Lead Underwriter

Lead Underwriter – Travel

Australia & New Zealand

Location: Australia (Brisbane / Sydney / Melbourne – flexible)
Travel: Up to 15%
Reports to: Regional Head of Pricing & Case APAC & MEA, with a dotted line to Executive Head of Travel AU

About the Role

We are seeking a highly experienced Lead Underwriter – Travel (AU & NZ) to drive technical excellence, underwriting discipline, and portfolio performance across our Travel Line of Business.

In this senior role, you will oversee case underwriting for both new and renewing large commercial and global client deals, ensuring market competitiveness, profitability, and regulatory alignment. You will play a critical role in portfolio remediation, pricing governance, and strategic underwriting decisions, while partnering closely with Sales, Pricing, Actuarial, Product, and Portfolio teams across the region.

This role is ideal for an underwriting leader who thrives in complex environments, enjoys working across borders, and is ready to contribute to a business embracing digital and AI-enabled underwriting transformation.

Key Responsibilities

Case Underwriting & Portfolio Leadership

• Oversee Case Underwriting activities across Australia, New Zealand, and Global Clients
• Partner closely with Sales teams on large and complex new business and renewal opportunities
• Lead underwriting for large commercial and banking client portfolios within AU & NZ
• Ensure accurate pricing of deals and facilitate APAC deals requiring L6 or higher approvals
• Support capacity planning and prioritisation aligned with Travel LoB strategy

Pricing, Performance & Remediation

• Collaborate with Pricing to monitor tariff-based portfolio performance and initiate corrective actions where required
• Lead remediation activities for underperforming accounts in line with portfolio monitoring insights
• Provide timely and accurate performance data for central portfolio monitoring
• Support commercial margin projections and planning activities at portfolio and client level

Governance, Compliance & Risk

• Ensure adherence to Allianz Standard for Underwriting and AzP underwriting guidelines
• Oversee fulfilment of action items arising from conditional Product Risk Assessment approvals
• Maintain strong alignment with Actuarial teams to support reserve adequacy and portfolio visibility
• Ensure regulatory and underwriting governance standards are embedded and sustained

Product, Digital & AI Enablement

• Partner with Product teams on Simplicity product rollout and future Travel product enhancements
• Champion the adoption and effective use of digital underwriting tools (e.g. Salesforce, Pricing Tools)
• Demonstrate AI readiness, including:
  • Comfort working with data-driven insights and predictive outputs
  • Supporting AI-enabled pricing, portfolio monitoring, and underwriting decision support tools
  • Contributing to the continuous improvement of underwriting processes through automation and analytics
• Act as a role model for digital-first, insight-led underwriting practices

Collaboration & Leadership

• Work effectively with virtual, multinational teams across APAC and MEA
• Build strong partnerships across Sales, Pricing, Actuarial, Product, and Portfolio functions
• Provide technical guidance and thought leadership within the underwriting community

About You

Essential Experience & Qualifications

• Actuarial, financial, or equivalent analytical background
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in underwriting, portfolio monitoring, pricing, or related insurance disciplines
• Strong experience dealing with complex commercial accounts
• Proven ability to operate in multinational, virtual team environments
• Fluent in English with strong stakeholder communication skills

Desirable

• Experience within Travel Insurance
• Exposure to banking or financial institution clients
• Experience supporting or leading underwriting transformation initiatives

Capabilities for the Future

• High level of digital literacy and AI readiness