Senior Manager, Underwriting

bitcocareers; Pasadena (CA); On-site; CAD 177,000 - 283,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work schedule

401(k) Savings and Profit‑Sharing Plan

Company-paid life insurance

Disability coverage

Education and professional development

Job summary

Old Republic Bitco is seeking a Sr Manager, Underwriting to join our Pasadena, CA regional office. The role offers a hybrid work arrangement with in-person collaboration and leadership of branch underwriting operations.

You will drive sales, profitability, staffing, budgeting, and agency management across the region, while mentoring teams and maintaining underwriting excellence. The ideal candidate has deep underwriting expertise, strong agency relationships, and a track record of guiding

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, or other Business related field preferred; or equivalent experience.
• Prior supervisory or management experience
• 5-7 years’ experience in Field Underwriting – Construction, Forest Products, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas
• Underwriting New & Renewal Business – Determine pricing and understand commercial lines policy forms and coverages
• Agency Management – Growth and development; prospecting; appointment; and maximization of opportunities and responsibilities
• External Sales – Cultivate new business while demonstrating retention of current customers through presentations to agencies and customers

Responsibilities

• Lead branch underwriting operations and drive sales and profitability.
• Staff underwriting roles with qualified personnel.
• Prepare and manage budgets for the branch.
• Decide on accept/decline of applications and manage policy changes.
• Manage agency relationships and grow territory.
• Travel as necessary for sales and marketing activities.

Skills

Leadership

Underwriting

Pricing & Policy

Agency Management

Sales

Travel

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Best’s Underwriting Guide

Job description

Old Republic Bitco is seeking a Sr Manager, Underwritingto join our regional officelocated in Pasadena CA. As a respected specialty insurer with 11 branch offices across 10 states, OR Bitco delivers tailored insurance solutions to complex industries such as construction, forest products, and oil and gas. This position is open to a hybrid work arrangement, blending flexibility with meaningful in person collaboration.

At OR Bitco, our work is guided by core values. We care deeply about our people, partners, and customers. We are committed to excellence and accountability. We deliver on our promises with integrity and precision, and we strive to make a meaningful impact in everything we do. These values drive our mission to protect the people and industries that keep America running.

Join the OR Bitco team and be part of a workplace built on collaboration, open communication, and a positive culture that supports growth and success. If you are passionate about operational excellence and ready to make a measurable impact within a growing, industry-leading organization, OR Bitco offers the platform and challenge you have been looking for.

Position Summary :

