Senior Commercial Underwriting Specialist

Supporting Transformation of Enterprise Performance Activity (STEP); Abu Dhabi; Remote; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully remote position (UAE)

Professional development opportunities

Collaboration with actuarial and risk-

Job summary

STEP is seeking a Senior Commercial Underwriting Specialist to remotely manage commercial insurance risks for a UAE-based portfolio. You will evaluate applications, review financials and risk data, and prepare underwriting recommendations while collaborating with brokers, clients, actuarial teams, and risk engineers.

The role requires extensive knowledge of multiple lines (property, liability, engineering, marine, B.I., PI) and strong analytical, reporting, and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline is required.
• Significant experience in commercial insurance underwriting or portfolio management.
• Strong knowledge of policy structures, coverage terms, and underwriting principles.
• Experience reviewing submissions, financial records, and risk data.

Responsibilities

• Review commercial insurance submissions, applications, renewals, and supporting docs.
• Analyze business operations, industry exposure, financials, claims history, and risk indicators.
• Assess risks across property, liability, engineering, marine, business interruption, and PI lines.
• Review risk information, loss histories, exposure schedules, and technical reports.
• Evaluate coverage requirements, policy limits, deductibles, exclusions, and endorsements.
• Prepare underwriting assessments and recommendations per risk appetite and policies.
• Collaborate with actuaries, brokers, and internal teams on pricing assumptions.
• Support reviews of new business, renewals, midterm changes, and amendments.
• Coordinate with brokers for additional information and submission clarity.
• Identify high-exposure risks requiring referral to senior underwriting authorities.
• Monitor portfolio performance via claims trends, loss ratios, and premium movements.
• Assist with pricing models, risk models, and portfolio analysis with actuarial.
• Review risk engineering reports and loss prevention recommendations.
• Maintain underwriting records, notes, referrals, and audit trails.
• Ensure compliance with underwriting guidelines and regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to development of procedures and evaluation frameworks.
• Prepare management reports on submission volumes, quotes, and portfolio basics.
• Support underwriting QA and remediation of control weaknesses.
• Provide guidance to junior staff and promote consistent standards.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Risk assessment

Underwriting knowledge

Stakeholder management

Report writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Insurance, Finance, Risk Management, Business Administration, Economics

Tools

Underwriting platforms

Policy administration systems

Risk assessment tools

Insurance reporting apps

Job description

Job Title: Senior Commercial Underwriting Specialist

Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote)

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: 100% Remote — Work From Home

Level: Senior

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Commercial Underwriting Specialist to support the assessment, analysis, and management of commercial insurance risks across business portfolios. The role focuses on evaluating insurance applications, reviewing financial and operational information, assessing risk exposures, analyzing policy requirements, and preparing underwriting recommendations. Working remotely, the specialist will collaborate with brokers, corporate clients, actuarial teams, claims professionals, risk engineers, and authorized underwriting decision-makers to support sound risk selection and sustainable portfolio performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Review commercial insurance submissions, applications, renewal requests, and supporting documentation.
• Analyze business operations, industry exposure, financial information, claims history, and other relevant risk indicators.
• Assess commercial insurance risks across relevant product lines, including property, liability, engineering, marine, business interruption, and professional indemnity.
• Review risk information, loss histories, exposure schedules, and supporting technical reports to identify potential underwriting concerns.
• Evaluate proposed coverage requirements, policy limits, deductibles, exclusions, endorsements, and other policy conditions.
• Prepare underwriting assessments and recommendations based on established risk appetite, pricing guidelines, and underwriting policies.
• Analyze premium calculations, rating factors, exposure data, and risk adjustments in coordination with relevant technical teams.
• Support the review of new business opportunities, renewals, midterm adjustments, and policy amendments.
• Coordinate with brokers and relationship teams to obtain additional information and clarify submission details.
• Identify complex, unusual, or high-exposure risks requiring referral to senior management or specialist underwriting authorities.
• Monitor portfolio performance through claims trends, loss ratios, premium movements, and exposure concentrations.
• Support underwriting portfolio reviews and identify emerging risks, adverse trends, and opportunities for improvement.
• Coordinate with actuarial teams on pricing assumptions, risk models, and portfolio performance analysis.
• Review risk engineering reports and loss prevention recommendations prepared by qualified local or specialist personnel.
• Maintain accurate underwriting records, risk assessment notes, referral documentation, and decision audit trails.
• Support compliance with underwriting guidelines, internal governance standards, and applicable insurance regulatory requirements.
• Assist with the development and refinement of underwriting procedures, assessment templates, and risk evaluation frameworks.
• Prepare management reports covering submission volumes, quote conversion, portfolio composition, premium performance, and underwriting exceptions.
• Support internal audits, underwriting quality reviews, and remediation of identified control weaknesses.
• Provide technical guidance to junior underwriting personnel and promote consistent application of underwriting standards.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Insurance, Finance, Risk Management, Business Administration, Economics, or a related discipline.
• Significant experience in commercial insurance underwriting, corporate risk assessment, or insurance portfolio management.
• Strong understanding of commercial insurance products, policy structures, coverage terms, exclusions, endorsements, and underwriting principles.
• Experience reviewing commercial insurance submissions, financial records, claims histories, exposure data, and risk documentation.
• Knowledge of property, liability, engineering, marine, business interruption, or other commercial insurance lines.
• Familiarity with underwriting rating methodologies, premium calculations, loss ratios, and portfolio performance indicators.
• Understanding of risk appetite frameworks, underwriting authorities, referral procedures, and delegated approval controls.
• Experience using underwriting platforms, policy administration systems, risk assessment tools, and insurance reporting applications.
• Knowledge of applicable UAE insurance regulations and relevant industry compliance requirements.
• Ability to interpret technical risk reports and identify material exposures requiring specialist assessment.
• Strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written communication and underwriting report preparation capabilities.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to coordinate with brokers, clients, actuaries, and internal teams.
• High standards of accuracy, integrity, confidentiality, and professional judgment.
• Professional qualifications such as ACII, CII, CPCU, or equivalent insurance and underwriting certifications are an advantage.

What We Offer

• A fully remote, work-from-home position based in the UAE.
• The opportunity to support commercial insurance risk evaluation and portfolio management.
• Exposure to diverse commercial insurance products and complex corporate risk profiles.
• Collaboration with underwriting, actuarial, claims, brokerage, and risk management professionals.
• Opportunities for professional development and advancement within commercial insurance.