Assistant Vice President, Underwriting

Hastings Insurance Company; Hastings (MI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Hastings Insurance is seeking an experienced Assistant Vice President, Underwriting to lead property and casualty underwriting across Commercial, Farm, and Personal Lines from our Hastings, Michigan headquarters.

You will establish guidelines, coach leaders, and drive performance while balancing growth, policyholder needs, and regulatory requirements. This role reports to senior executives and emphasizes collaboration with independent agents and cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in any field with insurance education or equivalent experience.
• CPCU, CIC, API, AIS or similar designation preferred.
• Minimum seven years in P&C underwriting with at least three in leadership.
• Proven ability to lead underwriting teams and deliver results through others.
• Strong knowledge of P&C policy forms, coverages, and rate development.
• Experience applying underwriting strategy to growth and portfolio performance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for P&C underwriting across Commercial, Farm, and Personal Lines.
• Develop a high-performing underwriting organization through coaching and staffing.
• Establish underwriting guidelines and philosophies to support profitability and growth.
• Drive performance on loss ratio, premium growth, and policy retention.
• Monitor underwriting exceptions and risks outside guidelines or treaties.
• Partner with leaders on business planning and strategy execution.
• Maintain relationships with agents, policyholders, and cross-functional partners.
• Ensure compliance with property and casualty regulations and statutes.
• Oversee expenses and resources in the Underwriting division.
• Promote professional development and collaborative underwriting judgment.

Skills

Leadership

Underwriting

P&C knowledge

Communication

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

CPCU / CIC / API / AIS designation

Job description

Shape the underwriting strategy that drives profitable growth across Hastings Insurance.

Hastings Insurance is seeking an experienced property and casualty insurance leader to serve as our Assistant Vice President, Underwriting. In this role, you’ll provide strategic and operational leadership across our Commercial, Farm, and Personal Lines underwriting functions and play an important role in shaping underwriting strategy in support of profitable growth.

Leading through an experienced underwriting team, you’ll establish direction, develop and maintain underwriting philosophies and guidelines, and ensure disciplined execution across our P&C insurance portfolio. You’ll balance sound underwriting practices with growth, policyholder retention, customer service, regulatory requirements, and the needs of our independent agency partners.

What You’ll Do:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for Hastings’ property and casualty underwriting functions across Commercial, Farm, and Personal Lines.
• Lead through others to develop a high-performing underwriting organization through coaching, planning, training, performance management, and effective staffing.
• Establish, develop, and maintain underwriting guidelines and philosophies that support Hastings’ products, appetite, profitability, and growth objectives.
• Drive underwriting performance against key business measures, including loss ratio, premium growth, policy retention, and customer service.
• Develop and administer processes for evaluating and monitoring underwriting exceptions, accommodations, and risks outside established guidelines or reinsurance treaties.
• Partner with leaders across Hastings in the business planning process and execution of company strategies and objectives.
• Maintain effective relationships with independent agents, policyholders, and cross-functional partners throughout the organization.
• Support compliance with applicable property and casualty insurance regulations and statutes, including interaction with state insurance departments as needed.
• Provide oversight of expenses and resources associated with the Underwriting division.
• Promote continued professional development and a culture of sound underwriting judgment, accountability, and collaboration.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree and insurance education, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• CPCU, CIC, API, AIS, or other relevant insurance designation preferred.
• A minimum of seven years of property and casualty insurance underwriting experience, including at least three years of leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading underwriting teams and achieving results through other leaders and professionals.
• Strong knowledge of P&C insurance policy forms, coverages, underwriting procedures, and rate development.
• Experience applying underwriting strategy and guidelines to support profitable growth and portfolio performance.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills, including the ability to evaluate complex situations, consider alternatives, and establish an appropriate course of action.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective relationships and communicate with employees, agency partners, policyholders, and other stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Location & Schedule:

This full-time, salaried position will generally work Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. This position follows a hybrid work arrangement, with regular in-person work required at our Hastings, Michigan headquarters. Candidates must reside within a reasonable commuting distance of Hastings or be willing to relocate.

About Hastings Insurance:

For more than 135 years, Hastings Insurance has helped individuals, families, and businesses protect what matters most. As a trusted partner to independent agents and policyholders, we've earned a reputation for financial strength, exceptional service, and long-term stability, including an A (Excellent) financial strength rating from A.M. Best.

While we're proud of our history, we're equally focused on the future. We're investing in technology, strengthening partnerships with independent agents, and continuously evolving our products and services to meet the changing needs of our customers.

Just as importantly, we're investing in our people. Employees enjoy a collaborative, down-to-earth culture where initiative is valued, growth is encouraged, and good work is recognized. We offer competitive pay and benefits, including a 401(k) with company matching contributions, generous paid time off, tuition and professional development assistance, and company performance-based incentive compensation opportunities.

Our Organizational Commitment:

At Hastings Insurance, we believe our people are our greatest strength. We foster a workplace where employees are treated with respect, supported in their growth, and empowered to contribute. We know that diverse perspectives lead to stronger collaboration, better decisions, and better outcomes for our customers and communities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements, and individual qualifications, without regard to any legally protected characteristic.

If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact our Talent Acquisition team at 800-442-8277.