Underwriting & Risk Management apprenticeships

Build a deep understanding of one of the world’s biggest industries.

Insurance. What’s it all about?

Picture the scene. You’re walking along, phone in hand, when suddenly, it slips from your grip and you watch in horror as it tumbles through the air and smashes on the ground.

Now you’re not just cut off from your friends and the latest online craze – you also face the stomach-churning cost of getting your phone fixed or replaced.

Unless you’ve got insurance, that is.

If you have an insurance policy to cover your phone for accidental damage, you can now rest easy, knowing that the bill will be picked up by your insurance company. Insurance gives you peace of mind.

Insurance is there for the small things, like your phone – but also the big things as well. Imagine what would happen if you suffered from a flood at your home or got caught up in a car accident. Insurance is designed to get people back on track as soon as possible – it plays a big role in helping us minimise the damage caused by events that could otherwise prove disastrous.

So, it’s kind of a big deal.

Applications for this programme have now closed, please keep checking back for opportunities later in the year.

Sounds good. How does it work?

It’s quite straightforward. You and thousands of other policyholders make regular payments – called premiums – into an insurance fund. Together, you build up a pot of cash far greater than any one person would be able to set aside.

In the event of something bad happening to any of those policyholders, the insurance fund then pays out for things to be put right.

Aviva. What sort of insurance do we provide?

At Aviva, we’re probably best known for our home and motor insurance. But we’re also big in commercial insurance and private client insurance too.

Commercial Insurance

Commercial Insurance is the kind that businesses take out to cover the risks they face. Say, for example, you run your own coffee shop and a customer slips and falls on a discarded muffin wrapper. They may want to hold you accountable and claim damages. That’s where commercial insurance comes in.

Of course, the bigger and more complicated the business, the greater and more varied the risks they face. We work alongside other insurers to help insure buildings like stadiums, iconic London skyscrapers and well-known UK retailers. And our biggest client pays a premium of more than £10million annually.

Private Client Insurance

Private Client Insurance is designed for individuals who have more to protect – either in quantity, value, or both – where a standard insurance policy might not cover exactly what it is you need protecting.

For our customers in this area, we might be offering insurance to cover a large collection of modern supercars and classic cars, a significant collection of art or jewellery, or a portfolio of homes in the UK and overseas. They are tailored policies that give those customers and their families, peace of mind that their valuable assets are covered.

Woman reading document, sitting in front of laptop at office conference table

Underwriting? What does that involve?

Lots of things can influence the cost of insurance, including the type of cover being provided, the level of risk involved, the value of what’s being insured, and the client’s history of previous claims.

An underwriter takes all of these factors into account, determines what the likelihood is of something bad happening, whether it’s something we would be comfortable to insure and if so, how much we would charge the customer.

Risk management? Tell me more.

Nobody wants to be in the position where they have to make an insurance claim. That’s where risk management comes in. It’s far better to manage risk in order to prevent a loss from occurring in the first place.

A Risk Consultant works with the client to help them manage the risks they face. This might mean advising them to do something such as fit new locks or a better alarm system to enhance building security. It could be looking at how a leisure centre manages health and safety. Or how a restaurant chain can protect their deep fat frying equipment against a potential fire.

Our Risk Management team works closely with our Underwriters, sharing their findings from site surveys of our customers premises. We often suggest strategic changes around the way businesses are run to help them minimise risk – helping them operate more safely and giving them – and their customers – better peace of mind. Following the survey, we then help the customer implement the suggested changes, resulting in a more acceptable risk for our underwriters and help our customers protect their business, assets and people.

Why Aviva?

You might think we’re just another insurance firm, but we’re not.

For a start, we’re award-winners – voted “General Insurer of the Year” for the last 9 years!

At Aviva, we’re proud to be different. Proud to say that we’re a diverse mix of cultures, genders, ages, perspectives, and ideas.

Most important of all, we’re an organisation with a purpose. We want to lead the way forward in our sector, which is why we focus on being the best we can be. Every day. Together, we’re building a better tomorrow with a little help – a lot, actually – from our apprentices!

No matter who you are, where you’re from, or what your interests are, you can be sure there’s a place for you at Aviva. We’re passionate and committed, just like you are; we’re the first major insurer worldwide to target Net Zero carbon by 2040 and we’re committed to the community too – we’re aiming for £10bn UK infrastructure and real estate investment during 2023.

About the programme

Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers. Our apprentices come from all walks of life and age groups. While some join straight from school or college, many are career changers looking for a fresh challenge or returning to the workplace after a career break. Some also join from other parts of Aviva.

What we offer all our apprentices is the chance to earn a salary while learning invaluable new skills and gaining professional qualifications. So, wherever you are in your working life, this is a great way to build a fantastic career.

On the programme, you’ll learn on the job, gaining real-life experience as you work towards your professional qualifications. From there any further development will be designed specifically for you which may include going on to study for higher level apprenticeships if that aligns with your goals.

You’ll be empowered to own your work, but don’t worry. We won’t expect you to be an expert from day one. Or even month one. You’ll have a supportive team around you who’ll be there to help you develop, every step of the way.

Underwriting & Risk Management Apprentice pathways

To find out more about the roles in our Underwriting and Risk Management teams, click below. You’ll learn more about us (and we’ll learn more about you) during the recruitment process, but the below will give you an overview.

Underwriting Assistant Apprentice – Private Clients Insurance - Level 3 Apprenticeship

You’ll learn how to deliver tailored insurance solutions that meet each customer’s individual needs and get stuck into the varied and exciting world of private client’s insurance.

