AVP of Underwriting- Fidelity and Crime

Great American Insurance Group; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Great American Insurance Group is seeking an AVP of Underwriting for its Fidelity/Crime division in the NYC area. The role oversees day-to-day underwriting, planning, strategy, and team leadership for a large book with FI and crime exposures, covering NYC boroughs, Westchester, and Northern New Jersey.

The position requires 15–20+ years in underwriting (Fidelity/Crime preferred) and 7+ years of leadership, with strong technical, portfolio, and relationship skills.

Qualifications

• 15–20+ years of underwriting experience in Fidelity/Crime preferred; substantial FI or related lines are encouraged.
• 7+ years of people leadership experience with building and coaching high-performing teams.
• Strong technical underwriting capability with complex accounts and large risks.
• Proven portfolio management experience: profitability, growth planning, analytics.
• Established broker relationships and ability to originate and expand business.
• Strong strategic, communication, and stakeholder management skills; influence at multiple levels.
• Ability to work hybrid in NYC and travel locally occasionally for divisional needs.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an underwriting team, fostering accountability and performance.
• Drive underwriting strategy for a large Fidelity/Crime profit center with disciplined risk selection.
• Oversee day-to-day underwriting operations, workflow, file quality, and compliance.
• Underwrite and provide hands-on guidance on complex Fidelity/Crime accounts.
• Drive premium growth aligned with annual plan and market insights.
• Build and deepen broker and client relationships to identify opportunities.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support cross-sell and client strategies.
• Monitor portfolio performance: rate adequacy, retention, loss trends, exposure management.
• Lead planning, forecasting, and reporting for the territory; communicate results.
• Develop and execute annual plan aligning priorities with financial discipline.
• Oversee expenses to stay within budget.
• Ensure underwriting guidelines, pricing, documentation, and regulatory compliance.
• Coach and mentor team through referrals, reviews, and training.
• Represent division at industry/broker events; travel locally as needed.
• Collaborate with claims and internal partners to support decisions.

Job description

Be Here. Be Great. Working for a leader in the insurance industry means opportunity for you. Great American Insurance Group's member companies are subsidiaries of American Financial Group. We combine a \"small company\" culture where your ideas will be heard with \"big company\" expertise to help you succeed. With over 30 specialty and property and casualty operations, there are always opportunities here to learn and grow. At Great American, we value and recognize the benefits derived when people with different backgrounds and experiences work together to achieve business results. Our goal is to create a workplace where all employees feel included, empowered, and enabled to perform at their best.

This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship.

Great American’s Fidelity/ Crime Division is a market-leading specialty insurance business with deep expertise in protecting organizations against financial loss arising from employee dishonesty, forgery, and other crime- related exposures. With deep underwriting and claims expertise, the division delivers customized coverage solutions to a diverse portfolio of public and private companies, financial institutions, and government entities. In addition to Crime, the division specializes in Kidnap & Ransom (K&R) and Fine Art coverage. We are seeking an Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Underwriting to lead one of our largest profit centers and sustain the strong momentum of a highly tenured, high-performing team.

Great American’s culture is built on connection, shared learning, and strong relationships. This is a hybrid role that combines in-office and remote work. Employees are expected to maintain a meaningful on-site presence to support collaboration, relationship building, and business success. This position will oversee day-to-day underwriting operations, planning and strategy, and team leadership for a complex book of business with a heavy emphasis on Financial Institutions (FI), alongside commercial crime exposures. The territory includes NYC boroughs, Westchester County, and Northern New Jersey.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities

• Lead and develop an experienced underwriting team, fostering accountability, engagement, and continued strong performance.
• Drive underwriting strategy for a large, established Fidelity/ Crime profit center, ensuring disciplined risk selection and profitability.
• Oversee day-to-day underwriting operations, including workflow management, file quality, adherence to authority, and service standards.
• Underwrite and/or provide hands-on guidance on complex Fidelity/ Crime accounts.
• Drive premium and profitable growth in alignment with annual plan, leveraging market insights and targeted broker engagement.
• Build and deepen broker and client relationships, with a strong focus on identifying opportunities.
• Utilize personal market connections to generate new business opportunities and strengthen distribution partnerships.
• Collaborate with divisional colleagues and peers across other divisions to support cross-sell opportunities and coordinated client and broker strategies.
• Monitor portfolio performance, including rate adequacy, retention, loss trends, and exposure management; recommend corrective actions as needed.
• Lead planning, forecasting, and reporting for the territory; communicate results and insights to divisional leadership.
• Develop and execute annual plan, aligning strategic priorities with financial discipline.
• Oversee operational expenses to ensure performance within established budget.
• Ensure consistent execution of underwriting guidelines, pricing discipline, documentation standards, and regulatory/compliance requirements.
• Coach and mentor team members through referrals, account reviews, training, and talent development.
• Represent the division internally and externally at industry and broker events; travel locally within the city and for divisional meetings as needed.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with claims and other internal partners to support underwriting decisions and customer experience.

Qualifications

• Generally,15–20+ years of underwriting experience in Fidelity/ Crime preferred; however, candidates with substantial experience in Financial Institutions or closely related specialty P&C lines are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Generally, 7+ years of people leadership experience, with demonstrated success of building, coaching, and managing high-performing teams.
• Strong technical underwriting capability with experience handling complex accounts and larger risks.
• Proven track record of portfolio management, including profitability, growth planning, and performance analytics/reporting.
• Established broker relationships and demonstrated ability to originate and expand business through market connections.
• Strong strategic, communication, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at multiple levels.
• Ability to work hybrid in NYC and travel locally/occasionally for divisional needs.

Business Unit: Fidelity / Crime Salary Range: $210,000.00 -$255,000.00

Benefits

• Full-time employees have access to medical, dental, and vision coverage, wellness plans, parental leave, adoption assistance, and tuition reimbursement.
• Full-time and eligible part-time employees also enjoy Paid Time Off and paid holidays, a 401(k) plan with company match, an employee stock purchase plan, and commuter benefits.

Compensation varies by role, level, and location and is influenced by skills, experience, and business needs.

Your recruiter will provide details about benefits and specific compensation ranges during the hiring process.

Learn more at http://www.gaig.com/careers.

Why can you trust Great American Insurance Group?

For nearly 150 years, Americans have trusted us to protect them. Our innovative insurance solutions and specialization serves niche marketplaces that we know well. This expertise gives us a successful foundation that spans generations. You never know where a career in insurance will take you. Whether you are starting your career or are looking for a company to grow your experience, at Great American Insurance Group, you can join our more than 8,500 employees to “Be Here. Be GREAT!”

To learn more, visit our Career Page