AVP, Casualty Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines

OhioX; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 154,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision

Life insurance

Disability coverage

Paid time off

Job summary

Nationwide is seeking an AVP, Casualty Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines, to lead enterprise strategy and oversee casualty underwriting performance. The role partners with Reinsurance, Pricing, Claims, and Product to align risk, capacity, and profitability goals.

The position requires deep casualty underwriting expertise, leadership experience, and the ability to influence across the enterprise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field; post-graduate business studies preferred.
• CPCU or ARM designations desirable.
• 10–25 years of commercial/E&S casualty underwriting experience, with at least 5 years in leadership of underwriting teams.

Responsibilities

• Set enterprise underwriting philosophy and strategic direction for casualty portfolio.
• Guide market trends, pricing, and coverage decisions to maintain profitability and competitiveness.
• Lead, coach, and develop Technical Directors and underwriting leaders across product lines.
• Collaborate with reinsurance, pricing, claims, product, and distribution to optimize outcomes.

Skills

Market experience

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Underwriting knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Job description

If you’re passionate about helping people protect what matters most to them at a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales, as well as innovating and simplifying processes and operations to provide the best customer value, then Nationwide’s Property and Casualty team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

#LI-MM1

Job Description Summary

Are you a proven leader with strategic and creative E&S/Specialty and commercial casualty product and underwriting skills? Do you have deep insight into the liability insurance market and competitive landscape, with the ability to translate that insight into enterprise underwriting strategy? If you have a drive to achieve financial goals, set strategic vision, and elevate a technical underwriting organization, we want to hear from you!

As the COE AVP, Casualty Underwriting Performance, you will support the VP in leading strategic initiatives across multiple casualty business lines. You’ll help set the underwriting philosophy and strategic agenda that Technical Directors and field underwriting leadership execute, cultivating a high-performing underwriting culture, leveraging market and reinsurance insight, and driving performance across Nationwide’s casualty portfolio. This role partners across the value chain - Pricing, Reserving, Corporate Reinsurance, Claims, Product and others - to align underwriting strategy with risk appetite, ceded reinsurance structure, and enterprise profitability goals. Operating with a high degree of independence and enterprise-wide scope, this role requires deep casualty underwriting expertise, command of complex coverage and limits/attachment structures, and the credibility to represent Nationwide externally with reinsurance and distribution partners. You will also lead, coach, and/or develop Technical Director roles, setting the strategic direction that they translate into product-level execution.

Key Responsibilities:

• Set enterprise underwriting philosophy and strategic direction for the casualty portfolio, ensuring Technical Directors and field leadership are able to execute against strategy aligned to profitability and risk appetite targets.
• Drive thought leadership on market trends in casualty pricing, coverage, limits/attachment points, and appetite to keep Nationwide’s casualty products competitive and customer-aligned.
• Develop and maintain a strategic roadmap identifying market disruptors (litigation trends, social inflation, emerging liability exposures) and translate them into innovative underwriting capabilities and guidance that can be operationalized.
• Engage directly with reinsurance brokers, reinsurers, and external markets to benchmark performance and strengthen Nationwide’s market position - representing the enterprise at a level beyond product-specific technical guidance.
• Partner with Corporate Reinsurance to develop and optimize casualty reinsurance strategy, including treaty design, ceded structure, and capacity management, where applicable.
• Collaborate with Pricing to manage pricing sophistication including modeling, rate adequacy, limits profile, and exposure accumulation across the casualty book.
• Monitor enterprise casualty portfolio performance and steer risk selection philosophy, capacity deployment, and complex coverage/program design.
• Establish and maintain enterprise best practices across CLESS casualty underwriting, including underwriting guidelines and letters of authority.
• Lead business reviews at the portfolio level and drive corrective action plans when performance goals are at risk, escalating and resolving issues that cross multiple product lines.
• Ensure compliance with corporate underwriting standards and drive continuous improvement in production, retention, and expense management across the Casualty COE.
• Partner across the enterprise value chain (Claims, Legal, Actuarial, Product, Distribution) to resolve complex, cross-functional issues and enhance underwriting outcomes.
• Coach, mentor, and develop the Technical Director bench and broader underwriting talent, building a pipeline of technical leadership and closing capability gaps across the casualty function.
• Influence enterprise decisions on training investment, audit scope, vendor/data partnerships, and underwriting systems to support casualty business needs.
• Partner with other Underwriting Performance teams to deliver actionable insights, key performance indicators, audit scopes, 3rd party data, etc that drive underwriting profitable underwriting outcomes and capabilities.
• Directly or indirectly lead a high-performing team in a hybrid work environment, depending on existing organization structure.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships:

VP, Casualty Underwriting Performance.

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field. Post-graduate business-related studies preferred.

License/Certification/Designation: Relevant professional designations such as CPCU, ARM are highly desirable.

Experience: Typically, 10-25 years of commercial/E&S casualty underwriting experience, including at least five years of leadership experience managing underwriting leaders (e.g., Technical Directors, underwriting managers). Exposure to both field and staff office operations preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

• Comprehensive Market Experience: Demonstrated knowledge across admitted and non-admitted casualty markets, domestic and international business, and both automated and manually underwritten portfolios.
• Diverse Segment Expertise: Experience spanning small commercial, middle market, large accounts, umbrella/excess, and alternative markets within casualty lines.
• Complex Risk Structures: Proficiency with primary, umbrella/excess, quota-shared, reinsured, and layered casualty programs, including attachment point and limits profile management.
• Long-tail Liability Risk Management: Strong understanding of emerging and long-tail liability exposures, litigation trends, and social inflation impacts on casualty portfolios.
• Executive-Level Acumen: Proven leadership in casualty products, insurance operations, field and staff functions, and industry trends - with demonstrated ability to operate and represent the enterprise at a strategic, cross-portfolio level.
• Strategic and Enterprise Leadership: Strong decision-making and the ability to set strategic direction and hold technical leaders (Technical Directors) accountable for execution, distinguishing this role’s enterprise-strategy focus from the product-level technical management performed by Technical Directors.
• Influence and Communication: Skilled in building relationships, influencing senior leadership and reinsurance partners, navigating ambiguity, and representing the organization in external, market-facing initiatives.
• Talent and Organizational Leadership: Ability to develop underwriting leaders or technical experts and projects across multiple casualty product lines, with a focus on results, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner.

Values:

Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt).

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Remote may be considered.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

We currently anticipate accepting applications until 11/13/2026. However, we encourage early submissions, as the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline.

Benefits

• medical/dental/vision
• life insurance
• short and long term disability coverage
• paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date
• nine paid holidays
• 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off
• 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off
• 401(k) with company match
• company-paid pension plan
• business casual attire
• and more

To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states. Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.
For NY residents please review the following state law information: Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740 (ny.gov) https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/02/ls740_1.pdf

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule. The national salary range for AVP, Casualty Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines : $154,000.00-$290,000.00 The expected starting salary range for AVP, Casualty Underwriting Performance - E&S/Specialty and Commercial Lines : $154,000.00 - $258,000.00