Senior Commercial Underwriter

DGA Careers Inc.; Edmonton; Remote; CAD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote work flexibility

Periodic travel to Edmonton area

Competitive compensation and benefits

Job summary

DGA Careers is seeking an experienced Senior Commercial Underwriter to join our client's Edmonton-area team. You will own a broad commercial portfolio, mentor junior staff, and drive underwriting quality across new business and renewals.

This role offers a remote work arrangement with periodic travel to the Edmonton area, and the chance to contribute to portfolio growth with strong broker relationships and leadership support.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of commercial property and casualty underwriting experience, with senior-level expertise preferred.
• Ability to independently assess, price, and structure complex commercial accounts.
• Mentor and develop junior underwriting staff; lead by example.
• Strong broker relationships and communication skills; participate in meetings and events.
• Willingness to obtain required insurance licence within the expected timeframe.

Responsibilities

• Assess, price, negotiate, and structure P&C risks per guidelines.
• Underwrite a diverse portfolio across property, liability, realty, manufacturing, hospitality, construction, oil & gas, and professional lines.
• Manage new business and renewal accounts.
• Own underwriting process from submission to policy finalization.
• Provide technical guidance on complex files.
• Mentor junior underwriters and support staff.
• Build broker relationships through responsive underwriting service.
• Participate in broker meetings and industry events.
• Collaborate with leadership to optimize risk selection and portfolio performance.
• Handle multiple priorities in a hands-on environment.
• Travel to Edmonton area as needed.

Skills

Mentoring underwriters

Broker relationships

Underwriting judgment

Portfolio management

Multi-risk underwriting

Communication skills

Education

CIP designation

Job description

Our client is seeking an experienced Senior Commercial Underwriter to join its growing commercial insurance team in the Edmonton area. This is an opportunity for a technically strong underwriter to take ownership of a broad commercial portfolio, provide meaningful mentorship to developing team members, and contribute to the continued growth of an established Canadian insurer.

The organization offers experienced underwriters meaningful autonomy and broad exposure across commercial property and casualty risks. Rather than working within a narrowly segmented book, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to handle a range of commercial accounts, work across both new business and renewals, and contribute throughout the underwriting lifecycle.

Strong candidates located elsewhere in Alberta are also encouraged to apply. For the right individual, a flexible arrangement involving primarily remote work with periodic travel to the Edmonton area may be considered.

In this role, you will:

• Assess, price, negotiate, and structure commercial property and casualty risks in accordance with established underwriting guidelines and risk appetite.
• Underwrite a diverse portfolio that may include commercial property and liability, realty, manufacturing, hospitality, construction and course of construction, oil and gas, professional lines, and other commercial exposures.
• Manage both new business and renewal accounts.
• Take ownership of the underwriting process from submission review and risk assessment through quoting, binding, policy documentation, and account finalization.
• Exercise sound professional judgment when assessing complex or non-standard risks.
• Review referrals and provide technical guidance on files that exceed the authority levels of less experienced underwriters.
• Mentor junior underwriters and underwriting support professionals, helping them strengthen their technical knowledge, judgment, and confidence.
• Build and maintain productive broker relationships through responsive and thoughtful underwriting service.
• Participate in broker meetings, industry events, and other relationship-building activities that support profitable portfolio growth.
• Collaborate with underwriting leadership and other internal stakeholders to support effective risk selection, pricing, and portfolio performance.
• Manage multiple priorities independently while contributing to a collaborative team environment.

The Employer

Our client is an established Canadian property and casualty insurer with a growing commercial operation and a broad portfolio of commercial risks.

The underwriting environment provides experienced professionals with meaningful autonomy and the opportunity to remain involved throughout the life of an account. The organization values sound technical judgment, collaborative decision-making, strong broker relationships, and the development of less experienced team members.

The commercial team is continuing to grow, creating an opportunity for an experienced senior underwriter to have a visible impact on both technical underwriting and team development.

About You

You are an experienced commercial underwriter who combines strong technical capability with sound judgement and a collaborative working style.

You are confident assessing risks independently and are comfortable handling accounts that may not always fit neatly into a highly standardized underwriting approach. You enjoy understanding the full account, making thoughtful decisions, and taking ownership of your work.

You also enjoy helping others develop. Less experienced colleagues naturally come to you with questions, and you are comfortable reviewing referrals, explaining your reasoning, and helping other underwriters build confidence and independence.

While technical underwriting remains central to the role, you are also comfortable developing broker relationships and participating in the broader market-facing side of commercial insurance.

Necessary Qualifications Include

• 6+ years of commercial property and casualty underwriting experience, with deeper senior-level experience strongly preferred.
• Strong commercial property and liability underwriting knowledge.
• Experience underwriting a diverse range of commercial risks.
• Demonstrated ability to independently assess, price, and structure commercial accounts.
• Strong technical underwriting judgment and the ability to clearly explain the rationale behind decisions.
• Experience working with both new business and renewals.
• Ability and willingness to act as a technical resource and mentor to less experienced underwriting professionals.
• Strong broker relationship and communication skills.
• Willingness to participate in broker meetings, industry events, and relationship-development activities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in a hands‑on underwriting environment.
• Willingness to obtain the required insurance licence within the expected timeframe if not already licensed.
• Experience with manufacturing, realty, hospitality, construction, course of construction, oil and gas, professional lines, or other specialty commercial risks is considered an asset.
• Experience underwriting business across multiple Canadian jurisdictions is considered an asset.
• Post‑secondary education and/or a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation is considered an asset.

What’s in It for You

• Opportunity to work across a broad and varied commercial insurance portfolio.
• Meaningful underwriting autonomy and account ownership.
• Exposure to the full underwriting lifecycle.
• Opportunity to act as a senior technical resource within a growing team.
• Significant mentorship and coaching opportunities.
• Exposure to both traditional and more specialized commercial risks.
• Opportunity to participate in broker relationship development and industry events.
• Direct access to underwriting leadership.
• Flexibility for strong candidates located elsewhere in Alberta.
• Potential for a primarily remote arrangement with periodic travel to the Edmonton area, depending on location and business needs.
• Competitive compensation and employee benefits.

About Us

DGA Careers has been proudly serving the Canadian insurance industry for over 30 years, specializing in providing insurance recruiting services to major insurers, insurance brokerage firms, and independent adjusting firms. With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, and Calgary, DGA Careers is well-positioned to conduct searches with a national scope. Our unrivalled professional network across Canada provides us with the ability to reach key influencers and passive candidates nationally.