P%26C Group Senior Underwriting Expert - (M/F)

Job description

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Whatever their stage of life, we provide over 108 million customers with the products and services they need to progress. From insurance to personal protection, and savings to wealth management, no matter the need we’re always there for them. And we’re always there for our employees. In 50 countries, we work hard to inspire pride and a sense of belonging in our people. To provide opportunities that challenge them, inspire them, and reward them. And to create a culture that’s open, supportive, and empowering. Because we know that’s the real secret to success – and the best way for us to keep building a better world for both our customers and the talented people who put them first.

Your work environment

The headquarters of the AXA Group (GIE AXA) brings together our corporate activities. It provides guidance and support to subsidiaries around the world, to ensure the coordination and monitoring of the Group's global strategy, the application of its standards, the consistency of commercial approaches and the sharing of best practices. The headquarters gathers approximately 1000 employees and is distinguished by its strong international culture (45 nationalities), which makes it a rich and stimulating place to work.

Job purpose

The P&C business is core to the AXA Group and is operated in 20+ territories, with a wide mix of operating models, market shares and stages of development.

The Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial lines is responsible for:

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Supporting the steering and controlling of a sustainable and profitable growth of AXA P&C Casualty activities worldwide, promoting notably Technical Excellence. This encompasses underwriting governance and rules, PAP (Product approval Process), PMP (Portfolio Management Process), Reviews and requires strong and tight cooperation with Group Risk Management to ensure notably Risk Appetite allocation and adherence, claims management, reserving, and reinsurance cover.

Following the acquisition of XL and in a context of worldwide successive and ongoing crisis, the role of the Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial lines has become even more critical with:

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Perimeter increase:
  • Enlarged community of underwriters to steer, higher number of products, geographies;
  • Diverse nature of business (e.g. assumed reinsurance, Lloyd’s activities, specialties);
  • Higher volume (GWP, reserves, exposure at stake, reinsurance program complexity).
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Group risks increase revealed by the impact of the covid-19 crisis, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the general socio-economic turmoil (systemic nature of exposures, judiciary and reputational challenges);
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Cyber risk & Climate risk evolution across all business.

Due to the business criticality, the top management is paying continuous attention to the steering of the Commercial lines Underwriting activities. It is therefore essential to onboard the best experts to manage the P&C Long Tail Lines of Business for commercial lines.

Dimensions

The Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial Lines will notably support the Group Head of Casualty, who is the referent for Casualty underwriting for commercial lines:

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Premises and operations liability;
• Products and completed operations liability;
• Motor;
• Workers compensation and employers’ liability;
• Financial lines, notably: Management liability, Professional Indemnity, Errors & Omissio, Directors & Officers;
• Environmental liability.

The Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial Lines main missions are stated below:

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Ensure that the development of products is sustainable and profitable via the Product Approval Process (PAP), Master PAP and the Product Management Process (PMP) and provide support to entities when needed;
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Contribute to the Group Underwriting Guidelines definition and promote technical excellence via information and training to entities/region and professional community;
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Control entities/region with through regular technical audits (e.g. In-Depth Reviews, Technical Reviews, Business Reviews);
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Contribute to (i) the Liability accumulation modelling setting with Group Risl Management teams and (ii) the Accumulation exposure collecting tool revamping.

<-- [if supportLists]-->The P&C Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial lines interlocutors are:

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Group Underwriting Office, AXA Ceded Reinsurance, Group Chief Underwriting Officer, Public Affairs, Group Operations, Group finance, Group Legal, Group Risk Management;
• All P&C entities (over 40 entities) or regions/markets or Centers of Expertise of the Group, especially Underwriting communities.

Context & major challenges

Technical expertise in P&C Underwriting to identify, evaluate and manage major insurance group’s technical risks

• Solid background in all Insurance and Reinsurance business aspects;
• Extensive knowledge of the Group entities’ P&C activities as underwriting is closely linked to the local regulatory and legal specificities.

Making and promoting recommendations to the GUO management to propel the corporate strategy and upgrade operational activities in Underwriting

• The insight & knowhow to challenge local entities with respect to the Underwriting & Operational processes.

