SMF23 Chief Underwriting Officer Recruitment

Appoint a PRA-Approved Chief Underwriting Officer

Exec Capital places the SMF23 Chief Underwriting Officer function at UK insurers, reinsurers and Lloyd’s managing agents. The Chief Underwriting Officer owns the firm’s underwriting strategy, risk appetite and portfolio — the discipline on which an insurer’s profitability ultimately rests — and holds a PRA-designated Senior Management Function under the insurance SMCR. Every SMF23 search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA.

We work with insurers, MGAs, reinsurers and Lloyd’s managing agents to identify Chief Underwriting Officers who combine deep underwriting judgement and market standing with the governance credibility and personal accountability a Senior Management Function requires. This is a specialist search into a defined underwriting talent pool, where market reputation and class-of-business track record are decisive.

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What the SMF23 Function Is

Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime for insurers, SMF23 is the Chief Underwriting Officer function — the individual with overall responsibility for the firm’s underwriting. It is a PRA-designated Senior Management Function applicable to Solvency II firms and large non-directive insurers, and it is one of the governing functions that defines how an insurer takes on and prices risk.

The Chief Underwriting Officer holds a Statement of Responsibilities, must be PRA-approved before taking up the role, and is subject to the Duty of Responsibility and the Conduct Rules. In the Lloyd’s market, two related and distinct Lloyd’s-only functions also exist — SMF23a, the Underwriting Risk Oversight function, and SMF23b, the Conduct Risk Oversight function — which provide independent oversight of underwriting and conduct risk at managing agents. These are separate oversight roles from the SMF23 Chief Underwriting Officer itself, and we advise on and search for each where a managing agent requires them.

Why SMF23 Recruitment Is Different

Underwriting judgement is the product

For an insurer, underwriting discipline is not a support function — it is the core of the business model. The Chief Underwriting Officer sets risk appetite, shapes the portfolio, prices exposure and holds the line on underwriting standards through soft and hard markets alike. A mis-appointment here is felt directly in the loss ratio. Assessing a CUO candidate means testing genuine underwriting track record and market judgement across a cycle — not just tenure in senior underwriting titles, but evidence of profitable portfolio decisions and the discipline to decline business when the price is wrong.

Class-of-business and market credibility

Chief Underwriting Officer candidates are assessed against the specific classes of business the firm writes — specialty, commercial, property, casualty, reinsurance or the firm’s particular market. Market reputation carries real weight: the strongest CUOs are known quantities in their lines, and reaching them means a research-led, confidential approach into a defined pool of senior underwriters typically already in post. Where the appointment is on an authorisation or planning timetable, our urgent SMF appointment service applies.

Governance credibility alongside underwriting mastery

As a Senior Management Function, the CUO must pair underwriting authority with the fitness-and-propriety, governance and communication expectations the regulator applies. The best candidates can both command the underwriting detail and represent the firm’s risk posture credibly to the board, the regulator and, at Lloyd’s, to the Corporation and the market.

Who We Place as SMF23

• A senior underwriting track record at a UK insurer, reinsurer, MGA or Lloyd’s managing agent in the relevant classes of business;
• Evidence of profitable portfolio and risk-appetite decisions across a market cycle, not merely seniority of title;
• Familiarity with the Senior Managers Regime, Statements of Responsibilities and PRA engagement;
• Where relevant, Lloyd’s market experience and an understanding of managing-agent governance and oversight functions;
• The standing and communication credibility to hold a governing Senior Management Function.

For Lloyd’s managing agents, the SMF23 Chief Underwriting Officer sits within a wider governance structure that may also require the SMF23a Underwriting Risk Oversight and SMF23b Conduct Risk Oversight functions — distinct oversight roles that we can search for alongside the CUO. Chief Underwriting Officer appointments frequently run in parallel with a Chief Risk Officer (SMF4) or Chief Actuary (SMF20) search.

How the SMF23 Search Works

Step 1 — Briefing. A structured conversation covering the firm’s classes of business, risk appetite, market position, regulatory status and assessment criteria.

Step 2 — Research and identification. A structured mapping of senior underwriters with the relevant class-of-business track record and market standing.

Step 3 — Approach and assessment. Confidential direct approach and assessment against underwriting track record, portfolio judgement and Senior Management Function expectations.

Step 4 — Shortlist and appointment. A shortlist with assessment commentary, then support through interviews, offer, and the PRA approval and Statement of Responsibilities process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SMF23 the same as SMF23a?

No — and the distinction matters. SMF23 is the Chief Underwriting Officer function, applicable across Solvency II insurers. SMF23a is a separate Lloyd’s-only function, the Underwriting Risk Oversight function, which provides independent oversight of underwriting risk at a Lloyd’s managing agent. SMF23b is the related Lloyd’s Conduct Risk Oversight function. The Chief Underwriting Officer is SMF23.

Does the Chief Underwriting Officer have to be PRA-approved?

Yes. SMF23 is a PRA-designated Senior Management Function. The holder must be approved before taking up the role, holds a Statement of Responsibilities, and is subject to the Duty of Responsibility and the Conduct Rules.

Do you recruit Chief Underwriting Officers for the Lloyd’s market?

Yes. We place Chief Underwriting Officers for Lloyd’s managing agents as well as company-market insurers and reinsurers, and can search for the associated Lloyd’s oversight functions (SMF23a and SMF23b) where a managing agent requires them.

How long does an SMF23 search take?

Typically four to six weeks to first shortlist, reflecting the specialist pool and the weight placed on class-of-business track record and market reputation.

Chief Underwriting Officer Compensation: UK Market

Chief Underwriting Officer compensation varies with the firm’s size, classes of business and whether the role sits at a company-market insurer, an MGA or a Lloyd’s managing agent. As broad benchmarks:

• CUO — MGA / smaller specialty insurer: £130,000–£200,000 base plus bonus
• CUO — mid-size insurer / managing agent: £200,000–£320,000 base plus bonus and, in some cases, LTIP
• CUO — large insurer / reinsurer: £320,000–£500,000+ base with significant bonus and long-term incentives tied to underwriting result
• Interim CUO — day rate: typically £1,500–£3,000 per day depending on firm size and mandate

Underwriting leadership packages are frequently weighted toward performance, reflecting the direct link between the CUO’s decisions and the loss ratio. We provide firm-specific benchmarking as part of every brief; our SMF salary guide sets out the wider Senior Management Function picture. Interim engagements are subject to HMRC’s off-payroll working rules.

Why Exec Capital for Your SMF23 Search

Chief Underwriting Officer appointments reward a search partner who understands the underwriting market, the classes of business in question and the regulatory weight of a governing Senior Management Function. Exec Capital conducts every SMF23 mandate as a retained, research-led search led personally by the founder — assessing candidates against genuine portfolio track record and market standing, not just seniority of title, and against their readiness to carry the personal accountability the role brings. We work confidentially, build to the firm’s regulatory and planning timetable, and present shortlists where every candidate has been personally assessed. For Lloyd’s managing agents, we understand how the CUO sits within the wider governance structure and can search for the associated oversight functions where required.

Sources and Further Reading

• FCA — Senior Managers and Certification Regime
• FCA — SM&CR: Guide for insurers
• Lloyd’s — managing agent governance and market oversight
• Bank of England / PRA — prudential regulation of insurers