Vice President, Commercial Lines

Rate Insurance; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary and incentive compensation

Medical, dental, vision, disability

401(k)

Holidays and PTO

Health & Wellness Day

Volunteer Day

Job summary

Rate Insurance, a national broker expanding its Commercial Lines practice from the Chicagoland area, seeks a VP to build and lead the division. You will drive growth, retention, and a scalable service operation, coaching producers and aligning carrier partnerships with the company strategy.

The role requires 10+ years in commercial insurance, a proven sales leadership record, and an active P&C license, located in the Schaumburg, IL area.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years in commercial insurance, with a successful track record of building a commercial book of business and managing a commercial team.
• Proven record of exceeding sales goals, as both an individual producer and a leader of producers.
• Competitive, player-coach mentality: you make the people around you better.
• Strong knowledge of the small to mid-size commercial market, including carrier appetite, coverage design, and sales best practices.
• Established presence and relationships in the Chicagoland commercial market.
• Experience coaching producers on business planning, prospecting, and closing.
• Ownership of an existing book of business and the ability to bring clients with you is a plus.
• Must hold an active Property and Casualty insurance license.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Commercial Lines division, owning the strategy and the day-to-day sales execution behind it
• Create and execute a business development and retention plan capable of exceeding agreed revenue objectives, and continually seek ways to increase revenue and profit
• Build distribution from the ground up: local centers of influence, referral partners, trade associations, and new lead sources
• Own the expansion sequence, proving the model in the Chicagoland market and then replicating it in new markets nationwide
• Help each producer build, refine, and execute a written business plan with clear activity and revenue targets
• Coach prospecting and sales discipline day to day: target account selection, outreach cadence, pipeline hygiene, and closing
• Train and drive best practices across the sales team, and hold producers accountable to both activity and results
• Recruit, hire, and develop producing talent as the practice scales
• Support and elevate the commercial service team into a state-of-the-art operation known for responsiveness, proactive renewal strategy, and account rounding
• Own Commercial Lines retention: know where the book is holding, find where it is leaking, and fix it
• Build the workflows, standards, and training that make excellent service repeatable as the book grows
• Optimize carrier options, appetite, and performance, and secure new carrier offerings where our appetite gaps are costing us business
• Develop focused industry verticals where we can build genuine expertise and market credibility
• Serve as a strategic advisor, functional expert, and thought partner to leadership, using financial and production data to direct where we invest
• Partner with Marketing to develop branded assets and campaigns that support the sales process
• Develop a team-first culture built on accountability and a best-in-class client experience

Skills

Leadership

Sales leadership

Strategic planning

People development

Commercial insurance

Job description

Rate Insurance is one of the fastest-growing, award winning, national insurance brokerages in the country, licensed in all 50 states and offering comprehensive personal, commercial, specialty, and life insurance products. Founded in 2008 and owned by Rate, the second-largest retail mortgage lender in the United States, Rate Insurance has been recognized as a Top 50 Personal Lines Agency and a Top 100 Property & Casualty Agency in the U.S.

We have built our reputation on exceptional service, demonstrated by a 98% customer satisfaction rate*. Pairing a growing team of insurance professionals with a cutting-edge digital platform and relationships with more than 100 top-rated carriers, we deliver competitive pricing and a genuinely modern buying experience. Learn more at rate.com/insurance.

The Opportunity

We are aggressively growing our Commercial Lines practice, and we are hiring the leader who will build it.

Our strategy is deliberate: win our own backyard first, then take the playbook national. We intend to be the dominant small to mid-size commercial broker in the Chicagoland market, and then replicate that model across the 50 states we are licensed in. That means new producers, new industry verticals, new carrier partnerships, and new distribution, led out of our Schaumburg, Illinois office.

This is a hunter's mandate with a builder's scope. As VP of Commercial Lines, you will own the growth and retention strategy for the division, carry a personal drive to win business, coach producers into disciplined prospectors, and build a commercial service operation clients do not want to leave.

What You Will Own

Growth and new business

• Lead and grow the Commercial Lines division, owning the strategy and the day-to-day sales execution behind it
• Create and execute a business development and retention plan capable of exceeding agreed revenue objectives, and continually seek ways to increase revenue and profit
• Build distribution from the ground up: local centers of influence, referral partners, trade associations, and new lead sources
• Own the expansion sequence, proving the model in the Chicagoland market and then replicating it in new markets nationwide
• Help each producer build, refine, and execute a written business plan with clear activity and revenue targets
• Coach prospecting and sales discipline day to day: target account selection, outreach cadence, pipeline hygiene, and closing
• Train and drive best practices across the sales team, and hold producers accountable to both activity and results
• Recruit, hire, and develop producing talent as the practice scales

Service and retention

• Support and elevate the commercial service team into a state-of-the-art operation known for responsiveness, proactive renewal strategy, and account rounding
• Own Commercial Lines retention: know where the book is holding, find where it is leaking, and fix it
• Build the workflows, standards, and training that make excellent service repeatable as the book grows

Carriers, verticals, and strategy

• Optimize carrier options, appetite, and performance, and secure new carrier offerings where our appetite gaps are costing us business
• Develop focused industry verticals where we can build genuine expertise and market credibility
• Serve as a strategic advisor, functional expert, and thought partner to leadership, using financial and production data to direct where we invest
• Partner with Marketing to develop branded assets and campaigns that support the sales process
• Develop a team-first culture built on accountability and a best-in-class client experience

What You Bring

• Minimum of 10 years in commercial insurance, with a successful track record of building a commercial book of business and managing a commercial team
• Proven record of exceeding sales goals, as both an individual producer and a leader of producers
• Competitive, player-coach mentality: you make the people around you better
• Strong knowledge of the small to mid-size commercial market, including carrier appetite, coverage design, and sales best practices
• Established presence and relationships in the Chicagoland commercial market
• Experience coaching producers on business planning, prospecting, and closing
• Ownership of an existing book of business and the ability to bring clients with you is a plus
• Must hold an active Property and Casualty insurance license

In addition to our game-changing platform, we offer an excellent compensation and benefits package designed to reward you for excelling in your role, along with a fun, competitive, hard-working culture that makes Rate Insurance a place where people build their careers and do their best work. Your package will include:

• Salary and incentive compensation
• Medical, dental, vision, and disability benefits
• 401(k)
• Company paid holidays and paid time off
• Paid Health & Wellness Day and Volunteer Day