VP, Automobile Liability Underwriter

Sompo International • Toronto, ON

12d • Onsite

About The Position

Sompo has an opportunity for a Vice President, Automobile Liability Underwriter for our Sompo Canadian Casualty team. The VP, Automobile Liability Underwriter leads the strategic, technical, and production underwriting direction of the Auto Liability portfolio across Canada. Reporting into the Canadian Head of Casualty, this role oversees underwriting governance, product wordings, compliance with federal and provincial regulations, and the development of underwriting talent. The manager is accountable for profitable growth, broker engagement, operational build‑out, and long‑term planning to support a competitive and sustainable portfolio. This position will be based out of our Toronto, Canada office. Sompo is a global provider of commercial and consumer property, casualty, and specialty insurance and reinsurance, employing approximately 10,000 people around the world.

Requirements

• 8+ years of underwriting experience in Automobile Liability or Commercial Auto, with at least 3 years in a leadership or senior technical role, minimum of 15 years in underwriting-related roles.
• Demonstrated success in building an auto solution.
• Demonstrated success in production underwriting and broker relationship management.
• Strong knowledge of Canadian auto insurance regulations, rating frameworks, and provincial differences.
• Expertise in policy wordings, coverage analysis, and underwriting governance.
• Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder‑management skills.
• Strong customer service orientation, with a focus on building and maintaining relationships with brokers and other stakeholders.
• Ability to travel as required

Nice To Haves

• CIP, FCIP, or equivalent designation strongly preferred.
• French language proficiency (spoken and written) is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Drive profitable new business and renewal production within the Automobile Liability portfolio, balancing growth objectives with disciplined underwriting.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with brokers, MGAs, and key distribution partners across Canada.
• Represent the company in market meetings, negotiations, and industry events as a senior technical authority.
• Support underwriters on complex accounts, large submissions, and strategic opportunities to enhance win ratios and retention.
• Lead the underwriting strategy for Automobile Liability, ensuring alignment with corporate risk appetite, pricing adequacy, and profitability targets.
• Oversee complex and referral underwriting decisions, providing expert guidance on risk selection, pricing, and coverage structure.
• Monitor portfolio performance, identify trends, and implement corrective actions to improve loss ratios and underwriting discipline.
• Own the maintenance of Automobile Liability policy wordings, endorsements, and underwriting guidelines.
• Collaborate with legal, claims, actuarial, and product teams to ensure clarity, consistency, and competitiveness of coverage offerings.
• Lead initiatives to introduce new products or enhancements based on market needs, regulatory changes, and emerging risks.
• Ensure underwriting practices comply with all applicable federal and provincial regulations, including FSRA, AMF, OSFI guidance, and provincial insurance acts.
• Maintain strong governance frameworks, including audit readiness, documentation standards, and adherence to internal controls.
• Partner with Compliance and Legal teams to interpret regulatory changes and implement required updates to underwriting processes and wordings.
• Develop and deliver training for underwriters on technical underwriting, regulatory requirements, wordings, and emerging trends.
• Mentor underwriters at all levels, fostering a culture of continuous learning, accountability, and technical excellence.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and career development planning for the underwriting team.
• Lead the build‑out of underwriting infrastructure, including workflows, assist with tool development, rating methodologies, and documentation standards.
• Drive process improvements to enhance efficiency, consistency, and service quality across the underwriting function.
• Collaborate with IT to implement underwriting technology solutions, automation, and data‑driven decision tools.
• Contribute to annual business planning, including forecasting, capacity planning, and strategic initiatives.
• Work closely with actuarial, claims, distribution, and product teams to ensure alignment on pricing, risk appetite, and market strategy.
• Provide insights on competitive positioning, emerging risks, and long‑term portfolio strategy.

Benefits

• competitive, high-quality compensation and benefit programs to eligible employees.
• total compensation opportunity for all regular, full-time employees is a combination of base salary and incentives that gets adjusted upfront based on overall Company performance with final awards based on individual performance.
• competitive salary
• comprehensive benefits package
• opportunities for professional growth and development.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees