Markel · 5 hours ago
Senior Legal Counsel, Ceded Reinsurance
Richmond, VA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
8+ years expMarkel is a Fortune 500 company that operates in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. The Senior Legal Counsel, Ceded Reinsurance will provide end-to-end legal support for complex reinsurance transactions, partnering closely with various teams to ensure regulatory compliance and timely execution of agreements.
Insurance
No H1B
Responsibilities
Partner with Markel’s Ceded Re Placement leads to understand each reinsurance deal and take primary responsibility over drafting, editing, and finalizing the various contracts associated with each outwards reinsurance placement. This includes understanding the product lines covered, their respective coverages, appropriate exclusions, and the proposed/final reinsurance terms
Partner with Markel’s Ceded Re team in negotiation of contract terms, reinsurance coverage, and other wordings to protect Markel’s interest and ensure contracts align with the intent
Primary responsibility for managing contracts associated with the Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) market in order to provide end‑to‑end legal support for Markel Bermuda Limited’s fronting and ILS activities, including structuring, drafting, negotiating, and closing quota share and related agreements; overseeing trust and collateral frameworks; managing industry loss warranty (ILW) arrangements; advising on specialty products; and coordinating Bermuda regulatory engagements and board governance
Structure and maintain trust agreements and Risk Transfer Framework Agreements (RTFAs) supporting Markel’s ILS fund groups ensuring collateral sufficiency, trust operations, and signatory governance for payments
Provide advice on all specialty products legal documents from end to end including reservations-of-rights (ROR) language, claims, commutation, and other agreements
Form strong relationships with ILS council to help build strong relationships between the ILS group, legal and ceded
Draft and negotiate commutation amendments and legacy claim clean‑ups; coordinate with Finance/Claims and audit trail requirements
Serve as the backup legal interface with Nephila counsel and internal partners (Head of ILS Solutions, Managing Director Ceded Re, Accounting Policy, Claims), facilitating quick issue resolution and document execution
Partner with Ceded Re leadership to embed counterparty concentration and credit‑risk controls into master QS language/MOUs and future fronting frameworks
Ensure all agreements are executed on a timely basis to meet internal Markel Service Level Agreements, as well as the appropriate regulatory requirements
Maintain and manage a library of all ceded reinsurance clauses and wordings and appropriate supporting documentation
Maintain and enhance Markel’s standard reinsurance wording library used in reinsurance contracts, trust agreements, non-disclosure agreements, commutation agreements, broker arrangements, etc. and ensure they remain aligned with industry best practices and the latest industry trends
Build relationships with Markel’s reinsurance brokers and their contract wording teams
Work closely with Markel partners and reinsurers on deals placed on a direct basis
Negotiate trust agreement language with reinsurers and their financial institutions
Bring all current Markel reinsurance agreements up to our global wording standards, while catering for local regulatory and commercial requirements where needed
Partner with and leverage our local internal legal teams where required
Facilitate any engagement with outside counsel where needed
Lead and participate in special projects as required
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree
JD required
8+ years of experience in (re)insurance transactional work, with deep knowledge of fronting, quota shares, trust agreements, ILWs, and collateralized ILS programs
Transactional drafting and negotiation
BMA regulatory fluency and governance
Credit, collateral and concentration risk acumen to master quota share guardrails and fronting carrier protection
Expertise in Bermuda insurance regulation and BMA filings
Familiarity with specialty products such as BESS
Comfortable leading complex cross-border negotiations with counterparties and external counsel
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Solid understanding of US, Bermuda, and England/Wales re/insurance law, including regulatory requirements surrounding reinsurance contracts
Strong negotiating skills
Strong project management and organization skills
Excellent attention to detail
Ability to deliver outstanding customer service
Excellent skills in Microsoft Office products (Excel, Outlook, Power Point, Word, Copilot and AI)
Ability to work in a global team environment and ability and willingness to work independently and remotely
Strong desire for continuous improvement
US Work Authorization required. Markel does not provide visa sponsorship for this position, now or in the future
Benefits
We offer competitive benefit programs that help meet our diverse and changing environment as well as support our employees’ needs at all stages of life.
All full-time employees have the option to select from multiple health, dental and vision insurance plan options and optional life, disability, and AD&D insurance.
We also offer a 401(k) with employer match contributions, an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, PTO, corporate holidays and floating holidays, parental leave.
Company
Markel
As the insurance operations within the Markel Group Inc.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Michael Keimig
President & Chief Executive Officer - Markel Surety Corporation
Richard Whitt
Retired, Co-chief Executive Officer
Recent News
2025-05-28
Company data provided by crunchbase