AVP, Commercial Lines Underwriting

Western National Insurance; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan with matching

Paid time off

Job summary

Western National Insurance in Seattle seeks an Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lines Underwriting to provide strategic leadership across teams, shaping underwriting strategy and driving profitable growth while ensuring regulatory compliance and exceptional customer experiences. This position is based in our Seattle office and is not eligible for remote work.

It leads managers and underwriters, collaborates with product development, actuarial, claims, and sales, and develops regional plans

Qualifications

• Ten-plus years of leadership experience in property-and-casualty insurance, focusing on commercial lines underwriting.
• Experience leading underwriting teams and managing diverse commercial books of business.
• Deep knowledge of commercial insurance products, underwriting guidelines, and best practices.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and talent development skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, negotiation, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to partner with cross-functional teams and solve complex business challenges.
• Experience using underwriting systems, pricing tools, and data analytics platforms.

Responsibilities

• Leads, coaches, and develops underwriting managers, team leads, and underwriters to achieve goals.
• Develops and implements underwriting strategies balancing risk and reward for profitable growth.
• Partners with product development, actuarial, claims, sales, and cross-functional teams to optimize performance.
• Manages agency and vendor relationships to align with objectives and standards.
• Monitors underwriting practices for regulatory compliance and industry standards.
• Evaluates market trends to maintain a competitive position.
• Develops regional plans focused on retention, pricing, exposure management, and growth.
• Champions a collaborative One Team culture across departments and locations.
• Adheres to customer experience standards and resolves customer issues promptly.
• Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

Commercial underwriting

Team development

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Data analytics tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, insurance, finance, or related field

CPCU, CIC, CRM designation

Tools

Underwriting systems

Pricing tools

Data analytics platforms

Job description

Western National is seeking an Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lines Underwriting to join our team!

Job Type
Full-time

Description

The individual in this role will have the opportunity to provide strategic leadership for commercial underwriting operations across multiple teams or locations. This individual will shape underwriting strategy, develop high-performing teams, and partner across the organization to drive profitable growth while ensuring underwriting excellence, regulatory compliance, and exceptional customer experiences.

This role is based in our Seattle, Washington, office and is not eligible for remote work.

What are the responsibilities and opportunities of this role?

• Leads, coaches, and develops commercial underwriting managers, team leads, and underwriters to achieve individual, team, and company performance goals while fostering engagement, accountability, and strong business performance.
• Develops and implements underwriting strategies that balance risk and reward, strengthen the commercial product portfolio, and drive profitable growth.
• Partners with product development, actuarial, claims, sales, and other cross-functional teams to optimize underwriting performance and improve business results.
• Manages agency and vendor relationships to ensure alignment with company objectives, service expectations, and underwriting standards.
• Monitors underwriting practices to ensure compliance with company guidelines, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
• Evaluates market trends, competitive conditions, and emerging industry issues to maintain a strong competitive position.
• Develops and executes regional business plans focused on retention, pricing, exposure management, and profitable new business growth.
• Champions a collaborative "One Team, Better Together" culture across departments and locations.
• Consistently acts according to our customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing the customer's expectations, using the proper communication channel for the situation, and taking ownership to ensure the customer's issue is resolved.
• Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.

Requirements

What are the must-have qualifications for a candidate?

• Ten-plus years of leadership experience in the property-and-casualty insurance industry, with a strong focus on commercial lines underwriting.
• Demonstrated experience leading underwriting teams and managing diverse commercial books of business.
• Deep knowledge of commercial insurance products, underwriting guidelines, and underwriting best practices.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and talent development skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, negotiation, and decision-making abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with cross-functional teams and solve complex business challenges.
• Experience using underwriting systems, pricing tools, and data analytics platforms.

What will our ideal candidate have?

• Bachelor's degree in business, insurance, finance, or a related field.
• CPCU, CIC, CRM, or other relevant professional insurance designation.

Compensation Overview

The hiring range for this role is $200,000-240,000, annually. However, the base pay offered may vary depending on the job-related knowledge, skills, credentials, and experience of each candidate, as well as other factors such as the scope and location of the role. Candidates looking for compensation outside of the posted range are encouraged to apply and will be considered based on their individual qualifications and/or may be considered for other positions.

Culture and Total Rewards

Western National has long been known as “The Relationship Company®” and caring for our employees is part of that relationship commitment. We value connectiveness, empowerment, and accountability, and we believe that our employees are our biggest asset.

Currently ranked as the 41st largest private company by revenue in Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal), Western National has earned accolades year-over-year as an employer of choice and garnered multiple awards for wellness in the workplace. Western National has also been named a Top Workplace by the Star Tribune for the past five consecutive years. In addition, the Group is consistently recognized as a Ward’s 50 property-and-casualty insurance company for its outstanding financial results.

Western National offers full-time employees a significant Total Rewards Package, including:

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Short & long term incentive plan

Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time

Western National provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.