Underwriting Assistant Manager

Honeycomb Insurance•Chicago, IL

8d•$130,000 - $145,000•Hybrid

About The Position

At Honeycomb, we're not just building technology , we’re reshaping the future of insurance. In 2025, Honeycomb was ranked by Newsweek as one of “America’s Greatest Startup Workplaces,” and Calcalist named it as a “Top 50 Israel startup.” How did we earn these honors? Honeycomb is a rapidly growing global startup, generously backed by top-tier investors and powered by an exceptional team of thinkers, builders, and problem-solvers. Dual-headquartered in Chicago and Tel Aviv (R&D center), and with 5 offices across the U.S., we are reinventing the commercial real estate insurance industry, an industry long overdue for disruption. Just as importantly, we ensure every employee feels deeply connected to our mission and one another. With over $55B in insured assets, Honeycomb operates across 18 major states, covering 60% of the U.S. population and increasing its coverage. If you’re looking for a place where innovation is celebrated, culture actually means something, and smart people challenge you to be better every day - Honeycomb might be exactly what you’ve been looking for. Senior Specialty Underwriter, Midwest What You’ll Do The Underwriting Assistant Manager is responsible for leading, developing, and optimizing the Underwriting Assistant (UA) function. This role provides dedicated people leadership, drives process documentation and standardization, establishes performance expectations, and partners cross-functionally to improve efficiency across underwriting operations. The position plays a critical role in expanding the UA function to support underwriters by assuming lower-complexity tasks, improving workflow efficiency, and enhancing team morale and engagement.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in underwriting, underwriting support, or a related operational role.
Prior people management or team lead experience.
Strong process documentation, workflow analysis, and operational improvement skills.
Ability to define, track, and manage performance metrics.
Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Hybrid availability: Must be able to work from our downtown Chicago office three days per week (Tuesday through Thursday)

Nice To Haves

Experience working in regulated or high-accuracy environments preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide direct people management for Underwriting Assistants, including coaching, mentoring, and performance management
Conduct regular 1:1 meetings focused on workload management, skill development, and career growth.
Foster a positive team culture, improving morale, engagement, and retention through active leadership and support.
Document current UA workflows and responsibilities, translating day-to-day activities into clear, scalable SOPs.
Develop and maintain a centralized knowledge base to support training, consistency, and operational excellence.
Continuously review and refine processes to improve efficiency, quality, and turnaround times.
Help transition Mailing operations to the mailing department
Establish, track, and manage key performance indicators (KPIs) related to ticket volume, turnaround time, accuracy, and quality.
Set clear goals and expectations for Underwriting Assistants and ensure accountability through regular performance reviews.
Analyze performance data to identify trends, capacity needs, and improvement opportunities.
Conduct close job shadowing with Underwriting Assistants to understand workflows and identify inefficiencies.
Partner with operations, technology, or automation teams to recommend and implement process improvements and automation opportunities.
Serve as a primary point of contact between the UA team and cross-functional partners, including close collaboration with Claire’s team.
Ensure alignment of UA workflows with underwriting, operations, and other business functions to support seamless handoffs and communication.
Lead the evolution of the Underwriting Assistant role by expanding responsibilities to absorb appropriate lower-complexity tasks from Underwriters.
Ensure task redistribution improves underwriter capacity while maintaining compliance, quality, and service standards.