Mid Green occupationLegal, finance and accounting
Senior insurance professional
Provide expert insurance guidance and management to support clients
Summary
The insurance industry is a dynamic and diverse sector with a global reach. Its primary purpose is to provide financial protection for individuals and businesses against unexpected losses.
This occupation is found in a wide range of organisations within the insurance sector, including global insurance and reinsurance companies, specialist insurers, brokers, loss adjusters and underwriting agencies. Senior insurance professionals typically operate in complex and diverse environments, leading the development of insurance products, managing client relationships, overseeing risk assessments, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Senior insurance professionals are vital to maintaining the financial health and sustainability of insurance organisations, contributing to strategic decision-making and managing projects.
Senior insurance professionals may specialise in a particular area of insurance, such as, underwriting, broking, claims management, reinsurance, loss assessing, loss adjusting or risk management and may work across multiple areas. The role requires a deep understanding of insurance principles, market dynamics, and regulatory requirements, as well as strong leadership, communication, and analytical skills.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to provide expert insurance guidance and management, ensuring that clients receive optimal coverage and service while adhering to industry regulations and best practices. They may also lead in the creation and management of insurance policies and services that meet the needs of businesses and individuals. This involves assessing and pricing risk, developing coverage options, negotiating contracts and claims, and advising clients on their insurance requirements. Senior insurance professionals play a critical role in interpreting and applying regulatory requirements, monitoring industry trends, and ensuring that their organisation remains competitive and compliant. Their expertise allows them to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions, providing high-level support to both internal teams and external clients. They are expected to be proactive in their approach, continuously seeking opportunities to enhance business performance and customer outcomes.
Senior insurance professionals use their advanced understanding of the insurance market to identify, analyse and evaluate insurance risk. They are often the most senior technically competent professionals and lead on high value, catastrophic or contentious cases that may include multiple parties, complex products or overseas markets. They use their initiative and accountability to make decisions and solve complex problems around liability, personalisation of insurance products and other highly complicated insurance areas. For example, a claims management professional may determine the risk of underinsurance and its impact on the client and business. They do this while building and maintaining strong relationships with clients and supporting colleagues in line with the legal and regulatory requirements that govern processes, procedures and market agreements. They are aware of the current and future trends and emerging risks in the insurance market, identifying changes and recognising the impact this could have on business objectives and competitor strategies.
Senior insurance professionals typically work in a hybrid role between their office and remotely from home and may be expected to travel for client or site meetings.
In their daily work, senior insurance professionals interact with a wide range of stakeholders, including clients, brokers, underwriters, actuaries, regulators and other industry professionals. They frequently engage with clients to assess their insurance needs, explain complex policies, and resolve any concerns regarding coverage or claims. They may be responsible for managing large-scale insurance portfolios, leading teams, and driving improvements in service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Senior insurance professionals may also need to communicate or collaborate with product designers, marketing specialists, compliance officers, complaint resolvers and claims handlers to deliver their role. As part of these interactions, they must provide high quality insight in a wide range of areas like underwriting, financial regulation, claims, financial crime, compliance, modelling and data analytics, customer due diligence, cyber security, governance, anti-money laundering, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and climate risk.
Externally, they would typically interact with other third-party insurance or reinsurance product suppliers, such as underwriters, brokers, claims handlers or loss adjusters, risk managers and industry regulators.
An employee in this occupation will typically be responsible for a combination of technical, managerial, and strategic tasks. These may be complex insurance or reinsurance issues and requests, relative to their areas of specialisation, with authorisation to make their own decisions. They would have the autonomy to be responsible for their own workload and plan their own working day effectively. They will likely be responsible for quality assuring the work of junior insurance practitioners and may also be involved in training and mentoring junior staff, sharing their knowledge and experience to build organisational capability.
In most instances they would report to a senior manager and depending on the size of the organisation they work for and the role they are in, senior insurance professionals could have line management responsibility and accountability for the business’s financial reporting and performance. Some may have a company vehicle if they are required to visit clients or third-party suppliers off-site.
Senior insurance professionals are required to comply with all relevant insurance, financial and legal regulations such as those published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Pool Re requirements in relation to terrorism insurance, legislation such as the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for cooling-off periods or payment by instalments, and sanctions checks depending on government or global requirements. Senior insurance professionals are expected to take ownership for their adherence to these legal and regulatory requirements as well as their organisation’s processes, procedures and code of conduct and or ethics.
Typical job titles include
- Claims manager | Client manager | Insurance product and pricing specialist | Loss assessor | Reinsurance manager | Reinsurance specialist | Senior (re)insurance broker | Senior (re)insurance underwriter | Senior risk analyst | Senior risk manager | Senior technical claims handler | Underwriting manager
Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)
K1:
The principles of insurance, and features and benefits of insurance products and services relevant to their organisation and specialism.
K2:
The financial services legal and regulatory framework, and the ethical principles underpinning them, for example the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) frameworks, The Insurance Act – Good faith and Fair representation.
K3:
The wider commercial landscape and changes within it, competitor strategy, and market and economic drivers within the insurance industry, for example political, environmental, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) factors, such as international sanctions legislation for insurance brokers working across different countries.
