Senior Underwriter; PI & D&O – Direct & Digital Trading

What You'll Be Doing:

Underwriting & Trading

Manchester | Hybrid Working | Permanent – Great Salary Generous Annual Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Ready to shape the future of underwriting?

Markel UK is a specialist insurer serving SMEs across a range of sectors through both broker and direct distribution channels. As part of a financially strong global organisation, we’re investing heavily in our Direct & Digital proposition as we continue to grow and innovate

Our Direct business combines:

• Digital quote-and-buy journeys
• Expert underwriting support
• Advanced trading capability
• Data-driven decision making
• Emerging AI and automation solutions

This is a newly created and strategically important role within our Direct & Digital business. You’ll become the senior underwriting authority supporting our Professional Indemnity and related management liability propositions whilst helping drive trading performance and customer outcomes.

You’ll act as the bridge between:

• Underwriting
• Trading
• Product
• Pricing
• Digital & Technology
• Governance

You’ll have genuine influence over how underwriting evolves within a fast-paced, digitally focused environment. Unlike many underwriting roles, you’ll have the opportunity to shape processes, introduce new ideas and contribute to future AI and automation initiatives.

Underwriting & Trading

• Apply senior underwriting authority across Professional Indemnity and SME risks.
• Make referral and underwriting decisions outside standard automated rules.
• Support profitable growth through effective risk selection.
• Drive improvements in quote, conversion and retention performance.

• Monitor portfolio performance and trading results.
• Analyse conversion, acceptance rates, loss ratios and profitability.
• Identify trends, opportunities and emerging risks.
• Provide recommendations to improve trading outcomes.

• Help shape the future of our Direct insurance products.
• Provide underwriting expertise on new product launches.
• Influence underwriting rules, referral pathways and digital journeys.
• Support automation and straight-through processing initiatives.

• Contribute to AI, technology and digital transformation projects.
• Improve customer journeys and trading effectiveness.
• Collaborate with senior partners to evolve the Direct trading model.

• Act as a subject matter expert for PI and D&O products.
• Support governance, controls and underwriting standards.
• Provide guidance and technical expertise across the business.

We’re looking for someone who brings strong technical underwriting expertise but also wants to influence wider business strategy.

• Significant commercial underwriting experience.
• Strong Professional Indemnity (PI) expertise.
• Experience underwriting Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) risks.
• Experience operating with underwriting authority.
• Exposure to referral underwriting and technical decision‑making.
• Strong understanding of underwriting governance and controls.
• Portfolio management and performance monitoring experience.
• Excellent customer management and communication skills.

• Direct insurance experience.
• SME commercial insurance knowledge.
• MGA, insurer or commercial broker background.
• Product development exposure.
• Pricing or rating experience.
• Experience working with digital insurance propositions.
• Interest in technology, automation and AI.

You’ll enjoy this role if you’re:

• Commercially minded and comfortable balancing risk and opportunity
• Curious about how technology will shape the future of insurance
• Interested in influencing strategy, not just underwriting risk
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving environment
• Keen to make your mark in a newly created role
• Looking for broader exposure across product, trading, portfolio management and digital innovation

This role offers something different from a traditional underwriting career path.

You’ll have the chance to:

• Shape a new role and help define its future.
• Work closely with senior leaders across the business.
• Influence trading strategy and portfolio performance.
• Get involved in…