Group Head of Underwriting

Policy Expert – Group Head of Underwriting

Are you ready to transform the insurance industry with innovative technology? At Policy Expert, we are on a mission to revolutionize Home, Pet, and Motor insurance, making it clear, fair, and great value for customers. Since our inception in 2011, our breakthrough thinking and proprietary tech, have won us over 1.5 million customers and the title of the UK’s No.1-rated home insurance provider for 9 years. 🏆   

Hear from our team about what it's like working at Policy Expert ✨  

 

About the role: 

You’ll take the lead in shaping and executing our underwriting strategy, leveraging your technical expertise, market insight, and commercial acumen to drive sustainable and profitable growth.

As the head of our underwriting function across all products, you’ll bring sharp judgement, deep industry knowledge, and strategic vision — not just to the underwriting team, but to the entire Policy Expert business. Your influence will help steer key decisions, elevate underwriting standards, and support innovation as we continue to grow.

Key accountabilities:

· Strategic leadership of our underwriting proposition for the wider business including Exec team.

· Development and implementation of underwriting strategy including underwriting footprint and acceptance appetite.

· Strategic guidance to senior underwriting team and stakeholders including Claims.

· Input of underwriting know-how and experience into pricing and product strategy and processes.

· Oversight of operational underwriting (delegated authority, escalated referrals etc).

· Development and implementation of underwriting governance and compliance framework, including audit activity.

· Work closely with senior UW, Pricing, Product colleagues to optimise our UW footprint and mix management.

· Work closely with Risk & Reserving and Claims teams to identify and respond to emerging issues relating to underwriting and loss ratio performance.

· Liaise with and influence partner insurers in the development of our underwriting proposition (footprint, acceptance rules etc).

 

Who are you: 

· 7 + years’ experience in a personal lines underwriting leadership role, with a strong knowledge of the personal lines market, the core products and ancillaries, market dynamics and future development, underwriting growth management strategy (in particular in the aggregator market), pricing and product strategies, and legal and regulatory impacts.

· Strong knowledge of underwriting philosophies across our peer group and the wider market.

· Strong knowledge of claim trends.

· Ability to demonstrate underwriting thought leadership and implementation.

· Strong numerical and analytical skills and experienced user of relevant software.

· Experience/understanding of use of data to enhance underwriting strategy and decision-making, including counter-fraud application.

· Demonstrable experience of managing relationships with insurers and/or reinsurers to drive underwriting performance and growth.

 

Benefits: 

📍 This role will be based in our London office in a 50/50 Hybrid mode. 

💸 Generous Pension contribution scheme 

🏥 Private medical & Dental cover 

📚 Learning budget of £1,000 a year + Study leave (with encouragement to use it) 

😁 Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave

🚉 Travel season ticket loan 

🎟️ Access to a wide selection of London O2 events and use of a Private Lounge 

🌈 Employee Wellbeing Programme 

 

What We Stand for and Next Steps “We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer. We treat all applications equally and recruit based solely on an individual’s skills, knowledge, and experience. The quality and growing diversity of our team is a testament to this commitment”  

At Policy Expert, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the interview process to accommodate your needs, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are dedicated to ensuring every candidate has an equal opportunity to succeed and will work with you to provide the necessary support. 

We aim to be in touch within 14 working days of your application – you will be notified if successful or unsuccessful. Please be encouraged to apply even if you do not meet all the requirements. 

Useful links:  

Glassdoor | Trust Pilot