K4:
Approaches to assessing, managing, and mitigating legal and regulatory change in insurance.
K5:
Principles of risk and risk management, including evaluating responses to risk, mitigating risk, and transfer of risk within the insurance business, for example fraud, non-compliance or breach of regulations, underinsurance, financial loss or customer detriment.
K6:
The impact of insurance market practices on organisational processes and procedures relevant to their role, and how this affects delivery of the operational and strategic objectives of their organisation.
K7:
Techniques for gathering market intelligence and conducting research to build and retain competitive advantage for their organisation.
K8:
Sources of data and how to analyse, evaluate and identify trends and patterns, for example, profitability, customer retention and opportunities for business growth, or modelling the potential impact of catastrophic events.
K9:
Structured and evidence-based approaches to resolving complex, non-routine insurance and business problems, for example, completion of a complex placement, methods of investigating a claim to determine liability in a multi-vehicle accident.
K10:
Communication skills and methods, and the importance of adapting communication style to facilitate understanding for the intended audience, including vulnerable customers.
K11:
Negotiation and influencing techniques, for example rapport building, business storytelling.
K12:
Strategic planning techniques, and approaches to leading and delivering insurance and business activities.
K13:
Approaches to building and managing internal and external relationships that enable the delivery of business activities.
K14:
Key risks and opportunities to the insurance industry, and methods for managing these, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and emerging sustainable practices within insurance products and working practices.
K15:
Digital tools relevant to the role and specialism and how to use them in line with cyber security protocols and procedures for working safely and securely with digital systems, processes, and data, and the implications of non-compliance, for example AI analytics, generative AI, modelling, telematics, portals, online placements, products, pricing, predictive analytics, claims processing automation, customer segmentation, underwriting enhancement.
K16:
Equity, diversity, and inclusion policies in the workplace, and their impact on the organisation and the team.
Technical Educational Products
- ST0520: Senior insurance professional (Level 6) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0520
- Status:
Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £37,971 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 3532 Insurance underwriters
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 3532/00 Insurance underwriters
- 1131/99 Financial managers and directors n.e.c.
- 3531/02 Insurance and mortgage brokers
S1:
Apply legal, regulatory, and insurance principles, knowledge of the market structure and its processes, and procedures and documentation relevant to their role.
S2:
Lead insurance and or business activities, for example, managing high value contracts, insurance litigation, policy drafting and revision to achieve defined key performance indicators or measures of success.
S3:
Identify and resolve complex or non-routine insurance or business problems using a structured and evidence-based approach, for example, marine and energy liabilities, risks and impact of underinsurance.
S4:
Identify, manage, and mitigate exposures to risk and non-compliance by applying risk management strategies relevant to their area of business, for example, fraud, non-compliance or breach of regulations, underinsurance, financial loss or customer detriment.
S5:
Respond to changes in the insurance market and inform others where it may impact their own business area.
S6:
Lead or contribute to the development of strategic and operational plans and business objectives relevant to their role.
S7:
Identify and contribute to the implementation of potential improvements to current products, processes, and procedures to benefit stakeholders and business outcomes, for example, using competitor analysis to identify new products and services that can improve client retention.
S8:
Identify and analyse stakeholders’ insurance or business needs and recommend appropriate solutions, for example, to determine the most appropriate commercial insurance product for a corporation and its assets.
S9:
Communicate information through different methods, adapting style according to audience needs and requirements, for example making complex modelling information easy to understand for different stakeholders.
S10:
Build networks with relevant internal or external stakeholders at peer and leadership levels to help deliver positive business outcomes relevant to their role.
S11:
Use negotiation and influencing techniques to manage difficult situations and deliver positive insurance or business outcomes for the organisation, for example, when negotiating liability in a multi-party accident.
S12:
Quality assure the work of colleagues, providing feedback and supporting the wider development and knowledge of the team.
S13:
Use systems, digital tools and processes, to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of insurance-focused data relevant to their role.
S14:
Apply cyber security protocols and procedures to minimise risks to data security and integrity.
S15:
Apply policies to support and promote the delivery of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace, and monitor their impact on insurance activities and the wider team.
Technical Educational Products
- ST0520: Senior insurance professional (Level 6) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0520
- Status:
- Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £37,971 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 3532 Insurance underwriters
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 3532/00 Insurance underwriters
- 1131/99 Financial managers and directors n.e.c.
- 3531/02 Insurance and mortgage brokers
B1:
Displays a growth mindset and identifies learning opportunities and continuous professional development for self and the wider team.
B2:
Adopts an inquisitive and questioning approach when seeking to improve current processes and practices within their organisation.
B3:
Works flexibly and adapts to changing circumstances.
B4:
Calm, rational and professional under pressure, and resolves challenging situations when they arise.
B5:
Acts professionally, ethically, and with integrity.
Technical Educational Products
- ST0520: Senior insurance professional (Level 6) Approved for delivery
- Reference:
- OCC0520
- Status:
- Approved occupation
- Average (median) salary:
- £37,971 per year
- SOC 2020 code:
- 3532 Insurance underwriters
- SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 3532/00 Insurance underwriters
- 1131/99 Financial managers and directors n.e.c.
- 3531/02 Insurance and mortgage brokers
