Senior Commercial Underwriting Technical Specialist - Job# 213

DGA Careers Inc.; Calgary; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

DGA Careers has partnered with a leading Canadian insurer to recruit a Senior Technical Specialist focused on commercial property underwriting. You will provide senior technical underwriting expertise, mentor underwriters, and influence product development and underwriting guidelines.

You will review referrals, support strategy, and collaborate with senior leadership to ensure disciplined, profitable decisions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of commercial insurance experience.
• Strong commercial property underwriting knowledge and technical judgment.
• Ability to assess complex underwriting issues and make well-supported decisions.
• Experience developing, refining, or implementing underwriting guidelines, processes, or best practices.
• Strong leadership and mentoring capability, including the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while contributing within a collaborative team.

Responsibilities

• Act as a senior technical underwriting resource and mentor to underwriting team members.
• Review and respond to underwriting referrals on new and renewal business.
• Provide technical guidance on complex commercial risks, with a focus on commercial property.
• Identify internal and external underwriting trends and provide recommendations aligned with business objectives.
• Provide market intelligence, technical commentary, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Contribute to product development initiatives, including underwriting guidelines, templates, and supporting materials.
• Develop, enhance, and implement technical underwriting guidelines and best-practice procedures.
• Help promote consistent, disciplined, and profitable underwriting decisions.
• Provide technical input on claims situations where underwriting intent, policy wording, or coverage expertise is required.
• Develop and deliver technical training for underwriting teams and external broker partners.
• Provide one-on-one mentorship and support to help strengthen technical underwriting capabilities.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with broker and market partners.
• Participate in industry meetings, conventions, and other functions as required.
• Contribute to strategic underwriting projects and broader business initiatives.
• Support evolving product, process, and technology initiatives as required.

Skills

Commercial underwriting

Property underwriting

Mentoring

Underwriting guidelines

Strategic underwriting

Industry knowledge

Education

CAIB, CIP, CRM, FCIP (assets)

Job description

Our client is seeking a Senior Technical Specialist to provide senior-level technical underwriting expertise and support the continued development of its commercial insurance portfolio. This is a broad, influential role with an immediate emphasis on commercial property and the opportunity to contribute to underwriting strategy, product development, technical guidelines, training, and broader business initiatives.

The successful candidate will act as a senior technical resource to the underwriting team, reviewing complex referrals, helping strengthen underwriting frameworks and best practices, and supporting the development of new and existing products. This individual will also mentor and train underwriters, provide market insight to senior leadership, and help ensure consistent, disciplined underwriting decisions.

This is not primarily a people-management position. It is best suited to an experienced insurance professional who enjoys leading through technical expertise, mentorship, collaboration, and influence.

The Employer

Our client is an established Canadian insurance organization with a strong commercial underwriting focus. The business offers an environment where experienced underwriting professionals can have meaningful input into technical strategy, product development, processes, and future initiatives.

The organization is continuing to strengthen its underwriting capabilities and is interested in adding experienced technical expertise and fresh perspective to the team.

About You

You are an experienced commercial insurance professional with strong technical underwriting judgment and particularly strong knowledge of commercial property risks. You are comfortable working through complex underwriting situations, developing practical guidelines and processes, and providing clear recommendations to both underwriting teams and senior leadership.

You are collaborative and credible, with the ability to mentor and influence experienced professionals without relying on formal authority. You enjoy challenging established practices constructively and can balance technical discipline with commercial judgment.

Experience within an MGA or similarly technical underwriting environment would be a meaningful advantage. Exposure to product development, underwriting technology, digital platforms, or a combination of commercial and personal-lines underwriting may also be valuable.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Act as a senior technical underwriting resource and mentor to underwriting team members
• Review and respond to underwriting referrals on new and renewal business
• Provide technical guidance on complex commercial risks, with a particular focus on commercial property
• Identify internal and external underwriting trends and provide recommendations aligned with business objectives
• Provide market intelligence, technical commentary, and recommendations to senior leadership
• Contribute to product development initiatives, including underwriting guidelines, templates, and supporting materials
• Develop, enhance, and implement technical underwriting guidelines and best-practice procedures
• Help promote consistent, disciplined, and profitable underwriting decisions
• Provide technical input on claims situations where underwriting intent, policy wording, or coverage expertise is required
• Develop and deliver technical training for underwriting teams and external broker partners
• Provide one-on-one mentorship and support to help strengthen technical underwriting capabilities
• Build and maintain productive relationships with broker and market partners
• Participate in industry meetings, conventions, and other functions as required
• Contribute to strategic underwriting projects and broader business initiatives
• Support evolving product, process, and technology initiatives as required

Necessary Qualifications Include

• 10+ years of commercial insurance experience
• Strong commercial property underwriting knowledge and technical judgment
• Demonstrated ability to assess complex underwriting issues and make well-supported decisions
• Experience developing, refining, or implementing underwriting guidelines, processes, or best practices
• Strong leadership and mentoring capability, including the ability to influence without direct authority
• Strong business acumen, analytical thinking, and problem-solving skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work effectively with underwriters, senior leaders, brokers, and other stakeholders
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a collaborative team
• Strong organizational, prioritization, and time-management skills
• Level 1 General Insurance licence or ability to obtain within a reasonable timeframe
• CAIB, CIP, CRM, FCIP, or progress toward an industry designation considered an asset
• MGA experience considered a strong asset
• Product-development, digital underwriting, portal, or underwriting-technology experience considered an asset

What’s in It for You

• Opportunity to play an influential role in the continued development of a commercial insurance portfolio
• Ability to shape underwriting guidelines, technical processes, products, and best practices
• Senior-level exposure and the opportunity to contribute to strategic underwriting decisions
• Opportunity to mentor and develop underwriters without the traditional responsibilities of a people-management role
• Potential involvement in new products and evolving underwriting technology initiatives
• Scope for the position to evolve based on the successful candidate’s experience and strengths
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits package
• Opportunity to join an established insurance organization with continued growth opportunities

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.