At the heart of policy is the right underwriter.
Underwriting and claims professionals sit at the heart of an insurer’s promise. Underwriters decide which risks to accept and on what terms and claims teams make sure that promise is kept when a loss happens. When the right people are in place, portfolios stay disciplined, claims are handled fairly and efficiently and clients, brokers and capacity providers have confidence in the business, all within the expectations of the FCA, Lloyd’s and your own governance framework.
Underwriters, claims handlers and brokers for the insurance market
Our consultants specialise in one part of the insurance market, so they bring up-to-date knowledge to every brief from the very first conversation. That’s especially valuable right now. Changing rate conditions are putting underwriting discipline in the spotlight, regulators continue to look closely at claims outcomes under the Consumer Duty, and the growth of delegated authority is raising the bar for oversight.
With that context, we get to know exactly what your role involves, whether it’s a class underwriter building a specialty portfolio, a delegated authority manager overseeing coverholders, a technical claims handler managing complex losses or a claims broker supporting clients after a major event. We then focus on the experience that matters most. For underwriters, that’s portfolio performance, broker relationships and the authority they’ve held.
For claims professionals, it’s technical knowledge of policy wordings, reserving accuracy, negotiation and delivering fair customer outcomes. Where relevant, we also consider how candidates use data to inform decisions, with qualifications such as CII and CILA adding useful context.
The result is a shortlist built on proven experience and the right fit for your team. For Chief Underwriting Officer, Head of Claims and Claims Director appointments, our expertise extends into executive search.
We recruit for assistant and technical roles, executive leadership and interim appointments across underwriting and claims:
- Underwriting: Assistant underwriters, class and line underwriters, portfolio and delegated authority underwriters, delegated authority managers, and Chief Underwriting Officers across personal, commercial and specialty lines.
- Claims Adjusting and Handling: Claims handlers, technical and complex claims specialists, loss adjusters and major loss adjusters, claims managers and Heads of Claims.
- Claims Broking: Claims brokers and executives, claims advocates and Heads of Claims Broking supporting clients across commercial and specialty classes.
Every underwriting and claims team has different priorities, so we tailor our support to where you are today.If you’re growing an underwriting team at an insurer, Lloyd’s syndicate or MGA,
our conversations focus on the classes you write, the authority each role needs and the broker relationships that will help a new hire build your portfolio. For claims teams, we look at the balance between technical and volume handling, and the experience needed to deliver fair, efficient outcomes.
If you’re a broker or loss adjusting firm, we focus on the technical expertise, client experience and market relationships your teams depend on.
Contract support can also make a real difference. It can help you manage claims surges after major events, support claims file reviews and remediation work, or provide cover while you recruit permanently.
We offer contingency, retained and contract hiring, with IR35 considerations in mind for contract roles. See our permanent recruitment and contract hiring pages for more detail.
We support organisations where strong underwriting and claims capability protects both portfolios and customer relationships:
- Lloyd’s syndicates and managing agents: Underwriting and claims roles across specialty classes, supporting business plans and Lloyd’s oversight requirements.
- London market insurers and reinsurers: Specialty, commercial and reinsurance portfolios, where underwriting judgement and complex claims expertise go hand in hand.
- UK general insurers: Personal and commercial lines, where claims teams deliver fair outcomes under the Consumer Duty.
- MGAs, coverholders and insurtech: Growing businesses building underwriting, claims and data capability to meet capacity provider expectations.
- Brokers: Claims broking teams advocating for clients across commercial and specialty losses.
- Loss adjusters and claims consultancies: Adjusting and claims specialists supporting insurers on complex and high-volume claims.
A specialist underwriting and claims recruiter understands the classes, authority levels and market relationships that shape each role. The right underwriter strengthens your portfolio and the right claims professional protects your reputation, so a well-matched hire has a lasting impact.
