Head of Life Underwriting

M&G Plc; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial services firm in Scotland is seeking a Head of Life Underwriting to lead the establishment of a new underwriting team and manage complex annuity applications. You will be vital in driving risk management strategies and contributing to product development within a supportive environment. Ideal candidates should have significant experience in underwriting and team leadership, with a strong focus on customer outcomes and stakeholder management. This position offers competitive compensation and an inclusive work culture.

Benefits

Valuable pension scheme

38 days annual leave

Health & Protection cover

Flexible work schedule

Qualifications

• Highly experienced annuity underwriter with team management experience.
• Ability to assess complex underwriting cases effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead and establish a new annuity underwriting team.
• Assess and underwrite complex enhanced annuity applications.
• Provide expert medical and financial risk assessments.

Skills

Customer centric mindset

Strong analytical skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Job description

Head of Life Underwriting – M&G

Our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions.

Reporting to: Director of Individual Annuities

Location: Preference for candidates based in Scotland (Stirling or Edinburgh). We’re flexible on location for the right person.

Job Level: Manager Expert

Recruiter: Phoebe Ewers

Closing Date: 7th January 2026

The Role

M&G Life is a division of M&G and runs the Prudential Assurance Company and its subsidiaries. Individual Life & Pensions is the division of M&G Life responsible for the manufacture and management of individual insurance products within the UK and internationally.

We are recruiting a Head of Life Underwriting to support our launch of an individual lifetime annuity offering, and to lead the team responsible for the underwriting of individual annuities and discounted gift trusts.

This role represents a unique opportunity to play a key role in the launch of a new innovative annuity product, and to design, set up and lead a new underwriting function.

This role is critical in assessing and underwriting complex annuity applications, ensuring robust risk management, and supporting the development of underwriting strategies and processes. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering high-quality underwriting decisions, mentoring junior underwriters, and contributing to product development and innovation.

Key Accountabilities For This Role

• Lead the design and set up of a new annuity underwriting team, including recruitment; the team will also cover discounted gift trust underwriting.
• Liaise closely with reinsurers to establish the required processes and guidelines for manual underwriting.
• Act as a referral point for junior underwriters and provide management, training, and quality assurance.
• Assess and underwrite more complex enhanced annuity applications, in line with underwriting guidelines and risk appetite.
• Provide expert medical and financial risk assessments using evidence-based decision-making.
• Collaborate with the Pricing, Operations, and Proposition teams to support the development and refinement of annuity products.
• Contribute to the set up and continuous improvement of underwriting processes, tools, and automation initiatives.
• Liaise with reinsurers on facultative cases and support treaty negotiations where appropriate.

Knowledge

• Deep understanding of UK life insurance products and concepts is essential, with both technical and commercial knowledge of annuities.
• Excellent knowledge of annuity products, services and distribution methods.
• Thorough familiarity with regulatory requirements and compliance standards in the insurance industry.
• Up-to-date knowledge of medical, financial, and regulatory developments impacting underwriting.

Skills and Experience

• Highly experienced annuity underwriter, with experience of managing underwriting teams.
• Customer centric mindset – a genuine passion for putting the customer at the heart of decision making and delivering high‑quality customer outcomes.
• Strong analytical and decision‑making skills with the ability to assess complex underwriting cases.
• Familiarity with reinsurance practices and treaty arrangements; experience working with reinsurers’ underwriting rules engines and underwriting manuals.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and communication skills with the ability to explain underwriting decisions clearly and to effectively convey technical information to a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Proven ability to lead and collaborate with cross‑functional teams, including Operations, Pricing, Propositions, Distribution, and Product Development.
• Self‑starter, excellent under pressure, results focused – able to identify opportunities and take initiative and respond rapidly and flexibly to urgent priorities that arise on an ad‑hoc basis.

What we offer

At M&G, we’re committed to helping you thrive and supporting your wellbeing, both at work and beyond. Our benefits are designed to help you balance your professional and personal life, while planning confidently for your future. Our UK benefits include:

Benefits

• As a savings and Investments firm we are proud to offer a valuable pension scheme of 18%, with 13% made up of Employer Contributions and 5% Employee Contributions. We also offer Share Save and our Share Incentive Plan, together with access to financial wellbeing and support services – to help give you real confidence to put your money to work.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave including bank holidays, with the opportunity to purchase up to 5 extra days and additional flexibility through our Time Off When You Need It policy – to balance your work and personal commitments.
• Our market leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave – as supporting families is a core aspect of our inclusive culture.
• Health & Protection cover including Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with family options – for peace of mind.

Diversity and Inclusion

M&G has a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and our employee‑led networks who provide networking opportunities, advice and support for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. Regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, nationality, disability or long term condition, we are looking to attract, promote and retain exceptional people. We also welcome those who take part in military service and those returning from career breaks.

M&G is also proud to be a Disability Confident Leader, and we welcome applications from candidates with long-term health conditions, disabilities, or neuro‑divergent conditions.

Contact

If you need assistance or an alternative means of applying for a role due to a disability or additional need, please let us know by contacting us at: [e-mail]

Job Details

• Seniority level: Not Applicable
• Employment type: Full-time
• Job function: Finance and Sales
• Industries: Financial Services and Investment Management