VP, Transportation Underwriting (Excess)

Novacore•Conshohocken, PA

About The Position

Sedona Risk Partners, one of Novacore's 20+ specialty insurance programs, is seeking an experienced and entrepreneurial excess casualty underwriter to join as Vice President or Senior Vice President, National Accounts & Transportation Underwriting. The level of the appointment will be commensurate with the candidate's depth of experience. This is a ground-floor opportunity to build two complementary excess casualty books — National Accounts and Transportation — within a well-capitalized, growing specialty platform. The selected candidate will have the autonomy to execute underwriting strategy across both verticals, develop retail broker relationships, and establish the portfolio discipline that will define these practices. As the books grow, the expectation is that this leader will build and mentor a team beneath them. Sedona is designed to address structural inefficiencies in the excess casualty market — including excess capital competing for underperforming risks, limited underwriting differentiation, and escalating social inflation and nuclear verdict exposure. Sedona deploys specialized underwriting expertise and data-driven risk selection to build resilient specialty portfolios across five verticals: Transportation, Construction, Life Sciences, Energy, and National Accounts. The firm emphasizes disciplined growth, efficient capital deployment, and long-term profitability for its insurance and reinsurance partners.

Requirements

Minimum of 10 years of experience in commercial excess casualty underwriting, with meaningful exposure to large National accounts (revenues >500M), as well as transportation risks, including corridor and funding structures.
Strong command of excess casualty risk dynamics, attachment point discipline, and severity and social inflation drivers.
Established retail broker and market relationships in the commercial excess casualty space.
Demonstrated ability to analyze and underwrite complex risks on an excess basis, with comfort navigating large auto liability and products exposures.
High degree of underwriting discipline and comfort operating within defined risk parameters and attachment point requirements.
Self-starter with entrepreneurial drive and the ability to build books of business independently.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to present risk rationale clearly to internal and external stakeholders.
Comfort working within a technology-forward, analytics-driven underwriting environment.

Nice To Haves

The SVP designation will be considered for candidates with a deeper track record of large-account and/or transportation excess casualty underwriting, demonstrated multi-vertical portfolio management, and proven leadership or mentorship experience.

Responsibilities

Build, manage, and grow Sedona's National Accounts and Transportation excess casualty books of business from the ground up, consistent with the firm's underwriting philosophy and risk appetite.
Underwrite large National Accounts on an excess basis, targeting risks with revenues exceeding $500M across manufacturing, technology, retail, non-habitational real estate, B2B services, and government contractors; deploy $5M–10M of capacity with attachment points at $25M or greater.
Underwrite Transportation (trucking) excess risks targeting carriers with revenues exceeding $1B; deploy $5M of capacity with attachment points from $15M (corridor or funding structures) or higher attachment points.
Apply disciplined risk selection and maintain a cautious approach to risks with large auto liability exposures and challenging products completed operations profiles.
Establish and monitor concentration limits, pricing adequacy, and portfolio composition across both verticals in alignment with Novacore and carrier partner guidelines.
Leverage Sedona's data-driven underwriting tools and real-time analytics capabilities to enhance risk selection and portfolio monitoring.
Cultivate and expand relationships with retail producers to drive National Accounts and Transportation submission flow.
Identify and pursue new business opportunities consistent with Sedona's appetite for large-account, excess casualty risks across both verticals.
Represent Sedona at industry conferences, retail broker meetings, and market events to build visibility and credibility in the commercial excess casualty space.
Serve as Sedona's primary subject matter expert on National Accounts and Transportation excess casualty underwriting.
As the books scale, recruit, hire, and develop additional underwriting talent to support growth across both verticals.
Collaborate closely with Sedona's senior leadership and with Novacore's broader platform on product, capacity, and operational matters.
Contribute to the firm's culture of intellectual rigor, underwriting discipline, and long-term partnership with capital providers.