Chief Underwriting Officer

Mutual Capital Holdings•Wyalusing Township, PA

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Underwriting Officer is a member of the executive leadership team and is responsible for the strategic planning and overall management of the underwriting function enabling long term profitable growth of all products. This includes accountability for rate, pricing, commission strategies, product review practices and other related actions which drive the financial results. The CUO establishes internal procedures and criteria to control underwriting risk and assists in developing the annual operating plan objectives (top and bottom line) and long-term strategic plan. The ideal candidate will be based in the Wyalusing office, with the possibility of a hybrid work schedule.

Requirements

College degree or comparable work experience
Professional certifications
10 + years of progressive underwriting experience, with a focus on property and casualty insurance
5+ years of leading and mentoring a team of underwriters, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability
Proven track record of building profitable underwriting portfolios in competitive markets
Deep knowledge of regulatory requirements, risk management principles, and industry best practices
Strong analytical and communication skills with the ability to interpret complex data and make informed decisions
Exceptional leadership and relationship-building abilities
Proficient organizational and time management skills
Ability to travel when necessary

Responsibilities

Establish strategies and drive activities for underwriting profit
Set goals for permissible loss ratios by company, by state and by line
Establish underwriting philosophy appetite, philosophy, and guidelines (including file audits, referrals, delegation of authorities, adequate rates, forms, portfolio management, service, product development)
Understanding the competitive landscape, threats (enterprise risk management), opportunities, and challenges
Responsible for creating strategic and tactical plans with the executive leadership team
Responsible for analyzing and assessing potential threats to the organization as identified in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) document and identifying new threats as they appear
Cycle and portfolio management – devise strategies and protocols to grow profitably during all market cycles, reflecting an appropriate diversification of lines and segments of business, to maximize short and long-term underwriting profit goals
Promoting customer-centric culture; and creating a positive learning environment, which values work ethic, know-how & expertise, teamwork, and personalized service and relationships
Supervise, guide and develop assigned personnel with regular touchpoints, and periodic goal setting, reviews, discussions and feedback
Support supervisors in establishing individual goals and development plans for staff
Set, communicate, and monitor annual department goals
Utilize analytics and business skills to improve profitability and efficiency across the organization
Responsible for directing activities which drive annual underwriting profit, growth and expense objectives
Create key performance indicators and develop reports to track progress
Meet or exceed expense objectives for “all other” expense ratio, while supporting other combined ratio objectives in the pro-forma
Establish key underwriting & product tactical initiatives; and ensure execution to meet or exceed annual profit, costs, and production milestones
Oversight of rate/premium adequacy across all companies, states and lines of business, to achieve profit and growth goals
Support underwriting, product, and agency management initiatives, such as: workflow, marketing initiatives (new state research, new distribution, new products, etc.)
Responsible for underwriting training & development planning