Vice President - Liability Underwriter

HDFC ERGO; Mumbai; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Job summary

HDFC ERGO in Mumbai seeks a senior Liability Underwriting leader to drive central strategy, governance, and pricing frameworks for the portfolio. The role requires deep technical expertise, strong negotiation skills with top brokers, and experience guiding underwriters across regions.

You will mentor teams, review high-value renewals, and collaborate with actuarial and claims teams to improve profitability and risk controls, while ensuring regulatory and internal standards are met.

Qualifications

• 15–20 years of Liability Underwriting or Specialty Lines underwriting experience.
• Strong governance, portfolio management, and central decisionmaking expertise.
• Proven track record with top brokers and major corporate clients in large markets like Mumbai.
• Deep technical expertise in liability underwriting, policy wording interpretation, and risk modelling.

Responsibilities

• Lead central strategy on Liability underwriting, growth priorities, risk frameworks, and exposures.
• Define underwriting guidelines, risk appetite, pricing frameworks, and approval matrices.
• Drive uniform underwriting practices across regions for discipline and compliance.
• Underwrite and approve large, complex Liability risks within delegated authority.
• Review regional submissions and advise on pricing, terms, clauses, and coverage structuring.
• Guide improvements in policy wordings, endorsements, and manuscript clauses.
• Monitor portfolio loss ratios, rate adequacy, and exposure patterns.
• Lead portfolio reviews and provide insights to senior leadership on market dynamics.
• Collaborate with actuarial teams on pricing models, reserving, and profitability.
• Lead meetings with brokers, strategic partners, and large corporate clients.
• Support regional underwriting on renewals, escalations, or negotiations.
• Work with claims leadership on major liability claims and underwriting refinement.
• Mentor regional underwriters and build deep technical capability across network.

Skills

Liability underwriting

Underwriting governance

Portfolio management

Negotiation with brokers

Leadership & coaching

Job description

Role & responsibilities

• Lead central strategy on Liability underwriting including growth priorities, risk frameworks, and emerging exposures.
• Define and update underwriting guidelines, risk appetite, pricing frameworks, and approval matrices for all Liability products.
• Drive uniform underwriting practices across regions to ensure discipline, consistency, and compliance.
• Underwrite and approve large, complex, and sensitive Liability risks within delegated authority.
• Review submissions from regional teams and provide expert recommendations for pricing, terms, clauses, and coverage structuring.
• Guide improvements in policy wordings, endorsements, exclusions, and manuscript clauses.
• Monitor the central Liability portfolio for loss ratios, rate adequacy, exposure patterns, industry concentration, and early warning indicators.
• Lead periodic portfolio reviews and provide insights to senior leadership on emerging trends, market dynamics, and corrective actions.
• Work with actuarial teams for pricing models, reserving approach, and product profitability analysis.
• Lead meetings with top brokers, strategic partners, and large corporate clients for technically heavy discussions or complex deal closures.
• Support regional underwriting and distribution teams on large renewals, escalations, or competitive negotiations.
• Work closely with claims leadership to review major liability claims, litigation risks, settlement trends, and lessons for underwriting refinement.
• Mentor regional liability underwriters and build deep technical capability across the underwriting network.

Ensure 100% adherence to IRDAI norms, internal audit standards, documentation requirements, and underwriting controls.

Preferred candidate profile

• 15-20 years of experience in Liability Underwriting or Specialty Lines underwriting.
• Strong experience in underwriting governance, portfolio management, and central decisionmaking.
• Proven track record of working with top brokers and major corporate clients in large markets like Mumbai.
• Deep technical expertise in liability and casualty underwriting, policy wording interpretation, and risk modelling.
• Strong negotiation skills with senior brokers and Csuite clients.
• Excellent analytical ability with focus on portfolio discipline and profitability.
• Ability to coach teams, manage complex risks, and lead national underwriting strategy.