Marine Broker

The Role 

Marine Broker

This is a role for the Marine business unit in South Africa – that is involved in client servicing, placement broking, post loss risk improvements & supporting the claims team by understanding the circumstances of loss incidents, determining policy response, and providing complex claims advice.

You should develop and maintain relationships with the regional marine market to enhance our market understanding and placement capabilities. You may also be encouraged to prepare broking submissions, assimilate complex information, analyze exposure data and identify appropriate solutions to meet a client’s needs.

• Broke and place our clients’ risks into the regional market in South Africa, including taking responsibility for identifying suitable markets and determining placement strategy

• Work with underwriters to develop innovative placement solutions to our clients’ problems, plugging gaps in cover and addressing unmet needs where they may arise

• Coordinate with WTW’s global marine broking teams to ensure our clients get access to the best markets wherever they may be located geographically

• Undertake complex account management and servicing, including understanding a client or prospect’s business and the key risk exposures that face their business

• Maintain and build client and cedant relationships through attendance at meetings, both in person and virtually as needed

• Ensure clients and cedants are kept informed of any market trends or developments that may influence their business or (re)insurance coverage

• Facilitate renewal of our clients’ business in a smooth and timely manner, ensuring they are kept updated of developments throughout the renewal process

• Research and evaluate all solutions (insurance and otherwise) to identify and develop optimum risk solutions for our clients

• Ensure ongoing compliance with WTW guidelines and procedures to ensure the highest standards of service are maintained

• Understand and use relevant WTW systems to support and enhance service delivery

• Work with regional South Africa marine leadership to build pipelines, identify opportunities and map out areas of potential growth across the South African region 

• Work with our internal sales teams, client relationship directors and other lines of business as appropriate to convert identified opportunities 

• Support growth of our marine business across the region by delivering appropriate levels of support to retail teams and in-country BUs; educate and inform them where necessary to enhance understanding of the product, and improve the quality and consistency of service delivery across the region

• Ensure our value proposition is clearly articulated internally to increase awareness of marine as a vehicle for growth across the region

• Build relationships with other regional lines of business to increase connectivity and opportunities to cross-sell and collaborate on a multi-line basis 

• Proactively follow-up on leads to support production of marine independently where a viable opportunity is identified

• Assist with RFP and tender responses, including taking responsibility for contribution to writing and presenting of our response orally where required

The Requirements 

• +5 years marine broking experience is a must

• Preferably ACII qualified or equivalent industry experience

• Fluent in English

• A proven track record in insurance broking or underwriting

• An in-depth knowledge of marine Insurance, to address any client questions and technical issues

• Good communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills

• Experience handling and managing complex marine clients

• Willingness to travel locally & internationally as required.

• Ability to assimilate and apply large volumes of information rapidly

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a wider team

• Able to prioritise, manage deadlines and work under pressure

• Comfortable explaining complex concepts and making recommendations to client servicing teams and clients

• Ability to adapt personal style to work effectively with a wide range of clients, colleagues and underwriters.

• Must be prepared to work with integrity and openness, complying at all times with local regulatory and WTW requirements.

• Good IT skills with excellent Word and Excel usage capability

Preference will be given to applicants from designated groups, in line with the South African Employment Equity Act.

WTW is committed to finding opportunities to promote workplace flexibility when possible based on the needs of our customers and the company. We are pleased to say that this role meets the criteria for flexible work. 

We’re committed to equal employment opportunity and provide application, interview and workplace adjustments and accommodations to all applicants. If you foresee any barriers, from the application process through to joining WTW, please email candidate.helpdesk@willistowerswatson.com”