Chief Underwriting Officer

Stealth Startup; Florida; Hybrid; USD 350,000 - 500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Performance bonus

Benefits package

Job summary

Stealth Startup seeks a Chief Underwriting Officer to lead underwriting oversight of a growing US insurance portfolio anchored in Florida. You will set appetite, monitor exposure, and supervise delegated partners as the book expands across states and lines.

You will report to the Chief Executive, collaborate with the reinsurance lead, and interact with rating agencies and regulators. This is a portfolio leadership role with growth potential and strong compensation.

Qualifications

• Carrier-side commercial property underwriting experience.
• Experience with cat modelling, aggregates and PML.
• Experience in reinsurance and delegated authority oversight.
• Rising leader ready to step up; first CUO role.

Responsibilities

• Set appetite, line sizes and aggregate caps by peril, geography and class.
• Run the cat model every month and know the PML by zone and by partner.
• Write the underwriting guidelines and audit every partner given the pen.
• Work the reinsurance tower with the head of reinsurance.
• Represent the underwriting to AM Best and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
• Report directly to the Chief Executive and travel with him to key brokers and partners.

Skills

Cat modelling

Reinsurance

Underwriting leadership

Loss ratios

Job description

Lead the underwriting oversight of a growing US insurance portfolio.

We are performing a confidential search for a Chief Underwriting Officer at an A- rated carrier (AM Best) backed by a global specialty insurance group that does $2BN in GWP. Catastrophe exposed property will be a significant part of the book, but this role calls for a broader view: someone who can monitor performance and exposure across multiple lines of business as the portfolio grows.

Working directly with the US Chief Executive, you will set underwriting appetite and limits, assess new opportunities, oversee delegated partners and track how risks accumulate across the portfolio.

This position will have a leading base salary ($350,000 - $500,000), bonus, equity and benefits.

You will work closely with the reinsurance lead and represent the underwriting strategy with rating agencies and regulators.

The carrier is a licensed Florida insurer and reinsurer, rated A- (Excellent) by AM Best and backed by a global specialty insurance group with direct access to Lloyd’s and the London market. A new US Chief Executive is in place. The capital and the rating are there. The underwriting leadership is the next piece.

This is a portfolio seat, not a production seat. In the early years much of the book comes through partners: program participations, shared and layered placements, assumed business, and E&S written through a front. Catastrophe property is the core, Florida and the Gulf first, with more states and classes to follow.

The role

• Set appetite, line sizes and aggregate caps by peril, geography and class
• Run the cat model every month and know the PML by zone and by partner
• Write the underwriting guidelines and audit every partner given the pen
• Work the reinsurance tower with the head of reinsurance
• Represent the underwriting to AM Best and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
• Report directly to the Chief Executive and travel with him to key brokers and partners

The person

• A carrier-side commercial property underwriter, not an MGA or agency producer
• You’ve run a cat book through 2017 and 2022 and can show loss ratios year by year
• Cat modelling, aggregates and PML are tools you use every month
• Experience of reinsurance and delegated authority oversight
• A rising leader ready to step up. This could be your first CUO role

Why it stands apart

You control the portfolio. You set the standard on a rated carrier at the start of its build rather than inheriting someone else’s book. There’s a long-term incentive tied to the value you help create, and room for the role to grow as the platform adds states, classes and its own MGA.

We would like to hear from carrier side underwriting leaders who combine strong property expertise with experience across other insurance lines. You should be comfortable challenging portfolio data, explaining underwriting results and making disciplined decisions as market conditions change. This could be your first Chief Underwriting Officer appointment.

The role is based in Tampa but can be hybrid for people who are based in Florida or near there who can make it into the offices once a month, where there is some travel to brokers and partners. It offers the opportunity to shape a growing platform with the backing of an established global group.