Manager Underwriting

Manager, Underwriting About the Role The Underwriting Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day activities of a branch underwriting team while driving profitable growth within an assigned territory. This role combines technical underwriting expertise, team leadership, agency management, and business development. The ideal candidate will be a strong commercial lines underwriting leader with experience handling complex risks, developing agency relationships, coaching underwriting staff, and making sound decisions on new and renewal business. This is a hands‑on leadership role for someone who can balance underwriting discipline with sales, service, and territory management. Key Responsibilities Direct and supervise the activities of underwriting staff, including quality, quantity, accuracy, and timeliness of work. Maintain current underwriting procedures, department standards, and company guidelines. Assign work, provide training and feedback, and conduct timely performance evaluations for team members. Coach, mentor, and develop underwriting staff to support technical excellence, productivity, and professional growth. Underwrite or assist with large, complex, or unusual risks requiring advanced technical knowledge. Review underwriting files to ensure quality, consistency, compliance, and sound decision-making. Support branch leadership with projects, initiatives, reporting, and operational needs. Evaluate new and renewal business and determine whether to accept, decline, modify, price, or negotiate coverage. Recognize and evaluate exposure changes during the policy period and take appropriate underwriting action. Apply knowledge of statutory requirements, ISO forms, company forms, NCCI forms and endorsements, commercial lines manuals, and underwriting reference materials. Demonstrate strong judgment in identifying key underwriting issues and developing appropriate solutions. Make decisions within stated authority levels and company guidelines. Seek exceptions to guidelines when supported by appropriate data, analysis, and underwriting rationale. Identify changes in customer operations, exposures, or financial conditions and respond appropriately. Participate in complex underwriting research, analysis, or product development projects as assigned. Agency and Territory Management Manage and develop a group of agency relationships within an assigned territory. Prospect for new agency partners and evaluate potential agency appointments. Support agency growth, development, profitability, credit management, and production opportunities. Evaluate agency performance, including personnel, line diversification, loss ratio, book of business, volume, profit potential, and long‑term fit. Recommend agency appointments, changes, or terminations when appropriate. Maintain and grow profitable business from current and prospective customer accounts. Conduct regular agency visits, agency reviews, and relationship‑building activities. Solicit new business and retain renewal business through effective presentations to agencies and customers. Develop and execute territory plans, sales budgets, premium goals, loss ratio goals, agency call plans, prospecting activity, and business forecasts. Maintain profitable business relationships through effective marketing, sales, service, and communication. Coordinate and promote claims, risk control, and premium audit services to current and prospective customers. Travel as needed for agency meetings, customer visits, sales and marketing activities, internal meetings, and territory management. Leadership and Technical Expertise Serve as a technical underwriting resource and source of knowledge within the organization. Maintain current knowledge of corporate, regulatory, and competitive changes affecting assigned lines of business. Provide leadership and communication that supports company goals, underwriting standards, and a strong service culture. Represent management professionally and consistently act in the best interest of the organization. Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent experience will also be considered. Prior supervisory, team lead, or management experience required. Minimum of 5–7 years of commercial underwriting experience. Experience underwriting complex commercial risks in industries such as construction, forest products, manufacturing, oil & gas, or similar specialty classes. Strong experience underwriting new and renewal business, determining pricing, and evaluating commercial lines policy forms, coverages, and endorsements. Ability to analyze and manage exposures, identify risk changes, and develop action plans during the policy period. Strong agency management experience, including agency development, prospecting, appointments, performance management, and maximizing agency opportunities. Strong external sales skills with the ability to cultivate new business and retain existing customers through agency and customer presentations. Strong technical underwriting, analytical, communication, leadership, and relationship‑building skills. Ability to manage a territory, drive profitable growth, and support the development of underwriting staff. Work Environment and Requirements Must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Hybrid work environment, as directed by management. Must be able to perform job duties effectively both in person and virtually. Overnight travel is required. Must have a valid driver’s license. Must be able to sit at a desk or workstation for extended periods of time. Must be able to occasionally lift and carry equipment or materials weighing up to 15 pounds. Must be able to bend, kneel, reach, walk, and remain mobile as needed. #J-18808-Ljbffr The James Allen Companies Inc