VP Commercial Underwriting

Northbridge Financial Corporation•Toronto, ON

23h•Hybrid

About The Position

As Vice President, Commercial Underwriting, you provide technical leadership for your region while shaping underwriting strategy, profitability, and growth. You lead and inspire a team of underwriting leaders, ensuring operational excellence, strong market presence, and disciplined risk selection. Acting as a senior underwriting authority, you support highly complex accounts, mentor underwriting teams, guide referral decisions, and partner closely with Corporate Underwriting to ensure regional strategies align with enterprise standards and objectives. You play a key role in driving regional business plans, supporting broker and market engagement, and identifying opportunities to strengthen portfolio performance. With a strong pulse on industry trends, regulation, and market dynamics, you help influence product evolution and ensure underwriting practices support sustainable growth and long-term profitability.

Requirements

Post-secondary education or equivalent work experience
15+ years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry
10+ years of progressive leadership experience
10+ years of progressively senior underwriting experience
Strong knowledge of underwriting principles and insurance products, including Personal Lines
Completion of CIP or FCIP designation
In-depth understanding of underwriting operations and company processes
Working knowledge of underwriting and claims systems (conceptual focus)
Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
Bilingual proficiency in French and English (required for the Quebec region; considered a strong asset elsewhere)

Responsibilities

Providing strategic, long-term underwriting and business leadership
Leading, coaching, and mentoring senior underwriting leaders
Analyzing complex risks, profitability, and portfolio performance
Making sound, disciplined underwriting decisions on high-complexity accounts
Building consensus and negotiating effectively with internal and external partners
Translating complex ideas into clear business direction and requirements
Fostering collaboration, teamwork, and strong stakeholder relationships
Identifying trends, risks, and opportunities through data-driven analysis
Thinking creatively and delivering innovative underwriting and market strategies