Head of Surety Claims - Europe (m/f/d)*

About us

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets (MRS-GM), it is our ambition to become the leading Primary Specialty Insurance provider, underpinned by an effective and adaptable strategy, superior products and industry leaders working in a supportive environment to achieve this.

At the heart of our success is a strong culture where people are encouraged to be present, bold and curious, allowing them to achieve their individual goals.

The Senior Surety Claims Specialist - Europe will be responsible to direct all aspects of managing Surety Restructuring & Claims Cases for Conditional, Unconditional, First Demand Surety Bonds & Guarantees across Europe. The Senior Surety Claims Specialist will strategically partner with Legal Partners & local Surety Underwriters, and drive optimal claim resolutions. In this role, the Senior Surety Claims Specialist - Europe will check the validity of a claim, review and determine coverage, manage the claim investigation, payment of claims and rejection of unjustified claims, evaluate the overall claim, communicate promptly with internal and external stakeholders, decide & set up provisions and pursue recoveries and risk transfer where warranted. This role will follow best practice claims processes, Group guidelines and local European regulatory requirements.

Your Job:

• Design, implement and manage Surety Claims handling process — including best practices, procedures, workflows, documentation standards, triage and escalation protocols.
• Oversee all Surety claims across Ireland, Spain, Germany, and Italy — ensuring consistent technical adjudication, reserving, indemnity enforcement, recovery actions and case management.
• Proactive and prompt management of claims, considering all aspects with a strategic vision for optimal claim outcome.
• Configure, implement, and manage claims systems and workflow tools (document management, case-tracking, MI dashboards, cross-jurisdiction reporting).
• Define and enforce high technical standards, including for complex claims (contractor insolvency, performance bonds, large-scale defaults), across multiple jurisdictions with differing legal and regulatory regimes.
• Manage and coordinate external surety claims service providers: including, legal counsel, forensic accountants, engineers, recovery partners.
• Serve as senior escalation point for high-severity, cross-border, or contentious bond claims — liaising with underwriting, reinsurance, brokers, external counsel and senior leadership.
• Establish and manage governance and regulatory compliance relating to surety claims across jurisdictions (local insolvency laws, regulatory requirements, documentation, reporting).
• Build out the European Surety Claims offering to scale with the business as it grows: including talent acquisition and technical development, identification of innovative solutions, and ensuring consistency in delivery of best practices.
• Provide and present surety claims data, reporting and portfolio insights to senior Claims leadership, Underwriters, Finance, Risk and stakeholders.
• Align Surety claims operations to ensure consistent standards, reporting, and compliance.

Your Profile:

• Legal or Economical University degree.
• 10 years + experience managing Surety claims and/or with a strong understanding of reinsurance and insurance contracts, wordings and operations of the products.
• Deep knowledge of bonds & guarantees, SBLCs, guarantee facilities, and syndicated facilities. Knowledge of URDG and ICC guidelines are a plus.
• Superb understanding of technical claims proficiency and best claim practices.
• Strong expertise with multiple European regulatory environments, insolvency laws & procedures.
• Sensitivity to local market practices, regulatory compliance, data protection, legal frameworks.
• Proactive and adaptable — comfortable in ambiguity and confident in building from ground-up.
• Detail-oriented, disciplined and rigorous — especially around documentation, governance, reserving.
• Organized, structured thinker with strong problem-solving skills.
• Flexible and mobile — willingness to travel frequently across Europe (30%).
• Ability to work independently, multi-task, and remain self-motivated in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong business acumen and ability to collaborate with other departments and vendors.
• Customer-service and relationship oriented.
• Innovative, dynamic and growth mindset.
• Excellent analytical thinking, advocacy and negotiation skills.
• Excellent oral and written German and English skills (business fluent Spanish and Italian also preferred).

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.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At Munich Re, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion foster innovation and resilience and enable us to act braver and better. Embracing the power of DEI is at the core of who we are. We recognise diversity can be multi-dimensional, intersectional, and complex, so we want to build a diverse workforce that includes a wide range of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities; economic and geographic backgrounds; physical abilities; ages; life, school, and career experiences; and political, religious, and personal beliefs. Additionally, we are committed to building an equitable and inclusive work environment where this diversity is celebrated, valued, and has equitable opportunities to succeed.

At Munich Re Specialty – Global Markets our approach to ESG is underpinned by our desire to seize business opportunities and to nurture a stimulating and inclusive work environment. Our ESG strategy aims to deliver holistic impacts across environmental, social and governance topics including supporting a number of local initiatives within our community and offering volunteering opportunities for colleagues.

Learn more about sustainability at Munich Re – choose your impact!

BePresent #BeBold #BeCurious

*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.

Yamina Djurisic
HR Consultant