Underwriting Manager

Confidential; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in the United States seeks a Senior Underwriting Manager to lead underwriting operations and staff, ensuring profitable growth and regulatory compliance. You will guide complex decisions, oversee portfolio performance, and shape underwriting strategy while collaborating with brokers, distribution partners, and key clients.

You will drive process improvements, set performance metrics, and coordinate with cross-functional teams to align with business planning and product development.

Qualifications

• 8+ years underwriting experience in insurance.
• 3+ years of leadership or people-management experience.
• Experience managing complex underwriting portfolios and profitability goals.
• Experience working with brokers, agents, and key clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop underwriters and underwriting support staff.
• Establish and maintain underwriting guidelines, procedures, and best practices.
• Review and approve complex or high-value underwriting decisions within authority.
• Ensure consistent application of underwriting standards and risk appetite.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews and coaching to improve performance.
• Evaluate complex risks and determine coverage, pricing, and terms.
• Build and maintain relationships with brokers, agents, distribution partners, and clients.
• Collaborate with sales, claims, actuarial, legal, and compliance teams.
• Drive process improvements to improve efficiency and service levels.
• Develop underwriting performance metrics and reporting tools.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and audit standards.

Skills

Underwriting leadership

Portfolio management

Strategic planning

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory compliance

Risk assessment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Finance or related field

Job description

The Senior Underwriting Manager is responsible for leading underwriting operations, managing underwriting staff, and ensuring underwriting decisions support profitable growth, risk management objectives, and compliance requirements. This position oversees complex underwriting decisions, portfolio performance, underwriting strategy, operational improvements, and relationships with brokers, agents, distribution partners, and key clients. The role also serves as a subject matter expert and contributes to business planning, product development, and overall underwriting strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop underwriters and underwriting support staff.
• Establish and maintain underwriting guidelines, procedures, and best practices.
• Review and approve complex or high-value underwriting decisions within assigned authority limits.
• Ensure consistent application of underwriting standards and organizational risk appetite.
• Conduct quality assurance reviews and provide coaching to improve underwriting performance.
• Evaluate complex risks and determine appropriate coverage, pricing, and terms.
• Identify emerging risks and recommend adjustments to underwriting strategies.
• Analyze market conditions, trends, and competitive factors affecting portfolio performance.
• Build and maintain relationships with brokers, agents, distribution partners, and key clients.
• Participate in client meetings, renewal negotiations, and strategic account planning.
• Collaborate with sales, claims, actuarial, legal, and compliance teams.
• Drive process improvements to improve underwriting efficiency and service levels.
• Monitor team productivity and workload distribution.
• Develop and implement underwriting performance metrics and reporting tools.
• Support underwriting technology initiatives and system enhancements.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, company policies, and audit standards.
• Contribute to underwriting strategy, product development, and market planning.
• Prepare and present portfolio analyses, performance reports, and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Participate in budgeting, forecasting, and business planning.
• Lead special projects and strategic initiatives as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Directly supervises:

• Loan Support Administrator
• Loan Processor

Minimum Education & Experience Requirements

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Risk Management, Insurance, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of underwriting experience within the insurance industry.
• 3+ years of leadership or people-management experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex underwriting portfolios and achieving profitability goals.
• Experience working with brokers, agents, and key clients.

Special Requirements

No additional travel, schedule, work authorization, or physical requirements were specified.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Advanced underwriting and complex risk-assessment knowledge.
• Ability to evaluate coverage, pricing, terms, and risk exposure.
• Portfolio management and profitability analysis.
• Knowledge of loss ratios, retention, growth, and underwriting performance metrics.
• Understanding of underwriting guidelines, risk appetite, regulatory requirements, and audit standards.
• Ability to lead, coach, and develop underwriting and support personnel.
• Broker, agent, client, and distribution-partner relationship management.
• Ability to analyze market conditions, portfolio trends, and emerging risks.
• Business planning, budgeting, and forecasting skills.
• Ability to develop and implement underwriting processes and performance metrics.
• Cross-functional collaboration with sales, claims, actuarial, legal, and compliance.
• Ability to present portfolio performance and recommendations to senior leadership.

Additional Desired Characteristics

Preferred Certifications

• National Association of Mortgage Underwriters (NAMU)