Senior Underwriting Officer, Construction

Liberty Mutual Canada • Vancouver, BC

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Underwriting Officer, Construction is the technical underwriting leader and national subject matter expert for Liberty Mutual Canada’s Construction vertical. Sitting within the Office of Underwriting, the individual is accountable for the Construction underwriting strategy, standards and governance across property and casualty lines on an annual and project basis – product lines include property, GL, automobile, contractors equipment/inland marine, wrap-up and builders risk. The SUO, Construction owns the strategy that the field executes against – underwriting appetite, risk selection criteria, guidelines, and tools that enable the vertical to grow profitably and with discipline. This leader is accountable for portfolio performance monitoring, quality assurance, and ensuring the Construction vertical operates within defined governance and controls frameworks. Beyond Canada, this role will leverage insights from the North American Office of Underwriting community — contributing Canadian insights and performance data into broader NA strategy discussions, and translating NA capabilities, tools, and portfolio intelligence back into the Canadian vertical. The SUO, Construction will work in close partnership with the Head of Construction and the vertical's underwriting team, and will be an active contributor within the broader Liberty Mutual Canada Office of Underwriting.

Requirements

• 15+ years of progressive commercial underwriting experience, with deep specialization in Construction lines of business at a leading P&C insurer or reinsurer.
• Extensive technical knowledge of construction-related P&C coverages and exposures, including builders risk, wrap-up liability, contractors general liability and contractors equipment, and manuscript coverages for complex construction accounts
• Demonstrated expertise underwriting complex contractor accounts – mid-sized and large risks, project-based accounts, and multi-line construction placements – with strong command of contractor operations, project finance, WIP, contractual risk transfer, JVs and surety interplay.
• Proven ability to develop and own underwriting strategy — translating market intelligence, portfolio data, actuarial insights, and claims experience into clear guidelines, appetite positions, and actionable direction for the field.
• Track record of building and maintaining underwriting tools, frameworks, and guidelines that improve decision quality and consistency at scale.
• Strong portfolio management capability — experience monitoring and steering a Construction book using loss ratio analysis, price adequacy tracking, quality indicators, and margin runway methodology.
• Experience operating within a matrixed organization — ability to influence field underwriting teams, cross-functional partners, and North American stakeholders without direct authority.
• Strong collaboration skills — proven ability to work in close partnership with a field-facing leader and shared accountability for portfolio outcomes.
• Experience engaging with North American or global underwriting communities — contributing to broader strategy, activating enterprise capabilities locally, and representing a market or segment perspective in multi-jurisdictional discussions.
• Strong communication, presentation, and decision-making skills; ability to translate technical complexity into clear strategic direction for field underwriters and executive audiences.
• Experience partnering with Actuarial, Claims, Risk Control/Engineering, and Operations to drive portfolio performance and underwriting quality.
• Demonstrated commitment to developing underwriting talent — coaching, mentoring, and building technical capability within a team.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the Construction underwriting strategy for Canada — defining appetite, risk selection criteria, portfolio mix targets, limits frameworks, and aggregation controls in partnership with the Head of Construction and aligned with broader Liberty Mutual Canada (LMC) and GRS North American objectives.
• Serve as the national technical authority for Construction underwriting – providing underwriting oversight, referral decisions, and technical guidance on complex, large and multi-line accounts across the vertical.
• Build, maintain, and continuously improve Construction underwriting guidelines, coverage positions, policy wordings, and referral frameworks; ensure guidelines are current, practical, and embedded in day-to-day field execution.
• Lead the development and enhancement of Construction-specific underwriting tools — including appetite frameworks, rating/pricing standards, risk assessment frameworks, and workflow enablers that improve the quality and speed of underwriting decisions across the vertical.
• Monitor Construction portfolio performance on an ongoing basis — tracking loss ratios, price adequacy, portfolio quality indicators, and execution against underwriting strategy; identify emerging trends, headwinds, and corrective actions required.
• Partner closely with the Head of Construction to ensure strategy is translating into consistent field execution — maintaining visibility into the quality of risk selection, adherence to appetite, and alignment with portfolio mix objectives.
• Provide coaching, technical mentorship, and underwriting guidance to Construction underwriters within the vertical; support development of technical capability and underwriting consistency across geographies.
• Collaborate with the broader Liberty Mutual Canada Office of Underwriting — contributing to enterprise-wide governance initiatives, underwriting quality assurance, controls frameworks, and cross-line portfolio management.
• Serve as LMC's primary connection to the North American Office of Underwriting community — contributing Canadian performance insights into North American strategy discussions, and activating North American tools, capabilities, and product enhancements within the Canadian vertical.
• Partner with Actuarial to monitor portfolio performance, assess pricing adequacy, analyze loss development and trend, and develop margin runway views that inform strategy adjustments and field-level actions.
• Work with Claims leadership to review large loss activity, construction claims trends, and root cause findings — translating those insights into underwriting action and guideline updates.
• Collaborate with Risk Control/Engineering to shape pre-bind and post-bind risk assessment approaches and integrate risk quality indicators into underwriting decisions.
• Lead Construction product initiatives — including program development (e.g., Master Builders Risk, wrap-up structures), product enhancements, and new coverage capabilities in partnership with the North American product management team.
• Analyze market conditions, competitor activity, legislative and regulatory developments, and emerging risks affecting Construction underwriting in Canada; ensure strategy and appetite remain current and competitive.
• Contribute to financial planning, portfolio forecasting, and quarterly business reporting for the Construction vertical; support development of five-year growth plans aligned to 2030 portfolio ambitions.
• Represent Liberty Mutual Canada in industry forums and broker meetings as a credible Construction technical expert; maintain senior market relationships that inform strategy and reinforce LMC's reputation in the segment.

Benefits

• A premier flexible work environment (a combination of on-site & remote work) supporting our employees in their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance
• Competitive health & dental benefits plan
• Market-leading pension plan
• Competitive time off policy
• External education & tuition reimbursement programs
• Employee & Family Assistance Programs
• An opportunity to get involved and become a member of one of our national employee committees – social responsibility, employee engagement, diversity, equity & inclusion

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed