Underwriter

Ecclesiastical Insurance Group; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK insurance company is seeking an Underwriter to manage and expand a renewal portfolio in their Newcastle office. Candidates should have a solid insurance background, excellent communication skills, and a desire to learn and grow. The role offers competitive salary, hybrid working, and strong career development opportunities within a supportive team environment.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Hybrid working available

Employer pension contribution

Annual bonus scheme

Life assurance cover

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Career development opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Previous insurance industry knowledge is required, with experience in Farm & Estate or Commercial underwriting.
• An insatiable appetite to learn and a positive, solution-focused mindset is essential.
• Effective communication skills to work collaboratively in a team are important.
• Ability to build and nurture productive relationships across the broader team.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a developing renewal and new business portfolio.
• Work with the broking team for a smooth renewal process and improve client outcomes.
• Help establish new products within the underwriting team.
• Offer expert advice and solutions to the broking arm.
• Standardize and automate processes through innovative technology deployment.
• Be part of a growing team.

Skills

Insurance industry knowledge

Experience in Farm & Estate or Commercial underwriting

Good communication skills

Collaboration in a team environment

Education

Cert CII qualified

Job description

Underwriter at Ecclesiastical Insurance UK

Working hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Duration: Permanent

Location: Newcastle (other regional Lycetts offices can be considered)

About the role:

Lycetts Insurance Brokers, part of Benefact Group, are looking for an Underwriter to join our Newcastle office. This is a fantastic opportunity to join Lycetts as an Underwriter in a growing team where you’ll play a key role in managing and expanding a renewal portfolio, while gaining exposure to diverse binders across multiple sectors. You’ll collaborate closely with brokers to streamline renewals, help shape new products, and build strong relationships with insurers and colleagues, all while providing expert advice that drives business success.

Why join us?

Join a collaborative and inclusive culture committed to making a difference and building a more sustainable future. Ranked among the UK's top 50 Best Large Companies to Work For in 2024, we offer excellent career and development opportunities within a rapidly growing, innovative Group — where all profits go to charity and good causes.

What you’ll be doing

• Playing a key role in managing and growing a developing renewal and new business portfolio.
• Opportunities to cross‑train across various binders and different sectors.
• Working with our broking team to ensure a smooth renewal process, reviewing & improving processes and client outcomes.
• Helping to establish new products within the underwriting team, building relationships with both insurers and our account executives/handlers.
• Offering expert advice and solutions to our broking arm.
• Working on client‑centric projects, standardising and automating processes through innovative technology deployment.
• Being part of a growing team.

What you’ll need to have

• Previous insurance industry knowledge, with experience in Farm & Estate or Commercial underwriting. We are interested in hearing from underwriters with different levels of experience and can position the role around the candidate.
• An insatiable appetite to learn and a positive, solution‑focused mindset.
• Good communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• The ability to build and nurture co‑operative & productive relationships across the broader team.

What makes you stand out

• Cert CII qualified.

What we offer

• A competitive salary — let’s discuss it.
• Hybrid working available upon successful completion of probation.
• Employer pension contribution of 5% rising to 10% after 5 years membership of the pension scheme.
• Annual bonus scheme (discretionary based on individual & company performance).
• Life assurance cover up to 4× salary.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (rising to 26 & 27 for 5 & 10 years’ service respectively).
• Career development opportunities with funded support & financial incentives for all professional qualifications.
• An Employee Assistance Programme with a wide range of benefits helping employees to stay healthy & feel supported.

Hear from the hiring manager

“The Lycetts underwriting team is working to achieve something that is extremely rare in the broking world, separating delegated authority from the broking arm of the business, and in turn developing a centre for underwriting excellence. The centre for excellence will provide underwriters of all levels the opportunity to grow and expand both personally and commercially, whilst providing a close‑knit support network.”

About us

The Lycetts Group has over 60 years’ experience of providing a comprehensive range of insurance, risk management and financial advice to a broad cross‑section of commercial and private clients. We strive to be a trusted adviser to our clients and are proud of our continued high client satisfaction scores.

Benefact Group is a unique international financial services Group made up of over 30 businesses. We are owned by a charity and have been the 3rd largest UK corporate donor over a decade, having given away £250 million since 2014. We have ambitious plans to become the UK’s number one corporate donor, with strategic objectives in place to double the Group’s size.

We believe it’s essential to attract, empower, grow & reward talented people, offering fantastic opportunities for career and personal development. Our giving ethos, a 135‑year history and the diversity of what we do, has enabled us to build a culture of kindness, great ambition, and of passionate people driven to do better and be better.

At Benefact Group, we are committed to creating an inclusive culture and building an environment where each and every one of us feels valued & respected. We are a community made up of people with a range of different backgrounds, abilities, perspectives, beliefs & interests and we value the strength this brings to us as a Group. We welcome applications from everyone.

If you need any additional support during the recruitment process, then please let us know.

*Directory of Social Change’s UK Guides to Company Giving 2017‑26