Chief Underwriting Officer

W. R. Berkley Corporation; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Berkley Oil & Gas, a W. R. Berkley Company, is seeking a Chief Underwriting Officer to provide strategic direction and lead the underwriting practice area.

You will work with Sr Management to develop plans, forecast outcomes, and guide risk, pricing and portfolio growth. Ideal candidates bring 10+ years in energy underwriting, a Bachelor’s degree, and a proven ability to lead teams and manage major client relationships.

Qualifications

• Must have strong leadership and strategic planning capabilities.
• Extensive experience in energy underwriting and portfolio management.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills across senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and leadership for the underwriting practice area.
• Drive profitability of the underwriting book with senior management alignment.
• Develop and monitor underwriting plans to achieve growth, retention and profit targets.
• Guide risk selection, pricing, and exposure monitoring across the portfolio.
• Collaborate with distribution teams to align retail and wholesale strategies.
• Oversee product development and adaptations in response to market changes.
• Mentor and develop team members; promote a high-performance culture.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Underwriting expertise

Relationship management

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Job description

Company Details

Berkley Oil & Gas, a W. R. Berkley Company, is an innovative market leader dedicated to providing unique products and services tailored to the needs of businesses operating in the energy industry. We have a deep understanding of our clients’ operations and the exposures they face, and we make it a priority to stay well informed of the changing dynamics in the industry. With well over 250 years of combined energy experience, our objective is to provide total account solutions to our customers. This includes specialized coverages, risk services that complement existing safety practices, and claims management that reflects our in-depth knowledge of hazards and losses normal to this industry.

Company URL: https://berkleyoil-gas.com/

The company is an equal opportunity employer.

Responsibilities

The Chief Underwriting Officer is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership of the Underwriting practice area, and profitability of the book of business. This requires proactive participation with the Sr Management team and functional department staffs in developing and executing strategic and operational plans in support of business objectives. This role requires an in-depth understanding of Berkley Oil & Gas Underwriting goals, processes, procedures, systems and data, as well as an understanding of how these items interact with other departments. This includes business planning, forecasting and guidance in insurance industry affairs.

• Participates and contributes to the overall planning for the underwriting function to include strategic direction and leadership for Underwriting. Planning, directing and executing business strategies, building strong industry relationships, sharing extensive knowledge, communicating and capitalizing on best practices.


• Provides high-level leadership, expertise and guidance in underwriting and insurance matters to include successful implementation of portfolio growth by influencing, advising and collaborating with peers to set priorities, share relevant information and ensure collective planning.


• Participate as a member of the leadership team in the development of strategies, including working together to make critical decisions affecting risk, profitability and growth of the business unit.


• Responsible for the development, execution, and monitoring of underwriting action plans to achieve targeted growth, retention and profitability goals of both the clients and respective BOG divisions. Guides and shapes underwriting quality assurance, price, rate and exposure monitoring, price adequacy and risk selection.


• Assessment of the impact of treaty and facultative solutions on the portfolio.


• Identifies opportunities for development of new and/or enhancements to product(s). Product development oversight from initial assessment to completed filing.


• Lead the assessment and implementation of ongoing process improvements in the underwriting department as technologies and business models evolve.


• Develop and manage relationships with key customers and vendors, including account contacts, brokers, program management staff, and other Berkley companies in line with company policies and guidelines.


• Identify employees for promotional opportunities and create development plans to prepare them for their next step within the organization.


• Ensure high level of teamwork, mutual respect, and customer service mindset exists within the underwriting team.


• Ensure department is well informed of business matters consistent with BOG culture.


• Resolve performance issues consistent with company policy. Ensure compliance with company policies by all staff members.


• Works closely with the Distribution team to align retail and wholesale distribution strategies with business needs.


• Leads the oversight of the concentration of risk within the assigned territory.


• Support and participation of compliance and quality assurance reviews, file audits and company policies audits.


• Provide recommendations for improvements to the underwriting risk evaluation approach.


• Leads team to meet or exceed service standards to our agent and broker partners.


• Training and education of team members of underwriting terms, conditions and principles.


• Manages authority levels for underwriting staff, ensures authority compliance, and approves individual accounts that exceed underwriter authority.

Qualifications

• 10+ years’ equivalent experience in energy underwriting preferred.


• Proven ability to learn workflow tasks and corresponding systems quickly.


• Intermediate/Advanced knowledge of the underwriting process and of casualty lines of business and common forms/endorsements preferred.


• Must possess extremely effective interpersonal, and desk organizational skills with solid ability to build and manage relationships with agents, brokers, customers and other employees.


• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)


• Detail oriented with good follow-through skills


• Must be dependable and professional, self-starter


• Proven energetic team player, contributing to a high-performance learning organization with a strong culture.

Education Requirement

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Additional Company Details

We do not accept any unsolicited resumes from external recruiting agencies or firms. The company offers a competitive compensation plan and robust benefits package for full time regular employees. The actual salary for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment.

Sponsorship Details

Sponsorship not Offered for this Role