As well as looking to grow its commercial clients, NFU Mutual is also seeing many of its traditionally agricultural customers diversifying into a broad range of commercial sectors. This means it’s an exciting time for the company’s Commercial Underwriting teams, as they’re dealing with an increasing and varied book of commercial clients across the UK. We talked to Jason Lane, Head of Commercial Underwriting at NFU Mutual, about how the commercial book is growing, and the opportunities this offers for experienced Commercial Underwriters.
Hi Jason, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Can you start off by telling us about the growth of commercial clients at NFU Mutual.
I think a lot of people probably see us as an insurer just for the rural sector, but in fact, we’re doing an increasing amount of business for commercial clients. So, whilst the rural sector is our core business and we’ll always support that, we have big aspirations for growth in the commercial sector. In fact, we're already quite a sizeable commercial insurer now.
In the last few years, we’ve moved into a lot of different sectors, from commercial property, retail, warehousing and manufacturing, to building allied trades and areas such as cyber cover. We’re also seeing a lot of our rural clients diversifying and moving into commercial areas such as renewable energy and the leisure sector, so there’s a really interesting blend of work.
It sounds like there’s a real opportunity for Underwriters to help build on that commercial growth.
There really is. As a Commercial Underwriter at NFU Mutual, you play a big role in developing our commercial expertise and you can add real value to our business. And if you want to keep developing in the commercial space, we give you every opportunity to do just that. At the same time, we encourage you to share your experience, so the whole business benefits from your knowledge. It’s based on a strong belief in the power of our people. When people join us with experience in a certain commercial area, we encourage them to develop and share it, because we value them.
We have different commercial teams covering different risks, so there are plenty of opportunities to build a career in a variety of areas. You can even strengthen your technical knowledge and join our Senior Technical team, taking referrals, or coaching and developing colleagues.
What would you say makes commercial underwriting different at NFU Mutual?
I think the clear differential for me is our Agency Network and the fact that they work very closely with our customers to support them in the local market. They genuinely care about all our customers at all premium levels. And because we’re a mutual, they’re not just customers – they’re members. I think that adds a very different perspective to how we view them. We find the right cover for each customer and support them when things go wrong.
So, as Underwriters, we’re always looking for solutions for our customers and try to find ways to accommodate their needs. In the rural space, NFU Mutual is the main insurer, so we will work with our customers to understand their changing insurance needs to find the right solutions and strategies to support their businesses.
Another really important point is that we care about our people at NFU Mutual as much as we care about our members. We focus a lot on developing our staff – not just progressing their authorities, but their skills too. So, if you’re ambitious to move up into a new role, we’ll help you understand what that role might be, identify a progression route and give you the right opportunities at the right time so you can develop your career.
It seems as though there are a lot of progression opportunities in Commercial Underwriting – how do you specifically support people’s development?
When an Underwriter joins NFU Mutual they take part in a full induction course which includes an introduction to our business, soft skills training and a structured framework to gain authorities. It’s about ensuring we bring them on a journey, with the right modules and the right coaching in place so they’re ready for their role.
We also have a scheme called Best Friend at Work, which provides someone you can chat to about anything. And when you’re ready for your next opportunity, you’ll have a coach to help you progress. Our Learning & Development team also offers a variety of courses to develop people’s soft skills and knowledge, and our Technical team run talks on emerging issues. We care hugely about our people's development and make sure we build in time for them to progress with the right support and training. And it’s not just about career development, but personal lives and well-being, too. That's important to us.
What kind of work culture will people find in Commercial Underwriting?
NFU Mutual is genuinely a very caring organisation, it’s very much about doing the right thing by our employees, as well as our customers. Where possible, we offer flexible hours where you can work condensed or extended hours, depending on your role and our business needs. We also have our hybrid working model meaning you can work from home up to four days a week.
Also, because we’re a mutual and don’t have shareholders, the primary focus isn’t just about profit, which helps create a less pressured environment where our Underwriters can thrive. We want our Underwriters to feel empowered and trusted to do their job and make their own decisions on a particular risk. But there’s always the support there if they need it, from their team, training and our tools and operating model. We have a very collaborative culture at NFU Mutual. Our leadership team actively go out to the different offices and ask for our people’s ideas and opinions. Whenever there's a challenge, we talk it through together to solve it. That might mean working with different teams across our business or an agency, but we work it out together. Because ultimately, we’re all focused on the same vision and goals.
Join us on our journey
We have a variety of opportunities for experienced commercial underwriters. Take a look at our latest vacancies or sign up for job alerts by email.