Our consultants explore what candidates have achieved in practice, from portfolio growth and loss ratio performance to complex claims resolved and client relationships built. They understand CII and CILA career paths, and the realities of moving in this market, including notice periods and restrictive covenants that can shape start dates at senior level. We share up-to-date salary insight and realistic availability, so you can plan with confidence. Our long-standing relationships reach professionals who aren’t actively looking or visible on job boards.
We work across permanent, fixed-term and contract hiring, and understand the context of Lloyd’s, the London market, UK general insurance and delegated authority. That knowledge shapes the brief, the search and the shortlist.
Underwriting and claims market intelligence
In underwriting, claims handling, loss adjusting and claims broking, there are several key themes that run through almost every recruitment brief we see.
CII and CILA qualifications are a useful marker, but as you’ll know, it’s proven experience that sets the strongest candidates apart. For underwriters, we look at the depth of their class knowledge, how their portfolios have performed and the broker relationships they bring, with delegated authority experience increasingly in demand. For claims professionals, it’s their technical grasp of policy wordings, reserving judgement and ability to resolve complex losses while delivering fair outcomes under the Consumer Duty. For claims brokers, it’s how effectively they combine that technical depth with market relationships to advocate for their clients.
Data skills are becoming more important too, particularly in MGAs and insurtech businesses, where analytics increasingly shape underwriting and claims decisions. The strongest hires pair that expertise with sound commercial judgement, and that’s exactly what our consultants explore before anyone reaches your shortlist.
Underwriting and claims pay in the UK depends on class of business, seniority, market and location. Specialty and London market experience, delegated authority expertise and complex claims capability typically sit towards the upper end of the market and bonuses can form a meaningful part of the package, particularly in underwriting.
As a guide, reported base salaries are:
- Insurance underwriters: Around £23,000 to £62,000, with a median of around £33,000.
- Casualty underwriters: A median closer to £45,000.
- Insurance claims adjusters: Around £17,000 to £52,000, with a median of around £35,000.
Senior underwriters, major loss specialists, claims brokers and Heads of Function are typically benchmarked individually, as pay depends heavily on portfolio, specialism and market.
Contractors, often brought in for claims surges, file reviews or project work, usually work on day rates and IR35 status can also affect the overall cost of a contract engagement.
For tailored benchmarking by class, specialism and seniority, visit our benchmarking page.
AI is becoming part of everyday underwriting and claims work. In underwriting, it’s helping teams triage submissions, extract data from broker documents and assess risks more consistently. In claims, it supports first notification of loss, fraud detection and document review, giving handlers more time for complex cases and customer conversations. MGAs and insurtech businesses are often leading the way, building these tools into how they operate from the start.
That raises the importance of strong governance and human judgement. Under the Consumer Duty, firms still need to deliver fair outcomes, so teams must understand how AI-supported decisions are made, guard against unintended bias and make sure vulnerable customers are treated appropriately. UK GDPR applies wherever personal data is involved and businesses serving EU customers may also need to consider the EU AI Act.
For hiring managers, this broadens what to look for. The strongest candidates combine underwriting or claims expertise with the confidence to use, question and oversee AI-supported tools. When interviewing, it’s worth asking candidates how they’ve used AI or data in their work, and when they chose to rely on their own judgement instead. Our consultants explore that experience in depth, helping you build a team ready to use AI with confidence.
Delegated authority continues to reshape underwriting and claims hiring. MGAs need underwriters who can manage portfolios within their granted authority, and many are building claims, compliance and data capability as they grow. Insurers and syndicates providing capacity need delegated authority managers, auditors and claims specialists who can oversee coverholders and third-party administrators, with the Consumer Duty extending responsibility for customer outcomes across the chain. Data skills, from bordereaux quality to portfolio analytics, increasingly set candidates apart, and our consultants help you find people who understand both sides of the relationship.
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We cover key specialisms within insurance that help fuel transformation and growth within your business.
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Our specialist recruitment consultants work across key skills areas and niche insurance and actuarial communities, delivering excellent service whether you're one of our candidates or a client.
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