Supervising and rallying multicultural multidisciplinary teams, orchestrating, and overseeing a global group’s subsidiaries, and elaborating & implementing a leading P&C Insurance & Reinsurance group’s integration process

• Proven ability in organizing, driving, and realizing underwriting in-depth reviews;
• Ability to share knowledge with underwriters and to lead transverse projects and in-depth reviews require strong communication skills; proven ability in articulating ideas, dealing with senior management; and in being persuasive as to the value of his arguments;
• Solid coordination with entities (Head of LoBs, CUOs, Strat Teams etc.) and other GUO and GIE departments / teams and constructive relational skills;
• Autonomy, organization, flexibility, and capacity to adapt to new situations such as to carry unplanned workloads and a keen ability to enhance/organize team working practices.

Key accountabilities

The Group Senior Underwriting Expert for Long Tail Commercial lines main missions are stated below:

• Contribute to the definition of the Group Underwriting guidance for Commercial Casualty lines of business and promote technical excellence via information and training to entities/region and professional communities:
  • Annual and ad-hoc update the P&C commercial Casualty Underwriting guidelines;
  • Contribute to the Casualty Gross Underwriting Limits (GUL) for Group and local entities or regions/markets (setting and usage);
  • Within the process of referrals, participate to the underwriting decisions for cases referred to Group (GUC and Group ARCC);
  • Participate to, and animate where requested, Technical and Underwriting communities with entities & markets.
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Collaborate and contribute to building the new Portfolio Management Process and interaction framework with entities
  in providing technical UW expertise to enhance technical excellence within AXA’s entities.
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Lead the technical audits (In-Depth Reviews, Technical Reviews and Business Reviews) for Long Tail business:
  • Participate to the reviews setting and associated governance definition;
  • Define the technical audits’ UWing risk metrics and set entities’ rating through an Underwriting & Risks matrix;
  • Bridge the technical audits’ exercise with the CL Uwing Maturity Model (assessment of the entities’ underwriting maturity).
• <-- [if supportLists]-->Support the transformation and monitoring of systemic risks for casualty (CLEAR BAU):
  • Participate to the elaboration of transformation strategies to ensure robust underwriting discipline and risk appetite compliance;
  • Bridge Casualty and other Lines of business to ensure the identification of the systemic risk drivers and efficiently address transformation issues;
  • Support entities to set their transformation plans and operational transformation journey.
• Contribute to developing Casualty/financial lines accumulation models and setting associated Risk Appetite levels, in notably bridging the technical modelling capabilities, the underwriting expertise and the entities’ exposure footprint across geographies. Lead the Group accumulation reporting tool revamping for Casualty Lines of Business.

Decision bodies & Committees

• <-- [if supportLists]-->Casualty Underwriting Communities:
  • Provide expertise on Group referrals;
  • Support the Underwriting community fostering profitable growth and technical excellence.
• Group Underwriting Committee:
  • Provide technical support and opinion on casualty matters for the GUC Members on an ad-hoc basis.
• CLEAR BAU:
  • Support Casualty transformation strategies setup;
  • Support entities in their transformation journey.

Desired profile

Qualifications :

·  In-depth comprehensive knowledge and experience of P&C business operations including underwriting, Pricing, Claims, Reserves and Reinsurance, enabling to have a thorough understanding of business insurance rationale, processes and profitability and any potential P&C risk.
·  Advanced knowledge in P&C actuarial and underwriting fields to efficiently challenge the pricing experts and the local heads of underwriting.
·  Good understanding of processes to efficiently manage the decision to be taken in the different committees or boards, when relevant.
·  Solid interpersonal and organizational skills as it is essential to successfully manage multiple aspects and interactions with numerous internal and external stakeholders.
·  Persuasive opinion to challenge and potentially orient the P&C strategy and operations at Group or Entity level.

Technical skills:

·  Deep knowledge of General/Public/Product liability, Workers compensation and employers’ liability, Management liability, Professional Indemnity/E&O/D&O, Environmental liability Insurance underwriting, policy wordings, pricing and modeling approach (including accumulation control);
·  Easy manipulation of complex financial figures (Current Year Combined Ratio, All Years Combined Ratio, attritional LR, GWP, GEP, Economic Capital, Economic Combined Ratio…) connected to insurance activity monitoring;
·  Reinsurance knowledge (Treaties and facultative).

Soft skills :

·  Natural leadership;
·  Able to develop structured argumentation to sell ideas and convince various types of stakeholders (different hierarchy levels and business background);
·  Able to deliver high-level presentation in front of senior management or entities CEOs;
·  Agility to work in a multifaceted P&C world (Local vs Group, Small vs Large entities, worldwide underwriting cultures);
·  Always be costumer minded while promoting a robust Risk management framework and strong underwriting discipline.