Key Takeaways
- QBE is an ASX-listed Australian insurer (founded 1886) headquartered in Sydney with major hubs in New York, Sun Prairie Wisconsin, London (Lloyd's), Hong Kong, and Singapore.
- CEO Andrew Horton (ex-Beazley) has been reshaping the company around portfolio quality, underwriting discipline, and earnings stability since September 2021.
- The company operates Lloyd's syndicate 386, giving it a strong specialty insurance footprint alongside its mainstream P&C business.
- Catastrophe exposure (cyclones, wildfires, floods) and climate adaptation are central strategic themes that touch nearly every QBE role.
- English is the working language across the group, but bilingual ability (Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese, Japanese) creates real differentiation in QBE Asia and Latin American roles.
- Australian roles operate under the APRA prudential regulatory framework, which shapes risk, capital, and compliance roles materially.
About QBE Insurance
QBE Insurance Group is one of the most distinctive employers in global insurance: an Australian-headquartered, ASX-listed multinational that punches well above its weight in the international market. Founded in 1886 in Townsville, Queensland, the company has grown from a regional Australian insurer into a top-20 global property and casualty carrier with approximately 13,000 employees operating across 27 countries. If you are looking to build a career in commercial insurance, specialty lines, reinsurance, claims, underwriting, actuarial science, or insurance technology, QBE represents a rare combination of Australian corporate culture, Lloyd's of London heritage, and emerging-market exposure that very few competitors can match. This guide walks you through everything you need to know to position yourself effectively for a role at QBE: how the company is structured, what the culture actually feels like, where the highest-leverage opportunities sit, how the interview process tends to run, and how to demonstrate the kind of technical and commercial judgment that QBE hiring managers consistently look for. Whether you are an experienced underwriter eyeing a move to QBE's Lloyd's syndicate, a graduate considering the company's structured early-career programs in Sydney or London, or a technology professional curious about insurance modernization, the goal here is to give you a realistic, honest picture of what working at QBE involves and how to compete effectively for a role.
Application Process
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**Heading**: The Application Process from Submission to Offer
**Heading**: The Application Process from Submission to Offer
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**Body**: QBE accepts applications through its global careers portal at qbe
**Body**: QBE accepts applications through its global careers portal at qbe.com/careers, which is powered by a generic careers technology stack rather than one of the dominant ATS providers used by other insurers. Once you submit, expect an initial screening from an in-house recruiter rather than an external agency for most experienced hire roles. The screening conversation typically lasts 20 to 30 minutes
Resume Tips for QBE Insurance
recommended
**Heading**: How to Build a Resume That QBE Recruiters Take Seriously
**Heading**: How to Build a Resume That QBE Recruiters Take Seriously
recommended
**Body**: The single most important principle for a QBE resume is specificity
**Body**: The single most important principle for a QBE resume is specificity. Insurance is a deeply technical industry, and generic statements about 'managing portfolios' or 'driving results' will not move the needle. Quantify everything you can. Underwriting candidates should specify gross written premium managed, loss ratios, combined ratios, retention rates, and authority limits. Actuarial candidates sh
ATS System: generic_careers
Apply via https://www.qbe.com/careers.
- Apply via qbe.com/careers
- Strong English communication required
- Insurance domain knowledge prized
Interview Culture
**Heading**: What QBE Culture Actually Feels Like **Body**: QBE's culture is best understood as a blend of three influences.
The first is Australian corporate culture, which tends to be informal, direct, and pragmatic. Sydney-based meetings move quickly, hierarchy is relatively flat compared to many global peers, and managers generally expect employees to speak up and challenge constructively. The second is Lloyd's of London tradition, which is most visible in the European Operations and especially within syndicate 386. Lloyd's is one of the oldest insurance markets in the world, and people who work the Lloyd's box value technical depth, market relationships, and specialist underwriting expertise. The third is American commercial insurance culture, which dominates QBE North America and is reflected in the company's significant Sun Prairie Wisconsin operations centre and New York presence. North American teams tend to be more process-oriented and metric-driven than their Australian counterparts. None of these three cultures is dominant across the whole company, and that's actually a feature rather than a bug: QBE leaders frequently move between regions, and the company puts genuine effort into building shared technical standards and cultural norms across geographies. For candidates, the practical implication is that you should research the specific division and country you are applying to, not just QBE as a whole. The way you would pitch yourself to a London Lloyd's underwriting manager is meaningfully different from how you would approach a Sydney head office actuarial role or a Sun Prairie claims leadership position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ATS does QBE use for applications?
QBE uses a generic careers portal accessible at qbe.com/careers rather than one of the dominant insurance industry ATS providers. Applications are screened by in-house QBE recruiters, and you should expect direct outreach from a QBE recruitment partner rather than a third-party agency for most experienced hire roles.
Does QBE sponsor visas?
Yes, but selectively. Visa sponsorship is most common for specialist underwriting, actuarial, and senior technical roles where local talent is genuinely scarce. For more generalist or junior positions, QBE typically prioritizes candidates with existing right to work in the relevant country.
How long does the QBE interview process take?
Most experienced hire processes run four to eight weeks from application to offer. Senior roles, international moves, and roles requiring regulatory pre-approval can take longer. The graduate program operates on a fixed annual cycle with assessment centres typically held in the Australian autumn for following-year start dates.
What's the difference between QBE's divisions for job seekers?
QBE Australia Pacific is the largest and most established division, with strong P&C breadth and APRA-regulated environment. QBE International (European Operations) is centred on the Lloyd's syndicate and emphasizes specialty lines. QBE North America is heavily focused on commercial mid-market and specialty, with operations centres in Sun Prairie. QBE Asia is smaller but high-growth, with country offices across the region.
Is QBE a good place for technology professionals?
Yes, particularly if you are interested in modernizing legacy insurance systems, building data and analytics capabilities at scale, or working on AI applications in underwriting and claims. QBE has invested significantly in technology modernization under the current strategy, and technology roles increasingly carry meaningful business influence.
How important is climate and ESG experience for QBE roles?
Increasingly important across many functions. QBE has substantial catastrophe exposure (cyclones, wildfires, floods) and climate adaptation is a strategic priority. Underwriting, actuarial, risk, investments, and corporate strategy roles all benefit from genuine climate and ESG fluency, not just buzzword familiarity.
Open Positions
QBE Insurance currently has 1 open positions.
