customer service representative

claims processor

underwriter

pricing analyst

actuary

NFU Mutual

I worked at the Chester office for 10 years before the decision to close rendered me redundant. I stayed for as long as I did due to the people that I was working with and the fact that it appeared to be safe compared to other employers locally based. Overall it was a tough and at times mad environment to work in. Workloads were high and the department was under-resourced in part due to management's unrealistic expectations for new recruits (wanted everyone to have x years of insurance experience in an area where there were no other insurance companies to poach from) coupled with poor paying salaries which served to hinder recruitment. People were treated differently for example of one person getting away with doing something or not doing something and another person committing the same act(s) would be pulled to one side for a meeting about it. Single people were leant on to work overtime and those with families were left alone. It was hard to progress in the department with development opportunities limited. The only way to progress was to get a job in Head Office which was no easy feat and Head Office was based in an expensive part of the country which made a move financially prohibitive for many (especially as relocation assistance was poor). I found a lot of people within the office overall to be old fashioned and living in the past and in some sections this led to more recent recruits moving on.There were too many part timers working there which only put more onto the full time staff.  Communications could be poor with certain things kept quiet so you would never know what was going on in other departments. In many cases, I would end up finding out from the Caretaker. On the positive side, the job helped me pay my mortgage for 10 years and build up a nice sum in my pension and it was nice to sign off my time with a trial period in the York office with all expenses paid before finishing with redundancy. 

It is without doubt one of the most supportive and collaborative environments that I have ever worked in. All of my colleagues across the business have been welcoming and always have time to give their advice or expertise.

If you are the kind of person that enjoys professional development, then there is the opportunity to volunteer for projects and to get involved in things that help you to develop. 

Looking across the business I see multiple examples of colleagues who have progressed their careers into other areas of the business from that which they originally started.

The training and development is exemplary. There are online platforms that have support on virtually any topic you can think of, supported by a large learning and development function for face to face courses.

Communication has been strong. I never feel like I don't know what is happening in the business and there are good internal comms at both a function and corporate level.

The Head Office in Stratford is an amazing space, with lots of room to walk amongst the grounds at lunchtime and get away from your desk. Not to mentione a subsidised canteen with Costa Coffee.

You are well looked after here with strong benefits and a pension of upto 20%.

Well Done NFU Mutual, you make us feel valued and the work we do important.

Working colleagues (excluding management) are lovely but despite what anyone tells you it really is NOT a great place to work. Constant micromanagement, endless meetings as no can make a decision and truly awful appraisal process which mangers use to reward their favourites and use to beat with if you they don’t like you. A real prevalence of a bullying culture which people tell you about once they gain your trust. It was like being on the Trueman Show. You know something is wrong but can’t quite put your finger on it.
The worst thing of all is management just don’t trust their staff. So this results in getting external companies to pretty much everything, even though their staff could do a better job at a fraction of the cost. Utter madness.
When you get there people are running around like headless chickens trying to achieve meaningless tasks set by management. People are genuinely knackered.

It’s a shame, few years ago it truly was a great place to work, but no longer... the lovely swimming pool...gone...the amazing canteen... gone and the genuinely nice management... gone 

I write this not to put you off, but just to aware what you might be getting into... and the above reflections isn’t something I just felt, but a large majority... most rightly waiting for their pension so can take early retirement and escape before it’s too late.
If you still decide you want to work their, then keep your head down, and whatever you do say nothing!



The company has changed a lot over the 10 years I worked there.  It has great benefits such as a standard 25 days holiday (27 after 5 years) and flexi time, plus the pension is great too (put 8% in and it's made up to 20%).  BUT the jobs are mainly very repetitive and there is no career progression for most, as jobs are fixed for friends and although asking for qualifications and help progressing, they wouldn't help me as they said it wasn't relevant to my role.  How are you supposed to get on in this company if they won't let you do the relevant qualifications?!  Madness!  

Another thing to bear in mind is the awful bureaucracy of their annual 'Managing Achievement' reviews.  This isn't annual...it's all year!  On and on having 6 weekly meetings on career development (just means more work will be dumped on you) and how you meet the 'personal stars' (egs to prove you can do your job).  Really is a waste of time and gets you nowhere, but if you don't do it you don't get your annual bonus every April.

I have since moved, gained a good pay rise and within 3 months am studying for qualifications to further my chosen career path.  It's great not working for such a big company, smaller companies seem to value you a lot more and invest in you, even if the benefits aren't that great.

