Senior Underwriter and Team Leader

APRIL Canada Insurance; Toronto; On-site; CAD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

APRIL Canada Insurance in Toronto seeks an experienced underwriter to lead the Ontario underwriting team and drive performance while continuing to underwrite key portfolios. The role emphasizes service quality, timely broker responses, and sound decisions within delegated authority.

You will supervise underwriting and support staff, partner with Business Development and technical specialists, and coach team members to improve workflow and outcomes.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of property and casualty underwriting experience.
• Experience supervising colleagues or leading a team.
• Understanding of delegated underwriting authority and the MGA model.
• Professional fluency in English; French is an asset.

Responsibilities

• Lead the team’s daily work, allocate submissions and renewals, balance workloads, and arrange coverage during absences.
• Monitor turnaround times, service commitments, outstanding work and productivity; identify delays and take action.
• Hold regular team and individual discussions, set expectations, coach colleagues and address performance issues.
• Underwrite a focused portfolio, support complex decisions within authority and refer specialist matters.
• Review files, explain technical decisions and deliver training to improve quality and independence.
• Maintain a performance dashboard and discuss results, capacity needs and corrective actions with the Ontario office leader.
• Turn feedback from brokers and underwriters into recommendations on appetite, products and processes with Business Development.
• Support recruitment, onboarding and performance reviews while maintaining sound documentation and underwriting controls.

Skills

Team leadership

Underwriting leadership

Delegated underwriting authority

Coaching

Data interpretation

English communication

Job description

The opportunity

APRIL Canada is seeking an experienced underwriter who enjoys leading people and improving the way an underwriting team works. You will take responsibility for the daily performance of our Ontario underwriting team while continuing to underwrite a focused portfolio in your areas of expertise.

Service quality is central to the role. You will help the team give brokers timely, useful answers, keep work moving and make sound underwriting decisions within delegated authority.

You will report to the Ontario office leader and supervise a team of underwriting and support colleagues. You will work closely with Business Development, which leads broker development and gathers market feedback, and with technical specialists across APRIL.

What you will do

• Lead the team’s daily work, allocate submissions and renewals, balance workloads and arrange coverage during absences.
• Monitor turnaround times, service commitments, outstanding work and productivity; identify the reasons behind delays and take practical action.
• Hold regular team and individual discussions, set clear expectations, coach colleagues and address performance issues promptly.
• Underwrite a focused portfolio, support complex decisions within your authority and refer specialist matters to the appropriate technical experts.
• Review files, explain technical decisions and deliver training that improves quality and develops the team’s independence.
• Maintain a concise performance dashboard and discuss results, capacity needs and corrective actions with the Ontario office leader.
• Turn feedback from brokers and underwriters into recommendations on appetite, products and processes, in partnership with Business Development.
• Support recruitment, onboarding and performance reviews while maintaining sound documentation and underwriting controls.

Your personal underwriting workload will be adjusted to leave meaningful time for leadership, coaching and service management. You will have the authority to organise daily work and act on operational issues, within agreed responsibilities and underwriting limits.

What you bring

• Typically seven or more years of property and casualty underwriting experience, or equivalent expertise demonstrated through your career.
• Sound commercial underwriting judgement, ideally in property and liability. Trucking or motor truck cargo experience would be an asset.
• Demonstrated experience supervising colleagues, leading a team or providing structured coaching, including handling difficult performance conversations.
• An understanding of delegated underwriting authority and the MGA model. Experience with an MGA, wholesale broker or specialty insurer would be valuable.
• A practical approach to service and productivity data. You can interpret a dashboard, investigate a backlog and translate findings into action.
• Initiative, clear communication and a willingness to make decisions and follow through.
• Professional fluency in English for daily work with Ontario colleagues and brokers. French is an asset.

We welcome applicants with deep expertise in the priority lines and the ability to develop others. Technical specialists across the business provide support for risks outside your own area of expertise.

What success looks like

Within your first three months, you will understand the team’s workload and capabilities, establish reliable service reporting and put practical improvement plans in place. We will agree measurable objectives based on the starting position, balancing response times and productivity with file quality and underwriting discipline.

Why join APRIL Canada

You will have a direct role in shaping how our Ontario underwriting team operates, with close access to the office leader and the opportunity to influence improvements to our broker offering. The position combines technical underwriting with genuine responsibility for people and service performance.

The role is based in Toronto-North York and requires regular office presence to support the team. Working arrangements and the benefits package will be discussed during the recruitment process.

This recruitment is for a new permanent position within our Ontario organisation.

We welcome applications from qualified candidates with varied backgrounds and experience. Accommodations are available on request throughout the recruitment process.