Underwriting Apprentice – Commercial Lines Insurance

Join us here and we’ll set you on the path to becoming an Underwriter. You’ll learn how to deliver tailored insurance solutions that meet each customer’s individual needs, while maximising profits and minimising losses across your area.

Risk Management Pathway

If you like the sound of risk management, this is the path for you. It’s focused on developing your ‘risk engineering’ capabilities and involves working with clients to manage hazards and minimise the risk of physical and financial losses.

Where you’ll be based

Not all role types are available in every location (see specific adverts for details), so you may need to be flexible and willing to relocate if you don’t currently live within commuting distance.

Join us as an Underwriting Apprentice and after your training and induction period, it is likely you’ll balance time in the office with working from home. We call this Smart Working. When you join us, your leader will take time to discuss this with you and agree what works best for you, your team, and Aviva.

It’s important to note that even though we operate an office/home blend, you will need to live within commutable distance of one of the locations listed above. That way you’ll get to spend time with your team in person as well as virtually and get access to the right support networks internally to help you to succeed.

If you join us as a Risk Management Apprentice (Prevention Consultant), you will be classed as a homeworker. Whilst we don’t need you to be in the office every day, we do expect you to travel to our Bristol office approximately twice a week, so you will need to live within a commutable distance. There will also be travel to other locations across the UK for accompanied site visits (approximately one per month), technical training sessions, and team meetings when required.

Woman looking over creative work spread over desk

What you’ll need

You’ll need certain qualifications depending on what level of apprenticeship you’re applying for. You can find all the details in the job advert for each role, but as a rule of thumb:

To study for a Level 3 Apprenticeship, you’ll:

Have, or be on track for, at least five GCSEs or Scottish National 5s at A*–C grade or 9–4 (or equivalent), including English and Maths.

To study for a Level 4 apprenticeship (England) or a SCQF Level 8 (Scotland) you’ll need:

To have or be on track for, at least two A Levels (or three Scottish Highers) at grade C or above (or equivalent)
At least five GCSEs (or Scottish National 5s) at A*-C or 9-4 (or equivalent), including English and Maths
Plenty of initiative and a strong desire to learn
Great communication and problem-solving skills
The ability to work independently, but also as part of a team
The ability to multitask and prioritise – juggling your apprenticeship studies and your apprenticeship learning

Most importantly, you’ll need to be naturally curious, keen to take the lead when it comes to your own development and excited by the prospect of building a long-term career with Aviva.

What you’ll get

Great starting salary

A great starting salary from £21,700 (or £23,800 if you’re based in London).

Wellbeing and flexible working

We offer everything from healthy eating initiatives, health checks, and exercise classes, through to products, policies, and support designed to help people stay healthy. And our Smart Working initiative gives our people the chance to work from home.

Professional qualifications

You’ll get your apprenticeship training, plus additional role-related qualifications as part of a structured development programme.

Great support network

Expect great leaders, mentors, and buddies who’ll help you grow into your role and support you every step of the way. Plus, you’ll be part of our Aviva apprentice community.

Opportunities to get involved

We love to give back to our local communities, so we offer everyone the opportunity to use up to 21 hours of paid work time to volunteer for good causes or to get involved in things like our education outreach work.

Self-learning

We’re big on empowerment, so we have a self-led learning culture. As part of that, we provide digital access to all sorts of useful on-demand learning content.

Bonus and discounts

You’ll receive a bonus if you achieve what we’re looking for from an individual and company perspective. Plus, you’ll get up to 40% off a selection of products, for yourself, your friends, and your family through MyAviva Extras.

Annual leave

25 days of holiday, plus bank holidays, and the option to sell up to five of those days or buy up to five more.

Meet our apprentices

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Jake

Sean

Georgia

Application process

Our applications are open from January and we expect them to close at the end of February (although we do reserve the right to close applications early dependant on application numbers – so don’t delay your application!).

We will be holding our assessment centres in April/May 2023.

We’ll want to hear about your problem-solving and communication skills. And it goes without saying you’ll need to feel a connection with our values. Sounds good? Great. Here’s what you need to do.

Step one – Apply online

The initial online application involves attaching a copy of your CV and answering a short questionnaire about your motivations for this programme. We want to hear about what you enjoy doing, what you’re good at, and of course, it goes without saying that you’ll need to feel a connection to our values.

Step two – Online tests

If you’re shortlisted, the next stage is our online testing. We ask everyone to complete a numerical reasoning test. If you’re someone who likes to prepare, you’ll be pleased to know you can do a practise test before attempting the real thing.

Step three – Telephone interview

If you pass the online tests, you’ll have a telephone interview with a member of our recruitment team. They’ll want to learn more about you and explore your motivations for choosing a role at Aviva. This is your opportunity to ask us questions too – after all, this is a two-way process.

Step four – Assessment centre

Our last stage is an assessment day, where you’ll get to show what you can do! It’s your opportunity to get insights into what it’s like to work at Aviva and to meet some of the people who work here. You’ll get to take part in a group exercise where you’ll collaborate with others to solve a challenge. You’ll also be interviewed and do some individual exercises.

These assessment days are ‘strengths-based’ so we’ll be looking to understand more about what you like doing and your potential for the future. We promise they’re actually quite enjoyable!

Step five – Offer

Impress us and you’ll be offered the role to start in September 2023. We’ll keep in contact with you between the time you receive your offer and start in your role and you can expect a warm welcome in September when you’ll join a structured induction programme with your new fellow apprentices.

Ready for the next step?

Life with us means being empowered. Empowered to do great work. Empowered to be yourself. Empowered to help shape what we do and how.

If you are seeking support for an early careers role, please contact avivaearlycareers@aviva.com.

Up for it?