Senior Underwriter - London

ABOUT DESCARTES UNDERWRITING

Descartes was born out of the conviction that the ever-increasing complexity of risks faced by corporations, governments and vulnerable communities calls for a renewed approach in insurance. Our team brings together industry veterans from the most renowned institutions (AXA, SCOR, Swiss Re, Marsh, Aon, ...) and scientists on top of their field to bring underwriting excellence. After 6 years of existence, Descartes has secured a leading position in parametric insurance for weather and climate-related risks utilizing machine learning, real-time monitoring from satellite imagery & IoT. After a successful Series B raise of $120M USD, we launched Descartes Insurance, a 'full stack' insurer licensed to underwrite risk by the French regulator ACPR. With a growing corporate client base (400+ and counting), our diverse team is headquartered in Paris and operates out of our 18 global offices in North America, Europe, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. Descartes is trusted by a panel of A-rated (re)insurers to carry out its activities.

ABOUT YOUR ROLE

Descartes Underwriting is seeking a Senior Underwriter (Parametric Insurance) to
join the Underwriting Team based in London .
Reporting to the Underwriting Manager & Director of Descartes UK, you will be a key
contributor to the development and deployment of climate risk models for the
pricing, underwriting and monitoring of weather-related parametric policies for corporates and public entities.

Your key missions will include:

• Collaborate with the business team and brokers to understand client needs and risk transfer challenges to successfully underwrite new business and renew accounts;
• Conduct thorough analyses for product design and coverage structuring in order to meet the needs and expectations of the clients;
• Improve and develop pricing models in order to model the risk, underwrite policies for corporates and public entities, and monitor the portfolio performance and accumulation;
• Contribute to insurance proposal and underwriting documentation in order to finalise policies for corporate clients and public entities worldwide;
• Operate in the London market, leading discussions and projects with brokers and partners;
• Collaborate with various divisions of Descartes in order to sustain the growth of the portfolio (e.g. R&D teams, Legal, Operations, Risk Management);
• Technical & Business Leadership : help both the underwriting strategy and the review of the work conducted by Underwriting Data Scientists, providing guidance on technical modeling matters & business requirements.

ABOUT YOU

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Graduated from a leading academic institution with a degree in mathematics, statistics, data science, physics or related;
• 4 years of significant experience minimum (post graduation) in data science or related;
• As a plus: track record of experience in leading a (small) team and managing business projects;
• As a plus: prior experience in structuring, pricing & underwriting parametric insurance covers for climate risks.

SKILLS

• Proficiency in Python (e.g. pandas, scikit-learn);
• Strong background in statistics and mathematics, showing clear understanding of probabilities;
• Eye for quality, autonomous and attention to detail;
• Fluency in English (written and verbal communication) is required;
• Good level of one additional language (e.g. Chinese, French, Italian, German, Spanish...) is a plus.

MINDSET

• Interested in insurance industry and climate risks modeling;
• Strong team spirit;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Eagerness to solve complex problems and technical challenges;
• Rigorous, creative and meticulous mind;
• Strong desire to learn and acquire responsibility;
• Results oriented with the ability to work in a fast-paced and multi-cultural environment.

WHY JOIN DESCARTES UNDERWRITING ?

• Opportunity to work and learn with teams from the most prestigious schools and research labs in the world, allowing you to progress towards technical excellence;  
• Commitment from Descartes to its staff of continued learning and development (think annual seminars, training etc.) ;
• Work in a collaborative & professional environment ;
• Be part of an international team, passionate about diversity ;
• Join a company with a true purpose – help us help our clients be more resilient towards climate risks;
• A competitive salary, bonus and benefits.

At Descartes Underwriting, we cherish value of diversity whatever it may be. We are committed to fighting against all forms of discrimination and for equal opportunities. We foster an inclusive work environment that respects all differences.

With equal skills, all our positions are open to people with disabilities.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

• Step 1: Call and HR Interview with our Talent Recruiter
• Step 2: Manager interview 
• Step 3: Technical online test 
• Step 4: In person or remote manager interview
  
• Step 5: In person team interview to meet our team and discover our offices