Very poor morale within UW teams  including Senior UW. Management are not interested, very poor communication, very negative. Changes made are not for the better, everyone is confused about their role and the enjoyable parts of the job have been removed so you’re a simple processor. Work is manipulated between Regions, engagement scores are only high as you’re told it reflects on you as a team and they offer a company wide extra holiday if scores improve. Inflexible moving between teams and working from home. They advise they care but they really don’t, wages are poor for the level of work being completed. Completing work above you grade with no gratitude or support. Unable to promote due to ridiculous testing and increase in wages not worth making the effort. Flexible working is pointless as you’re on a rota 8am - 6pm which changes monthly, finishing at 3pm or 4pm has become a myth. Team Leaders have no support and their opinions are irrelevant and not taken on board by Senior Management. It has got progressively worse over recent years, to top it off your now rated by agents and if you receive any negative feedback your unable score achieved within your yearly report. Ludicrous and all the weight with the agents so you don’t have a leg to stand on or any support when underwriting. 

Pay is dreadful, way less than anywhere else and pay rises are miniscule. Managers don’t have a clue about underwriting and spend their days having meetings about meetings rather than implementing any meaningful change, providing leadership or taking feedback higher. Stats are the be all and end all which sadly means that you are just a number to the department. No one is consulted about large process changes that will impact them - these can be dropped at a moment’s notice with no reasoning or explanation given for their importance. Management are sly and self-serving. A lot of work needs to be done to turn this sinking ship around. Upwards of 5 underwriters have left in the last couple of months… good luck to them all, I’m sure more will follow.
Advice to Management…
Perhaps looking into something other than weekly figures would increase team morale … perhaps the supposed “underwriting excellence” you keep feigning interest in. Listening to your staff wouldn’t go amiss either. Pay needs to match the cost of inflation. Senior management needs a total refurbishment in this department… there’s no other way to put it sadly. I wouldn’t trust the department management to run a bath.

Do you detest the spirit of genuine interaction? Does the sound of wishy-washy corporate jargon and pointless procedural change get you all hot and bothered? Are your current company paying you just a little bit too much and appreciating your efforts a tad more than you would like? Are you a vapid single cell amoeba with a thirst for rat race culture with a twist of Big Brother? You may be in luck! NFU has you covered!

The RSC in York promises candidates an idealistic wonderland of hope and opportunity where you can earn “useful” qualifications and progress to success. Unfortunately, in reality it’s a depressing, beige call centre where dreams go to be extinguished. Anyone starting in Underwriting would be led to believe they are going to be an integral component of the department but realistically you will soon be expected to carry out the duties of an experienced underwriter on the meagre salary of a dental receptionist. Neat, huh?

 Apply to the company this instant if you yearn for that uncomfortable anxious dread and that takes you back to your formative school years. You will not be disappointed! Every day is a new reason for therapy!


One day was never the same due to various requests and tasks to complete.
I learned how to manage and coach a small team and how to improve manageability of the workload.
I was left to be in charge of the team as my 2 managers were often on the road coaching and training the sales force.
There was not enough communication from Head Office management, particularly with regard to the run up to the centralisation of our role. We in the Life Department often tended to be classed as "separate" to the General Insurance side. Just a few co-workers supported us when it was needed, and working with the team of 14 Financial Consultants kept us busy all the time.
The hardest part of the job was obtaining reassurance and action by Head Office personnel that our client's urgent requests would be dealt with promptly (ownership of a call)
The most enjoyable part was that the work was always varied and busy, hence I was often multi-tasking, including diary management for 14 Consultants and 2 managers.

Anyone with experience at another composite insurer please stay well away. The systems and processes are so antiquated and the work itself is soul-destroying. The only staff that seem to get on there are ex call centre bods who seem to adapt seamlessly to the process heavy work activities. Funny thing is my colleagues at the time were lovely but clearly very disillusioned with the situation but felt they had nowhere else to go. I found it very strange that the quality assurance team - who audited anything that moved - actually outnumbered the actual underwriters! I also found it quite unnerving to hear senior UWs discussing certain individuals out loud which should surely be kept behind closed doors. I did my best to change processes/culture there but fell on deaf ears. The final nail in my career coffin there was an over zealous interim manager installed in Glasgow getting on the case of an already highly demotivated and miserable team. This company is seemingly successful despite itself!! 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Customer service representative 16 salaries reported	£38,183 per year
Claims processor 6 salaries reported	£25,000 per year
Underwriter 22 salaries reported	£32,038 per year
Pricing analyst 8 salaries reported	£42,386 per year
Actuary 6 salaries reported	£38,638 per year

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