Director of Inland Marine Underwriting

Join us as the Inland Marine Underwriting Lead, where you’ll build inland marine specialization and drive profitable growth. In this pivotal role, you’ll collaborate across teams, sharpen underwriting strategy and expertise, and build high-impact agency relationships to position Central as a market leader in inland marine.

How You’ll Make an Impact  

• Lead inland marine underwriting specialization and coordinate expertise in loss control and claims
• Develop short and long-range operational and strategic plans and objectives to ensure consistency and integration with overall corporate strategy
• Advance underwriting expertise through class-of-business tailored risk selection and coverage application
• Drive systems development and workflow solutions for optimal handling of Inland Marine risks
• Define profit plans in collaboration with underwriting and regional leadership in order to meet profitability and pricing adequacy metrics
• Responsible for technical file handling and compliance with state requirements and company procedures across the underwriting teams
• Meet assigned budget targets
• Develop/define agency engagement objectives to support growth and strong agency partnerships
• Manage staffing and resources within and across underwriting teams to meet service standards
• Effectively work with leaders in our Regional Office, Distribution, Claims, and Finance to ensure a successful product placement
• Advance Underwriting expertise through class-of-business tailored risk selection, and coverage application
• Train, develop, and mentor underwriters on Inland Marine specialization
• Establish a dedicated Inland Marine Underwriting unit to handle larger, complex Inland Marine opportunities
• Effectively coach, develop and push the department toward success
• Effectively evaluate performance of the department, leaders, and individuals on the team
• Assign appropriate projects to staff and monitor for execution
• Research and develop selection, pricing, and coverage for inland marine
• Research and compare offerings against market competition for coverage, terms, and pricing methodology
• Develop and refine pricing tools to assist underwriters
• Develop and maintain underwriting guidance for inland marine
• Develop new business opportunities with new and existing agents
• Build and maintain strong relationships with insureds, focusing on the most challenging and high-profile accounts
• Coordinate compliance with individual state underwriting rules and regulations as needed
• Serve as technical resource and expert, providing direction on inland marine risks
• Collaborate with the large construction team, staff underwriters, and regional underwriting teams on inland marine risks
• Develop and implement inland marine training for internal and external audiences
• Build personal inland marine expertise through continuing education, designations, and construction specific conferences
• Actively engage with agency personnel to provide value added services to the agency and their clients – educational presentations, sales presentations, client / job site visits, and pre-renewal meetings
• Provide prompt and professional service to our agents and insureds
• Develop and maintain excellent rapport with our agents, insureds, and Central employees
• Be an active presence in the marketplace, building credibility for Central in the construction industry
• Analyze books of business and make recommendations for improvement

What You’ll Bring 

• Bachelor’s degree in related field and 8 years of Inland Marine Underwriting experience including 2 years of management experience
• Or 10 years of Inland Marine Underwriting experience including 2 years of management experience
• Valid driver’s license
• Knowledge of Commercial Lines coverages and policies in assigned states
• Strong leadership skills, including coaching, team-building, and conflict resolution
• Advanced project management skills including time and risk management, resource prioritization, and project structuring
• Ability to professionally interact with our agents and insureds
• Ability to investigate, gather facts and information, and analyze coverage
• Understand the importance of capturing data
• Possess an innovative and continuous improvement mindset
• Possess a positive, professional, cooperative, and quality-conscious service attitude
• Ability to work under pressure, deal with interpersonal conflict, and handle a heavy workload
• Possess analytical and problem-solving skills
• Must be available for travel, including overnight travel
• Possess verbal and written communication skills, including negotiation, presentation, and influence skills
• Ability to understand Central Insurance’s policies and processes

If you are a Van Wert County native and move back to Van Wert County, you may be eligible for the Learn & Return student loan payment program.

Preferred 

• Achieved or actively pursuing the CRIS (Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist) designation
• Successful completion of one or more professional designations: CPCU or CIC