Regional Underwriting Lead

Regional Underwriting Lead 

We are working with a leading composite insurer with an established presence and strong reputation in the UK General Insurance market. With a commitment to underwriting excellence, broker partnerships, and sustainable growth makes them a trusted partner for brokers across the country. We are currently seeking an accomplished Regional Underwriting Lead to spearhead the regional commercial strategy in the branch and lead a high-performing technical underwriting team.

Role Overview
As the Regional Underwriting Lead, you will be instrumental in driving profitable growth and portfolio performance across our regional Property & Casualty (P&C) and Commercial Fleet accounts. You will lead, coach, and inspire a large team of technical underwriters, acting as a senior referral point while cultivating strong, trading-focused relationships with our key regional, national and network broker partners. This role requires an exceptional balance of strategic leadership, sharp commercial acumen, and deep technical expertise that your team can rely upon to navigate complex risks in order to achieve branch growth.

Key Responsibilities
• Leadership & People Development: Lead, mentor, and manage a large team of commercial underwriters and senior underwriters across varying levels of seniority. Foster a high-performance, collaborative culture focused on continuous learning, technical development, and empowerment.
• Profitable Growth & Portfolio Management: Drive the branch’s strategic growth plan for P&C and Commercial Fleet business. Monitor portfolio performance, loss ratios, rate strength, and retention to ensure alignment with wider corporate underwriting appetite and financial targets.
• Technical Referral & Governance: Act as the primary regional technical authority and referral point for complex, non-standard, and high-value P&C and Fleet risks. Ensure robust underwriting discipline, governance, and adherence to licensing and regulatory frameworks.
• Broker Relationships & Trading: Partner closely with regional Business Development and Distribution teams to build, maintain, and expand trading relationships with key broker panels. Represent the business at senior broker meetings and industry events to win new business and retain key accounts.
• Market Insight & Strategy: Track emerging market trends, competitor activity, and regulatory shifts within the UK commercial insurance landscape, feeding insights back to head office underwriting functions to shape product and pricing strategies.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications
• Industry Experience: Proven track record in a senior underwriting or underwriting management role within the UK General Insurance market, ideally within a composite or major commercial insurer.
• Technical Expertise: Deep, hands-on technical underwriting knowledge across Commercial Property & Casualty (Combined/Package) and Commercial Motor Fleet.
• Leadership Pedigree: Demonstrated experience leading, motivating, and developing large technical teams, with the ability to coach underwriters through complex trading decisions.
• Commercial Acumen: A strong trading mentality with a history of successfully negotiating with brokers, winning profitable business, and managing a multi-million-pound GWP portfolio.
• Communication: Exceptional interpersonal, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the gravitas to influence both internal senior leadership and external broker executives.

What’s on Offer
• Highly competitive base salary and performance-related annual bonus.
• Executive car allowance and comprehensive pension scheme.
• Private medical insurance, life assurance, and income protection.
• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays and wellbeing days.
• Flexible hybrid working model supporting a healthy work-life balance.
• Ongoing professional development and support for Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) qualifications.

How to Apply
If you are a commercially driven underwriting leader ready to make a significant impact in a flagship regional branch, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your CV to Barker Munro Recruitment