Surplus Lines Director

Hub International Insurance•Riverside, CA

4d•Remote

About The Position

HUB International is seeking a Director of Surplus Lines to serve as the regional leader for surplus lines placements and premium tax compliance functions across California, with expectations to scale into an enterprise-level role across all U.S. regions. This newly created role is designed to provide leadership for centralizing and standardizing HUB's surplus lines tax and filing compliance function at regional scale then at a national scale — bringing consistency, rigor, and strategic leadership to a critical area of regulatory and operational risk. Reporting to the COO of California, this leader will build and oversee a local team then a national team of state-specialized compliance professionals, develop standards and operating framework in California and then scaled across the US, and serve as HUB's senior subject matter authority on surplus lines placements regulation and filing requirements across all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Requirements

Property & Casualty license required.
Bachelor's degree and/or advanced degree or professional designation (e.g., CPCU, CIC, ASLI) strongly preferred.
10+ years of progressive experience in surplus lines compliance or non-admitted insurance operations, with at least 5 years in a leadership role including direct reports.
Team-building experience strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience managing a multi-state or national surplus lines compliance function across numerous jurisdictions.
Deep knowledge of state-specific surplus lines placement and premium tax filing and documentation rules and regulations.
Expert familiarity with the different surplus lines premium tax filing platforms utilized by all states.
Proven ability to build and lead high-performing compliance teams in a distributed, multi-region environment.
Experience designing enterprise compliance frameworks, audit programs, and governance structures.
Strong analytical and data skills; advanced Excel proficiency; experience with Applied EPIC or comparable platforms preferred.
Executive presence and communication skills — able to present complex regulatory matters to senior leadership, regional COOs, and external regulators.
Strong project management and critical thinking skills; ability to drive results across a matrixed organization.
AI-curious; committed to leveraging technology and automation to scale compliance operations.
Ability to travel as needed to support regional teams, regulatory meetings, and industry engagement.

Responsibilities

Design and implement a surplus lines placement compliance framework, including standardized policies, filing calendars, and escalation protocols with structure to be scaled across the U.S. Enterprise.
Serve as HUB California’s authority on surplus lines tax and filing obligations — interpreting regulatory requirements, monitoring legislative developments, and driving operational action.
Establish audit readiness standards and lead identification and remediation of compliance gaps, prioritizing by risk and materiality.
Partner with HUB's Corporate Legal and Compliance team to ensure alignment with all applicable state laws and regulations.
Build, lead, and develop a local team with a framework for a national team of surplus lines compliance professionals with deep expertise in their respective state requirements and filing environments.
Establish roles, performance standards, and development paths across the team; recruit state-level specialists as the function scales.
Create operating rhythms and center-of-excellence practices that leverage regional expertise to elevate the full team.
Lead a clean-up project and comprehensive review of outstanding surplus lines tax and stamping fee items across the California region, prioritizing remediation by risk and materiality.
Evaluate and oversee HUB’s uses of surplus lines compliance or automation platforms such as InsCipher, OPTins, and Resource Pro to drive automation and reduce manual risk.
Develop reporting, scorecards, and dashboards providing leadership with real-time visibility into filing status and compliance performance by region and state.
Drive continuous improvement in SOPs, workflow documentation, and reconciliation of surplus lines tax payables across all regions.
Leverage AI solutions where HITL (human-in-the-loop) automation of functionality can be used for operational and compliance improvement.
Serve as HUB California’s primary contact with state surplus lines associations, stamping offices, and departments of insurance on compliance and audit matters.
Provide HUB’s best-advocated viewpoints on surplus lines placement issues across state legislatures, for trade associations, including the CIAB, where requested.
Monitor and communicate emerging regulatory risk — including premium allocation disputes, zero-report obligations, and diligent effort requirements — to senior leadership.
Learn the existing surplus lines resources and expertise throughout the enterprise to prepare for an enterprise-wide center of excellence.
Develop a roadmap based on learnings from California and information gathering across all regions for scalable operational excellence, technology, and other resources for an enterprise-wide center of excellence.