Head of Ceded Reinsurance

Job Summary: Leadership of the global Ceded Reinsurance unit with all reinsurance employees reporting into group ceded reinsurance team. Manage the overall reinsurance budget of $380m. Lead the Reinsurance Steering Committee.

Location: Our preference would be for this role to be based either in London but we are open to discussing alternative locations for the right person.

The Role:

Working closely with the Leadership Team, this role will share knowledge, collaborate, empower, challenge and influence by taking responsibility for our Ceded Reinsurance function. The individual in this role will help develop and implement the overall reinsurance strategy including both long and short tail business. They will help lead across the business the strategy, purchase and management of all reinsurance for Beazley from initial suggestion to claims recoveries.

Key Responsibilities:

Group strategy development

• Develop, in conjunction with key stakeholders, Beazley’s overall reinsurance strategy for both long and short tail business, including the co-ordination and consolidation of the reinsurance requirements of all the business units in lines with Beazley’s overall business strategy and the business planning process.
• Ensure that the proposed group strategy conforms to the Group’s risk tolerance as specified by the Board, is capital efficient and effective, and is supported by Dynamic Financial Analysis.
• Make recommendations as to how the Group can optimise the use of reinsurance for both long and short tail business.
• Lead the Reinsurance Steering Committee.

Management of group reinsurance purchasing process

• Manage the overall reinsurance budget of $380m
• Evaluate individual reinsurance cover arrangements in terms of profitability and capital efficiency across all trading teams, advise on their adequacy and suitability, and make recommendations on alternative/ variants of those arrangements.
• Manage the process part of the placements to ensure all filings, minutes from meetings, management information is completed accurately and on time. Introduce performance measures to monitor this across the group.
• Manage the team involved in the placement and ensure they are all adequately informed, energised and contributing to the success of the placement.
• Review the placing information in conjunction with the underwriting and claims teams before final submission.
• Deliver the agreed reinsurance programmes where appropriate.
• For Facultative Reinsurance, work with the teams to ensure that matching cover between the underlying and reinsurance protection is always secured and the security procedure is always adhered to so as to ensure that the Group’s credit risk is minimised.
• Co-ordinate structured communication between all those involved with the buying process to facilitate the proactive sharing of market knowledge and technical expertise.

Relationship management

• Lead overall relationships with Beazley’s reinsurers and brokers, including scheduling and hosting of meetings with key reinsurers and brokers throughout the year.
• Monitor and manage brokers’ performance including initiating (as appropriate) RFPs, developing of suitable SLAs, appropriate fee arrangements, and providing feedback on performance.
• Develop relationships at senior level across all of Beazley’s business lines.
• Represent Beazley Group externally to customers, the industry and other organisations, to ensure that its reputation and capability are positively perceived.

Reinsurance administration and recoveries

• Service the reinsurance programmes, including the recording of reinsurance purchased, the production of accounts and the payments of premiums and adjustments.
• Ensure that the collection of reinsurance recoveries is handled effectively and efficiently.
• Assist teams with claims issues which may escalate to ensure satisfactory resolution.
• Respond to technical reinsurance queries.
• Co-ordinate the submission of management information to reinsurers.
• Liaise with subcontractors and outsourced service providers, reviewing and monitoring their performance.

Security Management

• Ensure all changes to security agreed with the Security Committee and in place.
• Ensure entire security management process is running smoothly.
• Reflect accurately Group credit risk.

Financial and management information

• Produce group financial information including reinsurance spend forecasts, provision for bad debt and reinsurance IBNR calculations.

Governance

• Produce and present papers for the Security Committee, Underwriting Committee, Executive Committee and Board as required.
• Attend committee meetings as agreed and participate in corporate projects as required.
• Ensure Group reinsurance guidelines are adhered to across the business.

Management

• Play a meaningful role in developing, unifying, and strengthening the global reinsurance team through the development of new approaches to the reinsurance team’s key activities – placement, administration, and recoveries.
• Ensure that people are recruited, deployed and developed to anticipate and meet current and future needs.
• Ensure that all employees have the knowledge and the skills necessary to perform effectively in their given roles and responsibilities.

Personal Specification:

We’re looking for an individual with technical reinsurance knowledge who is able to translate and apply this knowledge back to Beazley’s business. Previous dealings with reinsurance administration, good working understanding of financial analysis and interpretation, and a professional approach to successfully interact with internal and external clients.

The ability to build relationships across varying levels of seniority and the ability to influence accordingly. From a business perspective, the person will need to enjoy working in the insurance industry with a genuine passion for operational excellence and a curious mindset.