Manager, AB & BC Underwriting (Comm Prop)

Key Accountabilities 

Note: This section is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities – other duties and responsibilities may be assigned. 

Underwriting Activity

• Manages the regional underwriting of policies on new business, renewals, revisions and cancellations including conducting risk assessments and approvals.  

• Reviews and approves decisions in underwriting difficult accounts that escalate beyond the front line staff, including communicating those decisions to brokers and customers. 

• Ensures that appropriate UW policies and procedures are in place.  

• Ensures the attraction of quality business by monitoring portfolios and flow of business. 

• Works closely with the Senior Director and product/pricing and analytics teams; recommends corrective action as necessary. 

• Manages the Underwriting team by providing training, advice, guidance and direction on UW guidelines, processes and procedures with a focus on risk appetite, policy retention, growth and most importantly, profitability. 

• Represents the company in legal proceedings. 

• Uses market intelligence to identify and recommend improvements to insurance products, guidelines and/or systems.  

• Participates in the review and development of new products and procedures. 

• Ensures the UW program and guidelines align with established corporate and department risk appetite and accuracy of the rating model. 

• Tracks performance of brokers with underwriters to ensure risk quality and mix of business is consistent with expectations and takes appropriate action. 

• Leads underwriting audits of the department or brokers. 

• Ensures that UW operations conducts business within reinsurance and legislative rules and guidelines. 

• Provides specialized technical guidance to employees, brokers, and internal departments on UW practices, rating coverage and wording interpretation for product policies. 

Relationship Management

• Collaborates with the Senior Management to build a culture and approach that delivers one view of commercial lines that combines product, technology and service for our broker partners. 

• Works with underwriters to develop and maintain effective working relationships with brokers to generate a flow of profitable business, and provides assistance in resolving any service matters. 

• Receives and responds to escalated customer/broker inquiries, concerns or complaints related to UW.   

• Explains complicated and challenging UW criteria and decisions to brokers and customers (verbally and/or in writing). Trains underwriters on how to build and maintain relationships with brokers and meets regularly to track progress. 

• Provides training to brokers on products, guidelines, procedures and technology including conducting formal presentations.  Trains underwriters to do the same. 

• Ensures team members are well trained and capable in delivering outstanding service to brokers; ensures the team leads the market in ease of doing business. 

• Ensures our underwriters are able to help train brokers on the use of SGI technology, emerging digital applications, billing and workflow.   

• Develops broker contact plans and follows up to ensure underwriters are regularly visiting with brokers to attract quality business and working towards being the ‘go to’ underwriter for our brokers. 

• Works with underwriters and supports Business Development to deliver regular portfolio performance updates to our brokers.  

Production and Service 

• Works with the team to meet growth and broker service level targets, while meeting underwriting quality of risk requirements.  

• Promotes a culture of sales and service with an emphasis on meeting customer needs. 

• Tracks quote production/declines and quote metrics. 

• Identifies opportunities for improving workflows and processes to improve the customer and broker experience; participates in initiatives to deliver improvements as required. 

• Looks for opportunities for book roll-overs with our brokers in addition to our regular flow. 

People Leadership

• Builds a high performing workforce by actively leading human resource activities.  

• Ensures development of divisional succession plans.  

• Builds a culture of leadership and accountability to effectively deliver on strategic and corporate strategies, ensuring integration with employee performance development and career development plans. 

• Drives performance through team members and is committed to leadership development across the company, supporting employees and workforce readiness through mentoring, training and developmental opportunities. 

Corporate Management 

• Ensures programs and policies are in alignment with corporate, strategic and divisional strategies.   

• Manages risk in area of authority. 

• Prepares, reviews, manages and/or approves departmental/divisional budgets. 

• Prepares decision requests, decision and/or information items and/or SGI board items.  

• Ensures that the Health, Safety and Emergency Management Policy is applied in area of responsibility, including development, implementation and managing of program components specific to departmental health and safety requirements.   

• Makes decisions for departmental operations that are efficient, effective and in alignment with strategic direction and priorities. 

• Ensures department and program policies, procedures and guidelines are in compliance with applicable federal and provincial legislation and regulations; implements and evaluates changes to legislation and regulations in area of authority.  

• Establishes and maintains an effective system of internal controls to support reliable financial reporting and compliance in accordance with applicable laws and regulations within the span of control, and communicates the importance of internal controls to staff. 

Education and Experience 

• A four-year degree from an accredited post-secondary education institution in a relevant field of study such as Business, Social Sciences or Mathematics & Applied Science. 

• Eight years’ experience comprised of four years leadership experience and four years’ experience in underwriting.     

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of insurance, UW policies and procedures, and applicable insurance products. 

• Knowledge of premiums, coverages and deductibles for applicable insurance products. 

• Knowledge of market conditions and industry participants (competitor’s activities, broker relationships, legislation and regulatory environment).  

• Knowledge of reinsurance principles. 

• Knowledge of operating systems, workflow and processes with the ability to apply and train underwriting staff. 

• Knowledge of systems and technology commonly used to support applicable products. 

• Knowledge of organizational units and how they interact to support the corporation’s operations. 

• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external partners.