Senior Production Underwriting Specialist/AVP - Excess/Umbrella

Great American Insurance Group • Chicago, MO

68d • Hybrid

About The Position

Working for a leader in the insurance industry means opportunity for you. Great American Insurance Group's member companies are subsidiaries of American Financial Group. We combine a "small company" culture where your ideas will be heard with "big company" expertise to help you succeed. With over 30 specialty and property and casualty operations, there are always opportunities here to learn and grow. At Great American, we value and recognize the benefits derived when people with different backgrounds and experiences work together to achieve business results. Our goal is to create a workplace where all employees feel included, empowered, and enabled to perform at their best. The Excess Liability Division specializes in offering large limits of liability to protect its clients' corporate assets from catastrophic loss. The Division offers significant capacity of up to $20 million dollars for both Lead Umbrella and Excess Liability placements. This protection is made available to companies varying in size from single location light hazard risks to a wide variety of more difficult to place manufacturers and processors. https://www.greatamericaninsurancegroup.com/about-us/business-operations/division/excess-liability The Excess Liability Division is currently searching for a Senior Production Underwriting Specialist or an AVP of Underwriting to join our Excess Liability team. This individual will work a hybrid schedule (4 days in office, 1 day WFH) out of the Chicago, IL office OR fully remote if they reside in St. Louis, MO, Kansas City, MO or Minneapolis, MN. The underwriter will primarily be handling Lead Umbrella and Excess Liability risks in manufacturing, contracting, retail service and distribution. The business unit strategically solicits Middle Market to National commercial risks from a producer base that spans the United States.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.
• Generally, a minimum of 13 years of experience in Underwriting or a related field.
• Effective communication and negotiation skills to build and leverage excellent customer relationships and to successfully market products and services.
• Position requires frequent day and overnight travel, more than 10% but less than 50% of time to visits agents and brokers.

Nice To Haves

• Excess and umbrella underwriting experience preferred.
• Completion of or continuing progress toward a professional designation preferred.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for leading the evaluation and underwriting of new and renewal business, ensuring alignment with Company underwriting guidelines and risk appetite.
• Analyzes and evaluates complex risk data to make informed decisions on coverage, pricing, and terms.
• Fosters strategic partnerships with claims, agents, brokers, and clients to obtain necessary information and provide guidance.
• Procures and analyzes supplementary reports and screenings, such as Safer-SMS reports, loss history reports, and external inspections, to support underwriting decisions.
• Ensures proper documentation of underwriting decisions and compliance with state and federal insurance regulations.
• Evaluates complex policy renewals and modifications, identifying opportunities for policy enhancements and risk mitigation.
• Communicates underwriting strategies and decisions effectively to internal teams, agents, and brokers.
• Monitors and shares insights on industry trends, regulatory changes, and market conditions.
• Maintains effective business relationships with internal and external customers/coworkers, focusing on generating new business and retaining profitable business.
• Responsible for explaining and promoting products and services to drive market growth.
• Oversees the development and execution of comprehensive marketing strategies to effectively promote the company’s products to brokers and agents.
• Analyzes market trends and competitive landscape to identify strategic opportunities and makes recommendations for product enhancements and innovative marketing approaches.
• Responsible for leading marketing initiatives, including presentations, industry events, and broker/agent meetings, to showcase the company’s products and services.
• Responsible for evaluating underwriting and marketing practices, implementing strategic adjustments to improve overall effectiveness and outcomes.
• May have responsibility for performance and coaching of staff and may have a participatory role in decisions regarding talent selection, development, and performance management for direct reports.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Compensation varies by role, position level, and location.
• Individual pay is influenced by skills, education, training, certifications, experience, and the role's scope and complexity, along with business needs.
• We offer a competitive Total Rewards package, including medical, dental, and vision plans starting on day one, PTO, paid holidays, commuter benefits, an employee stock purchase plan, education reimbursement, paid parental leave/adoption assistance, and a 401(k) plan with company match.
• These benefits are available to eligible full-time and part-time employees.
• Your recruiter can provide more details about our total rewards and specific compensation ranges during the hiring process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level