National Practice Lead Real Estate

HUB International; Toronto; Hybrid; CAD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance brokerage in Toronto is seeking a Specialty Practice Leader for Real Estate to develop a national strategy. This role involves enhancing relationships with insurers, identifying market opportunities, and collaborating with leadership to drive growth. The ideal candidate has 7-10 years of experience in insurance, strong technical capabilities, and is recognized as an expert in the real estate market. This position offers competitive compensation, a comprehensive benefits package, and a supportive work environment.

Benefits

Competitive Compensation

Work-Life Balance

Career Growth and Support

Exclusive Perks

Qualifications

• Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in the insurance industry or related fields.
• Experience with large datasets and exposure profiles.
• Recognized as a credible expert in the real estate insurance market.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a national real estate insurance strategy.
• Enhance relationships with key domestic and international insurers.
• Identify cross-selling opportunities within the real estate portfolio.

Skills

Strong technical capability

Negotiation skills

Understanding of underwriting practices

Claims management expertise

Education

Bachelor’s degree or relevant professional experience

Job description

Overview

The Specialty Practice Leader – Real Estate will play a pivotal role in building a national strategy that strengthens our competitive positioning in the Canadian real estate insurance space. This individual will take a proactive lead in scaling and standardizing our existing real estate programs across Canada, ensuring consistency, eliminating duplication, and enabling every region to benefit from best-in-class solutions. They will be tasked with leveraging our substantial residential real estate portfolio, while also identifying opportunities to incorporate commercial, office, light industrial, and mixed-use exposures when doing so enhances value for clients and market partners. The goal is to position our firm as the go-to real estate insurance brokerage in Canada — the first stop for both insurance carriers and clients seeking market-leading expertise and solutions.

Reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer, Canada, your role will be a vital strategic resource as you concentrate on these objectives. You will influence key stakeholders and partners while developing a cohesive strategy that aligns with our vision for growth and development of programs. As the Real Estate National Practice Lead for Canada, you will collaborate with the Canadian Leadership and our team of National Specialty Practice leaders in their specific sectors to further develop initiatives across the country.

Key Responsibilities

Market Intelligence & Carrier Relationships:

• An ability to enhance and expand relationships with key domestic insurers and explore opportunities with international carriers, including Lloyd’s of London and other specialty markets.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of current insurer appetites and capacity and proactively identify emerging or untapped underwriting opportunities.
• Leverage market insights to influence and expand carrier participation across a range of real estate exposures, including residential, commercial, and mixed-use.
• Maintain an informed perspective on insurer strategies and decision-making processes, including risk tolerance, preferred classes of business, and geographic preferences.
• Bring deep expertise in at least one of Canada’s major residential real estate markets — ideally Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal — with the ability and commitment to develop comparable insight and influence across the others.
• Recognized within the insurance marketplace as a high-level, credible expert by key underwriters and market partners.
• Working with clients and carriers to stay ahead of the loss trends.
• Establish monthly touchpoints with the Canadian Practice members and key Stakeholders.

Strategic Thinking & Execution:

• Identify and engage key internal and external stakeholders across regions, business units, and insurer partners; quickly develop an understanding of their objectives, constraints, and decision-making dynamics.
• Take a broad industry view — not limited to insurance — to proactively position the firm in line with emerging trends in real estate construction, occupancy, and risk.
• Collaborate with internal partners, including warranty and specialty teams, to identify adjacent opportunities and build integrated offerings that enhance value for clients and deepen insurer engagement.
• Support long-term exposure forecasting and capacity modeling to help carrier partners better plan and price for evolving real estate risks.
• Demonstrate comfort with ambiguity and the ability to make sound, informed decisions in a complex, decentralized environment.
• Ability to develop creative solutions such as shared and layered programs, captives, limit of loss alternatives, alternative risk financing and new capacity solutions.

Real Estate Industry Connectivity (Non-Insurance):

• Maintain strong visibility within Canada’s broader real estate sector, actively participating in national industry associations, events, and forums to enhance the firm’s brand, credibility, and access to strategic opportunities.
• Position the firm as a thought leader and expert broker within the real estate development, ownership, and asset management communities.
• Support sales teams by identifying and tapping into key industry contacts, RFP pipelines, and project announcements — enabling earlier engagement with large-scale players and new business opportunities.
• Leverage knowledge of market trends and institutional players to shape both strategic positioning and product development.

