Deputy Head of Claims (m/f/d) DACH
Looking for a role that will have a meaningful impact on Claims in Europe?
Come and progress your career in our European Claims team here at Markel.
Join us and play your part in something special!
What part will you play? If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you’ll find your fit amongst our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realize our potential, we can help others reach theirs.
The opportunity:
This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced Claims leader to shape strategy, lead a high-performance team, and deliver outstanding client and broker outcomes in claims across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
As Deputy Head of Claims (m/f/d) DACH, you will lead the regional Claims team with responsibility for the full lifecycle from first notification of loss, through to resolution and settlement across multiple specialty lines such as Cyber, D&O, FI, PI, Liability, Casualty.
You’ll play a pivotal role in delivering superior Claims outcomes, protecting Markel’s reputation for technical expertise, and strengthening our broker and client relationships.
Working closely with Underwriting, Actuarial, Distribution, Legal & Compliance, you will ensure strong alignment across departments.
You will also be instrumental in shaping and driving the regional Claims strategy—leveraging digital tools, data insights, and external partnerships to enhance efficiency, consistency, and service quality.
This role can be based in Munich or Cologne, Germany.
What you’ll be doing:
- Leading and developing the DACH Claims function, driving a high-performance, collaborative culture
- Owning the end-to-end Claims journey, ensuring excellent service delivery and technical accuracy
- Delivering strong financial and operational performance, including indemnity control and expense management
- Building and maintaining trusted relationships with brokers, clients, and key external partners
- Collaborating with Underwriting and Actuarial teams to provide claims insights that advise pricing and portfolio strategy
- Ensuring claims reporting & critical metric controls
- Driving continuous improvement and transformation initiatives, including digitalisation and process optimisation
- Ensuring compliance with local regulatory frameworks across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
- Acting as a senior representative for Claims within the DACH leadership team and wider Markel organisation
Our must-haves:
- Significant senior leadership experience in Claims within commercial or specialty insurance
- Deep technical knowledge across multiple lines of business, ideally including liability and financial lines
- Consistent track record of leading large or sophisticated Claims operations across multiple jurisdictions
- Legal background
- Strong understanding of regulatory environments within the DACH region
- Experience driving organizational change, including digital and operational change
- Excellent collaborator management skills, capable of influencing at executive level
- Strong broker and client relationship management experience
- Commercial approach with the ability to balance customer outcomes and profitability
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Fluency in German and English essential. Additional languages a plus
- A positive attitude and a collaborative work ethic
- The legal right to live and work in Germany
Who we are:
Markel Group (NYSE – MKL) a Fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory, and investment operations around the world.
We’re all about people | We win together | We strive for better | We enjoy the everyday | We think further
What’s in it for you?
A competitive package with additional local benefits in a modern office environment
Are you ready to play your part?
If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward, reach their full potential and seize opportunities. You’ll find your fit amongst our diverse global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to think further because we believe that when we strive for better and realise our potential, we can help others reach theirs.
Choose ‘Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.
Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful.
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