Are you looking for an entry level role into a stimulating and rewarding insurance career in the City? Munich Re Underwriting Ltd is recruiting underwriting assistants to work at Watkins Syndicate based in the Lloyd s building. You might be a university graduate. You might be a school leaver expecting to pass A-levels this summer. Or you might have GCSEs and be able to demonstrate relevant success in your career to date. We will tailor your first few months depending on your level of education and experience. After that, the only limit is your own limitations. You will be confident and diplomatic when interacting with the company s clients on a face to face basis in a busy working environment. You will be able to analyse data, show good verbal reasoning skills and generally get things right against a deadline. If you are hungry to develop and you demonstrate ability then your administrative duties will quickly be supplemented by projects that will help shape the future of a very successful unit within a multinational company. The company offers a competitive salary, good benefits, generous study support towards professional exams and on-the-job mentoring in a genuinely pleasant environment. We re not just offering jobs we re offering careers. Start date: immediately Interested? Apply no later than Mon 4 th July 2011 to recruitment@mrunderwriting.com with your CV and a very short covering letter. As well as details of any employment you have held and academic qualifications you have obtained, your CV should include a brief profile and must cover any periods of time since leaving education. It will not be possible to give personalised responses and if you have not heard back by Mon 18 th July then please accept our apologies that you are not being offered an interview. The Company You will be working at Munich Re Underwriting Limited. Underwriters spend much of their time based at Lloyd s of London and operations staff are a few yards away in the St Helen s tower, next to the Gherkin in the City of London. Page 1 of 7
Lloyd s of London St Helen s MRUL s public-facing identity is Watkins Syndicate, a specialised insurer in the Lloyd s of London market. Newcomers to this market need to be 100% clear of one fact above all others Lloyd's of London is nothing whatsoever to do with Lloyds the bank. What s the company like? There are just under 100 staff in London and 450 in the Watkins group, a subsidiary of the global giant insurers Munich Re. While Munich Re was historically a reinsurance specialist, be aware that it has diversified. MRUL is a general insurer with a track record of financial stability and expansion and this has endured through the economic downturn. The culture is laid-back and friendly and the company believes that an emphasis on work-life balance is important to motivate and retain staff. The most senior staff make a point of being available to the most junior staff. Employees are encouraged to pursue self-development and the company is committed to investing in training. Many staff stay for a long time and several have come back for a second (or even third) stint of service. The Watkins group The Watkins group is made up of experienced underwriting teams in the areas of cargo, liability, energy, space, specie, transport & logistics, yacht & marine trade, war, terrorism and accident & health. Watkins is one of the largest marine insurance underwriters at Lloyd s of London and is known in the industry for quality claims handling. The Watkins group has a global network of service companies located throughout the UK, the United States, as well as in Asia with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and also in Dubai. The Watkins Syndicate was founded in 1977, acquired by Munich Re Group in 1997, and is managed by Munich Re Underwriting Limited, a subsidiary of Munich Re Holding Company (UK). The appeal of the Watkins group of companies to Munich Re was, and continues to be, its leading position and quality reputation as underwriters at Lloyd s. Munich Re s capital backing has further enhanced Watkins positioning, financial strength and organisational growth. The stability of Watkins is evidenced by the fact that when it was founded, approximately 400 syndicates (underwriters at Lloyd s) existed, and today there are only around 70. The perseverance to stay focused on niche segments and to continuously fine-tune its expertise places the Watkins group of companies in a category of its own as relates to quality underwriting and claims service. Mark Watkins is the Chief Executive of Munich Re Holding Company (UK) Limited and was a co-founder of the Watkins Syndicate at Lloyd s. Since the syndicate started in 1977, Mark has been involved in the inner workings of the business, serving first as deputy underwriter before being appointed Active Underwriter in 1988. As the operation has grown, focus has remained on creating a business culture which encourages excellence and innovation. Links: http://www.watkins-syndicate.co.uk/ http://www.lloyds.com/ Want to know more about insurance?. Look at this web link from the professional body the CII: Page 2 of 7
