Underwriting Manager, Small and Medium Enterprise
Reporting to the Director, Regional Commercial Underwriting, you will manage a team of Underwriters and guides them in day-to-day operations (including risk selection, underwriting solution design, negotiation, and underwriting servicing) as well as works with them to further develop your technical and professional skills, and career paths. You will be accountable for the team’s proper rating and pricing of all Commercial Insurance transaction types and ensure that the team implements Underwriting processes in accordance with Underwriting guidelines, standard operating procedures, and Commercial Lines of Business and segmentation strategies. You will also contribute to shaping Commercial Insurance broker relationships in Quebec, as well as underwriting strategies, and action plans. You will work with your team to gather market insights through your network to inform underwriting decisions.
What you can expect
People Management and Development:
- Demonstrate leadership behaviour to engage and motivate staff and develops, coaches/mentors and manages the performance of Direct Reports.
- Work with direct reports to set individual performance and development goals which align to Economical’s Line of Business and segmentation strategies, Underwriting guidelines, productivity targets, and KPIs.
- Manage a remote/virtual team effectively by proactively engaging frontline resources on a regular basis and applying techniques to build engagement, commitment, and collaboration among team members.
- Review Quality Review results to proactively identify technical knowledge gaps and engages the Technical Specialists for the region to support in developing technical capabilities.
Underwriting Operational and Technical Expertise:
- Lead and work with a team of Auto and Property Small and Medium Business Underwriters to drive the profitable growth of Economical’s commercial auto and property insurance business in the region through the way business is selected, quoted, renewed, and services.
- Leverage CI reporting and market knowledge to maintain a profitable SME Commercial Insurance portfolio—engaging team members and peers to understand opportunities to improve profitability.
- Develop solutions to achieve profitable growth targets and coach others as appropriate.
Customer Experience:
- Oversee the management of relationships of his/her team with Brokers as relates to SME Insurance and ensures service excellence in Broker interactions.
- Identify opportunities for improvement in customer service experience and regularly provides formal feedback to their team on their performance.
- Seek to add value in every Broker interaction and coach the team on how to do so.
Sales Management:
- Foster a culture of high performance and sustained profitable growth in which all Underwriters are encouraged to proactively and continuously identify profitable opportunities that align to Economical’s strategies.
- Guide and support Direct Reports in building and managing relationships with assigned Brokers and the broader Broker network within the Region.
What do you bring to the role?
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business Administration, Insurance) or a two-year diploma from a recognized community college, or equivalent experience. Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) or Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) designation is a strong asset.
- Minimum 5–7 years of underwriting experience, with at least 2–4 years in a leadership role, demonstrating progressive responsibility and a track record of success in managing teams and achieving operational goals. Experience in a multi-line insurance organization is highly preferred.
- Extensive experience working with the Microsoft Office products, including PowerPoint and Excel.
- Demonstrate an ability to lead and manage a team in a busy and changing environment while fostering positive performance and engagement.
- Model solid leadership skills with the ability to coach, develop, motivate and retain staff. Proactively communicate information in a clear and positive manner.
- Layering excellent decision-making skills with a natural aptitude for observation.
- Strong preference will be given to candidates with prior people leadership experience.
High degree of proficiency with English and French required to service customers, both internal to the company and external, across Canada.
Salary Range: $77,100-$142,000
