationship status at any stage of the hiring process or during the course of your employment.