Head of Underwriting
Location: New York / Stamford, CT
Salary: up to $330,000 + Package (depending on experience)
Compensation: Competitive salary and bonus
The Opportunity
This is a senior role combining underwriting leadership, portfolio oversight and business development. The successful individual will work closely with program underwriters and operational leadership to ensure existing partnerships perform effectively, new opportunities are thoroughly assessed, and underwriting standards continue to evolve alongside the business.
You will play a key role in strengthening relationships with MGAs and brokers, improving portfolio governance, and helping shape the operational infrastructure required to support the next phase of growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Portfolio Management: Oversee the performance and ongoing development of an established portfolio of delegated underwriting programs, maintaining a strong understanding of underwriting strategy, claims, financial performance and operational processes across each partnership.
- Underwriting Oversight: Provide day-to-day guidance to the underwriting team, ensuring consistent decision-making, robust documentation and effective monitoring of program performance.
- MGA Governance: Maintain strong oversight of delegated underwriting relationships through regular portfolio reviews, underwriting audits, claims analysis and bordereaux monitoring.
- Business Development: Build and maintain relationships with key MGAs, program administrators and brokers, helping identify attractive new partnerships and supporting discussions with prospective clients.
- New Program Assessment: Evaluate prospective opportunities against underwriting standards, commercial objectives and the organisation’s broader risk appetite.
- Operational Development: Partner with operational leadership to enhance internal processes, strengthen governance frameworks and support the introduction of new capabilities as the programs business expands.
- Reinsurance Strategy: Review the reinsurance structures supporting existing and prospective programs, ensuring appropriate coverage and alignment with the organisation’s risk objectives.
- Risk & Performance: Monitor portfolio trends, underwriting results and key performance indicators, identifying emerging concerns and opportunities for improvement.
- Market Intelligence: Develop a strong understanding of the US programs market, including competitor strategies, leading program administrators and evolving market opportunities.
- Compliance & Controls: Ensure programs operate within established governance frameworks, internal policies and audit requirements, promoting a consistent and disciplined approach to underwriting.
Experience & Qualifications
- 10+ years of experience across insurance programs, underwriting or reinsurance, ideally spanning both property and casualty.
- Strong understanding of the US E&S market, primary insurance products, policy forms and delegated underwriting arrangements.
- Previous exposure to MGA relationships, program management or carrier-side oversight of delegated authority is highly desirable.
- Knowledge of underwriting methodologies, exposure analysis, manual rating and experience-based pricing.
- Sound understanding of insurance financial performance, actuarial principles and accounting fundamentals.
- Experience providing leadership, mentoring or oversight to underwriting professionals.
- Strong commercial judgement, analytical capability and relationship management skills.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent university qualification.