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Underwriting Manager to lead and elevate our branch office underwriting operations. In this pivotal role, you will drive both strategic and day-to-day activities, partnering closely with regional leadership to achieve ambitious sales and profitability goals. The ideal candidate is a skilled decision-maker and mentor who brings deep technical underwriting expertise, strong agency relationship management, and a proven ability to guide high-performing teams. This position offers the opportunity to shape business outcomes, influence growth within an assigned territory, and play a key leadership role in advancing our organization’s mission, values, and long-term success.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Participates with the regional manager and other appropriate persons in the branch office in preparing and carrying out the office’s business plan each year, including overseeing such activities and setting of business objectives with revisions and modifications as needed to meet the branch sales and profit goals
• With the regional manager’s assistance, staffs the underwriting jobs under her or his supervision with persons who have the appropriate skills, abilities and interests to perform the assigned jobs
• Coordinates with the regional and claims manager in preparing or assisting in the preparation of required budgets for the branch office, such as manpower and sales and the submitting of such budgets to management
• Coordinates with the regional manager on staffing and personnel administration, including assigning and maintaining proper job classifications and conducting timely and appropriate evaluations of job performances, for all persons under her or his supervision
• Directs and supervises underwriting activities of assigned Underwriting staff, including the quality, quantity and timeliness of work
• Maintains current company and department procedures. Assigns work, provides training and feedback to team members, and conducts timely and appropriate evaluations of job performance in the department
• Underwrites or provides assistance in underwriting large or unusual risks which require a high level of technical knowledge and skill in product and industry
• Conducts reviews of underwriting files
• Assists regional manager with various projects as needed
• Decides whether to accept, decline or modify applications or requests to sell an insurance policy and once sold, recognizing and evaluating exposure changes as they occur during a policy period and including an understanding of the company's target programs and coverage
• Evaluates, quotes and negotiates prices on applications from new and renewal customers and requests for changes in policies which requires an understanding of statutory requirements, ISO, company and NCCI coverage forms and endorsements and commercial line reference manuals, including Best’s Underwriting Guide
• Demonstrates consistently above average proficiency in recognizing key underwriting issues and taking appropriate action on developed information
• Manages a group of agencies, including prospecting for new agencies, agency appointment, growth and development, maximization of agency profit sharing opportunities and credit management; evaluating agency factors, including agency personnel, line diversification, loss ratio, agency book of business, volume and profit potential and which agencies to appoint or terminate
• Travel as necessary to perform sales and marketing activities, maintain territory, attend meetings, or for other reasons deemed necessary to fulfill position requirements
• Solicit new business and retain renewal business through effective presentations to agency and customer audiences
• Manages and develops business in an assigned territory, including achieving profitable underwriting results, sales development and customer service functions
• Formulates, plans and achieves sales budgets, with objectives to support business planning, for assigned accounts and territory, including setting and achieving premium and loss ratio goals, agency and prospecting calls and business forecasting
• Working with a structured referral process, maintains, promotes and increases profitable sales from current and prospective customer accounts through, among other activities, regular agency visits, developing agency relationships and agency reviews
• Makes decisions within stated levels of authority and company guidelines, seeks exceptions to guidelines as needed when supported by appropriate data
• Identifies and takes appropriate action on changes in customer operations or financial conditions
• Participate in complex research, analysis or development projects requiring advanced skills as assigned directly from home office underwriting
• Maintains and promotes profitable business relationships with current and prospective customer accounts, through effective marketing, sales and service efforts
• Coordinates, promotes and markets claims, risk control and premium audit service plans to current and prospective customers
• Maintains current knowledge of corporate, regulatory and competitive changes in lines of business written
• Serve as a source of knowledge within the company
• As a management representative, consistently acts in the best interest of BITCO and provides leadership and communication to actively promote BITCO's mission, values, and culture
• Performs other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, or other Business related field preferred; or equivalent experience
• Prior supervisory or management experience
• Minimum of 5-7 years’ experience in the following areas:
  • Field Underwriting – Construction, Forest Products, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas
  • Underwriting New & Renewal Business – Determine pricing and understand commercial lines policy forms and coverages
  • Analyzing & Managing Exposures – Develop action plans to manage risks and changes during a policy period
  • Agency Management – Growth and development; prospecting; appointment; and maximization of opportunities and responsibilities
  • External Sales – Cultivate new business while demonstrating retention of current customers through presentations to agencies and customers

Work Environment & Physical Requirements:

• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States
• Office environment; this position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, as directed by manager
• Frequently sit at a desk or other work station for extended periods of time
• Occasionally lift and carry equipment and/or materials weighing up to 15 pounds
• Routinely bend, kneel, reach, see, be mobile and walk around
• Must be able to attend and perform job duties effectively both in-person and virtually, as required by manager
• Travel – overnight travel is required; must have a valid driver's license

Salary

$125,000.00- $200,000.00, Commensurate with experience

Benefits:

• Competitive salary paired with a comprehensive benefits package
• Generous paid time off, plus 12 paid holidays annually
• Comprehensive health coverage, including medical, dental, and vision plans
• Additional protection through accident, critical illness, and hospital indemnity insurance
• Company-paid life insurance equal to 2× annual salary
• Company-paid short-term and long-term disability coverage
• 401(k) Savings and Profit-Sharing Plan through Old Republic
• Ongoing education, training, and professional development opportunities
• Support for industry certifications and insurance designations, including financial assistance
• Flexible scheduling with a two-hour window for start and end times within a 7.5-hour workday
• Opportunities to give back through corporate philanthropy and community service initiatives
• Optional benefits including travel, commuter, and pet insurance
• Employee wellness support through a dedicated fitness program