Reinsurance Contracts Expert / Counsel

P&C Reinsurance Contracts, Asia Pacific is seeking a regional Reinsurance contract wordings counsel / expert to join our team supporting Swiss Re's property and casualty ("P&C") reinsurance business in the Asia Pacific region.  Primary responsibilities include drafting and review of (re)insurance contract wordings, advising on contract related matters, and engaging with internal and, at times, external clients to negotiate and finalize the terms of reinsurance contracts, as well as supporting the Head of P&C Reinsurance Contracts to manage contract risks in reinsurance portfolio.  This position will be based in Singapore.

About the team

P&C Contracts is part of Underwriting Excellence in Property & Casualty Reinsurance.  It is  responsible for ensuring Swiss Re (re)insurance agreements comply with underwriting and contracts standards.

In P&C Contracts, you will join a highly engaged global team of approximately 40 legal / claims / underwriting experts and specialists who support all Lines of Property, Casualty, and Specialty business. Primary responsibilities of our Contracts Function include drafting and review of (re)insurance wordings, advising on contract related matters and engaging with internal and external clients to negotiate and finalize the terms of reinsurance contracts as well as the further development of our tool landscape and wording analytics.

Core responsibilities of the Reinsurance Contracts Expert / Counsel are:

• Independently draft and critique (re)insurance contracts, binders, slips, endorsements and related documents to align written agreements with business intent and corporate requirement.
• Perform portfolio analysis and provide insights on trends related to contract risks, in reliance on Swiss Re contracts systems and database.
• Align reinsurance contracts with applicable law, regulations and internal requirements.
• Coordinate, communicate and participate in development of corporate policies on contract related matters.
• Support functional development of contract management and analytical systems;
• Collaborate with Client Managers and Underwriters in contract negotiations, including discussions with external clients and brokers.
• Act as expert technical advisor, providing guidance to various corporate functions regarding contract formation / interpretation, implications of particular contract language and best practices.

• Develop training materials and deliver internal, external or public training on contract related matters; drive thought leadership on contract certainty.
• Maintain strong governance risk and control standards with respect to contract wordings and processes.

The successful candidate will be expected to develop a thorough understanding of relevant law, regulations and market practices in the Asia Pacific region and apply these to (re)insurance agreements.  Participation in Global projects / initiatives through co-working with team mates from the US and EMEA Regions is expected.  They will also require strong analytical abilities, experience in business negotiations, and excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to engage confidently and in an impactful manner with internal stakeholders and clients.  We are seeking a candidate with an innovative, pragmatic and results-oriented mindset, who possesses the ability to work independently with a sense of personal responsibility and accountability, while also building cooperative relationships with internal and external partners, to enable cross-functional team decision making in alignment with Swiss Re business strategy.  The Contracts Expert / Counsel should be available for business travel roughly two weeks each year.

Requirements for the Reinsurance Contracts Expert / Counsel position include:

• Degree holder in business, finance, insurance, law or a related field; preferably with professional insurance designation (e.g. ACII or equivalent); legal background / qualification in common / English law an advantage;
• 5 or more years of (re)insurance industry experience (re)insurance claims, underwriting, coverage counsel, legal or product role;
• Solid understanding of P&C (re)insurance policy wordings, coverage, product, and business processes;
• Good skill and confidence in commercial / (re)insurance coverage agreement drafting;
• External customer servicing, management, or advising experience an advantage;
• Exposure to a multi-cultural work and / or client servicing environment; and
• High level fluency in Chinese and English, including business terminology.  Additional fluency in Mandarin is a plus;
• Effective computer and Information Technology literacy.