Cross-sell & Portfolio Integration:

• Identify and capitalize on opportunities to cross-sell complementary insurance products such as course of construction and wrap-up policies within the real estate portfolio.
• Leverage real estate client relationships to expand into the personal insurance space, including habitation policies for residents of strata complexes and other insured parties.
• Collaborate closely with personal and commercial lines teams to ensure seamless integration and maximize wallet share across the broader insurance portfolio.
• Assist in developing and continuing relationships with large accounts, specifically the real estate component for these properties.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 7-10 years of progressive, successful experience with the insurance industry, agency, brokerage or a consulting firm.
• Bachelor’s degree or relevant professional experience
• Strong technical capability enabling the identification of opportunities to enhance our offerings with specialized coverage features such as terrorism, pollution, deductible structuring, and buy-downs — helping tailor solutions to increasingly complex real estate risks.
• Bring a strong working knowledge of underwriting practices and risk selection across the residential, commercial, mixed-use, and industrial real estate spectrum.
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of claims management, actuarial analysis and settlement dynamics in the real estate space, with the ability to help shape positioning on contentious or high-value matters.
• Be recognized by prospects, clients, and underwriting partners as a technically elite broker — someone whose expertise and judgment elevate the firm’s credibility and influence in the market.
• Be comfortable working with large datasets and exposure profiles to engage in intelligent, credible conversations with insurers around catastrophic risk pricing, including earthquake and flood exposure.
• Comprehensive understanding of fronting arrangements, reinsurance and actuarial work associated with these agreements. Expertise in casualty, particularly commercial real estate. A broader understanding of commercial lines would be beneficial (financial lines, cyber, etc.)
• Prioritizing team success over personal recognition to create a culture of collaboration.
• Maintaining a client-centric perspective in all decision-making processes.
• Acting as an enabler and integrator who builds alignment and shares credit across complex, matrixed environments.
• Demonstrating strong negotiation skills is essential for managing internal and external relationships.
• Insurance Licensing or Industry Certification Requirements as required.

What’s in it for you?

Your well-being is our priority, and we back this up with a wealth of benefits:

• Competitive Compensation: Benefit from a pay structure that includes incentives, bonuses, and opportunities to increase your earnings.
• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy flexible work arrangements and generous time off to support your personal and professional life.
• Tailored Benefits: Access a personalized benefits package, including company-matched RRSPs, designed to meet your unique needs.
• Career Growth and Support: Invest in your future with HUB! Take advantage of our sponsored training and development programs, tuition reimbursement opportunities, and coverage for professional license fees and membership dues—everything you need to support your growth and excel in your career.
• Exclusive Perks: Take advantage of discounts on events, travel, accommodations, and personal home & auto insurance.

At HUB, we believe that diversity drives innovation, equity fosters opportunity, and inclusion creates a culture where everyone thrives. We are committed to building a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where every employee feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole self to work. By embracing diverse perspectives and fostering an inclusive environment, we cultivate a collaborative and dynamic team that delivers exceptional results for our clients and communities.

Compensation

The expected salary range for this position is $120,000 to $200,000 base, plus eligible for targeted bonus and will be impacted by factors such as the successful candidate’s skills, experience and working location, as well as the specific position’s business line, scope and level.

HUB International is proud to offer comprehensive benefit and total compensation packages which could include extended health benefits, disability insurance, RRSP matching, paid-time-off benefits, and eligible bonuses, and commissions for some positions.

Why Choose HUB?

When you choose HUB, you're choosing a competitive, exciting, and friendly work environment that strategically positions you for longevity and offers significant advancement, growth, and success opportunities. To read more about HUB, please visit - About Us - HUB International

About HUB International

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading full-service global insurance broker and financial services firm providing risk management, insurance, employee benefits, retirement and wealth management products and services. With more than 20,000 employees in offices located throughout North America, HUB’s vast network of specialists brings clarity to a changing world with tailored solutions and unrelenting advocacy, so clients are ready for tomorrow.

We’re not just an insurance broker, we’re a team of passionate professionals dedicated to innovation, excellence, and empowering our clients and communities through personalized support and expertise.

If you’re interested in learning how you can grow your career at HUB, visit our Careers Page to explore our opportunities.

HUB International is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require accommodations at any stage of the interview process, please let us know, and we will work with you to ensure a fair and equitable experience.

#LI-hybrid

#LI-EM

Department Sales Required Experience: 7-10 years of relevant experience Travel: Up to 25%

We endeavor to make this website accessible to any and all users. If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact the recruiting team at [e-mail]. This contact information is for accommodation requests only; do not use this contact information to inquire about the status of applications.