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Benefits package This is a guide and not part of an employment contract. Group Pension - 10% of salary. No employee contribution required. 25 days holidays Season Ticket Loan of up to 5,000 Gym Membership subsidy of 250 per annum Tax free loan of up to 1,000 to buy a bike under the Ride2Work scheme. Childcare vouchers of up to 243 a month can be purchased from your pre-tax pay. BUPA - single, couple, family or single parent cover, subject to completion of application form and acceptance by BUPA. Paid by the company. BUPA Confidential Counselling Service Permanent Health Insurance (Group Income protection) Critical Illness Cover Death in Service benefits Bonuses, where applicable, are currently paid in March. There is also study leave for relevant professional exams and awards for passing exams. Page 5 of 7
Full job specification Employee: TBC Principal team: TBC Manager: TBC Job Title: Underwriting Assistant Secondary team: TBC Based: the Lloyd s building, EC3A Overall Objective: Provision of an accurate and quality administrative service to the principal team (and additionally, when required, the secondary team), demonstrating care for customers and respect for the regulatory obligations of the firm. Job Tasks. You will be trained in: 1. Accurate input of data to the in-house S2000 underwriting system; 2. Scanning, photocopying and filing of documents as required; 3. Transfer underwriting information from slips to individual front sheets to provide more efficient retrieval of information; 4. Produce liability account monthly renewals report from S2000 and chase brokers for outstanding renewals; 5. Produce liability account premium chasing reports and chase brokers for outstanding premiums; 6. Produce ad hoc reports to aid liability account analysis and/or management reports as required; 7. Produce weekly volatility report; 8. Enter relevant risk information onto the in-house system if required to produce intelligence reports; 9. Keep appropriate records of all conversations with customers and/or insurers, or other relevant business contacts, in accordance with the firm s procedures manual; 10. Ensure that company procedures and systems are followed and maintained, as per procedures and compliance manuals; 11. Attend relevant meetings in the company on team/business performance to maintain and develop understanding of own team s performance and a good overview of company performance. 12. Supply underwriting assistant services to other underwriting teams when required. Knowledge to be a success in the role: 1. Basic (Level 1) knowledge and understanding of: Underlying Principles of Insurance; Legal Principles; Financial Services Authority rules and regulations; Lloyd s regulations 2. Demonstrate clear understanding of all company specific procedures that relate to own role; 3. Demonstrate growing understanding of the roles of colleagues and their relationships to the structure and business plans of the Firm. 4. Willingness to continue to develop knowledge of policies, underwriting and related issues through formal and informal learning, both internally and externally to the firm. 5. Be aware of the potential risks facing the business within own job role and the controls that are in place to mitigate them; and report significant changes in these risks, or the effectiveness of controls, to line manager. Page 6 of 7
Capabilities required: 1. Team orientation The ability to work cooperatively and flexibly with other members of the team with a full understanding of the role to be played as a team member. 2. Communication The ability to communicate clearly and persuasively, orally and in writing. 3. Achievement/results-orientation The desire to get things done well and the ability to set and meet challenging goals, create own measures of excellence and constantly seek ways of improving performance. 4. Problem-solving The capacity to analyse situations, diagnose problems, identify the key issues, establish and evaluate alternative courses of action and produce a logical, practical and acceptable solution. 5. Flexibility The ability to adapt and work effectively in different situations and to carry out a variety of tasks. 6. Customer focus The exercising constant care in looking after the interests of external and internal customers to ensure that their wants, needs and expectations are met or exceeded. 7. Planning and prioritising The ability to decide on courses of action, ensuring that the resources required to implement the action will be available and scheduling the programme of work required to achieve a defined end result. 8. Commercial/business awareness The capacity to understand the business opportunities and priorities of the organisation and constantly seek methods of ensuring that the organisation continues to be business-like and continues to meet the standards and requirements of its regulators. 9. Self Development The ability to take responsibility for own career and actively support continuing professional development as a means of developing; contributing specialist knowledge and sharing this with the team; having a high professional and ethical standard. The continuous maintenance of personal training and development records. 10. Knowledge sharing The disposition to share knowledge fully and willingly with others in the interests of the organisation. IT Skills: Generic. Good knowledge of the following will put you at an advantage as a candidate: Keyboard skills/accurate data input skills MS Word MS Excel (intermediate) Firm specific. You will be trained in: S2000 Hummingbird ERAS MS Outlook Page 7 of 7