Legal & Wording Counsel (m/f/d)*

As a specialty provider of primary insurance services Great Lakes Insurance SE (GLISE) with its branches in the UK, Australia, Switzerland, Italy and Ireland and its newly founded subsidiary in the UK, is an integral part of Munich Re Group and an important enabler for Specialty Insurance Business (GSI – Global Specialty Insurance) closely connected to Munich Re’s reinsurance core business.

Your Job

This position is structured as a shared role within the Great Lakes set-up, with approximately equal allocation between core Great Lakes Legal advisory work and specialised support for Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets (MRS-GM) business conducted via Great Lakes.

• Provide independent legal advice in all areas in accordance with the responsibilities of the Great Lakes Legal Department and the MRS-GM business, in particular general civil law, litigation and arbitration, insurance contract law, insurance distribution law, insurance supervisory law and on all aspects of consumer protection and in relation to all related business opportunities
• Provide industry expertise of designing, developing and reviewing specialty policy wordings, advice on primary insurance programs (incl. multinational) and support Great Lakes’ business conducted via MRS-GM to ensure existing and proposed new policy wordings are compliant, clear and provide the intended coverage
• Support a team of legal counsel in Germany, Spain and the UK in their tasks and actively share knowledge
• Support Great Lakes’ and MRS-GM underwriters and act as a technical reference point for underwriting queries (such as regulatory queries, underwriting and product norms) and provide clarity and advice on technical underwriting and claims issues
• Collaborate with our local Wordings Manager in the UK on Wordings topics and industry standards and assist in ensuring related governance processes (alignment with underwriting guidelines, new product guidelines etc).
• Develop, review and negotiate a variety of distribution and agency agreements as well as insurance contracts, brokerage agreements, NDAs, reinsurance agreements and reinsurance certificates

and related documentation

• Provide products and underwriting support, Wordings advice for commercial and product teams (such as coverage questions, endorsements, notice of cancellations),
• Proactively manage and undertake policy wording development and control, working closely with key stakeholders to build new insurance products or refine or expand existing products, with a focus on primary insurance specialty business, ensuring our wordings are robust and reflect the appropriate coverage intent
• Managing our centralised repository of wordings to ensure this is current both in terms of wordings and necessary regulatory and legal developments.
• Legal support for the business throughout all stages of the business lifecycle, from onboarding to offboarding our agents
• Collaborate in global teams with international colleaguesand liaise with experts across the Munich Re Group (sanctions, antitrust, DP)
• Cooperate closely with the Regulatory Office and the Compliance team and with relevant stakeholders at Munich Re Group 
• Take responsibility for trainings and other knowledge exchange activities to agency business managers, underwriters and other relevant Great Lakes staff to improve their understanding of wording, coverage as well as general legal, regulatory and licensing issues. Development and training of non-senior team members in the Legal and Compliance teams
• In addition, you will have the unique opportunity to advise and shape the business structure and strategy early on and together with a multi-jurisdictional team help to steer Great Lakes organisation and the European expansion project

Your Profile

• Above-average legal qualification (German state examinations preferentially with distinctions or European/UK equivalent)
• Admission as “Syndikusanwalt” or “Rechtsanwalt” or equivalent with a minimum of [5] years’ experience post qualification with several years of primary insurance/distribution law experience preferable within a primary insurance company
• Comprehensive understanding of local and European regulatory requirements (Solvency II, IDD, EIOPA statements, etc) in the German (and European) primary insurance and insurance distribution industry
• Strong expertise in wordings and coverage topics as well as commercial and corporate law
• Exceptional communication and team working skills in German and English (further languages welcome); ability to gain the confidence of senior business stakeholders and peers 
• Effective time-management skills and ability to juggle multiple tasks and priorities  
• Thought leader
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills
• Interest in the wider business environment and technical issues
• Analytical, pragmatic thinker and solution orientated
• Ability to work in large complex projects
• Ability to communicate complex issues in an easily understandable manner
• High degree of personal commitment and intercultural competence
• Willingness for occasional business trips, in particular to Great Lakes’ branch offices
• Fluency in German and English; any other languages are beneficial

Application Instructions

In order to consider your application, we require your application to be submitted via our online applicant portal. In addition to uploading your CV, we recommend writing a cover letter to tell us more about why the position is of interest to you.

About us 

As the world's leading reinsurance company with more than 11,000 employees at over 50 locations, Munich Re introduces a paradigm shift in the way you think about insurance. By turning uncertainty into a manageable risk we enable fundamental change. Join us working on topics today that will concern society tomorrow, whether that be climate change, major construction projects, medical risk assessment or even space travel. 

Together we embrace a culture where multiskilled teams dare to think big. We create the new and the different for our clients and cultivate innovation.

Sounds like you? Push boundaries with us and be part of Munich Re.

Our employees are our greatest strength. That’s why we offer them a wide range of benefits. You can find some examples below.

Unlock your potential

• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: we embrace the power of differences and are convinced that diversity fosters innovation and resilience and enables us to act braver and better.
• Continuous Learning: we believe that continuous learning is a key differentiator and critical for building new skills and accelerating growth.
• Career Mobility: we actively support career mobility, and our strong global and regional presence offers a wealth of career growth opportunities for you.

Rewards & Recognition

• Competitive salary: appropriate compensation for your high level of commitment.
• Retirement provision: state of the art in-house pension solutions.
• Work-life balance: promoting the compatibility of family and work in addition to overall work-life balance.
• Health management: focus on your physical and mental health far beyond legal requirements.
• Hybrid working: living the best of both worlds – we offer you a very flexible approach as well as the opportunity to work from abroad on an occasional basis.

* Munich Re not only stands for fairness with regard to its clients; it is also an equal opportunities employer. Severely disabled candidates will also be prioritized, if equally qualified. 

Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft
Vesselina Markova • HR Consultant Königinstraße 107 • 80802 München • GERMANY