Position Overview:
The Head of Underwriting is responsible for leading the company’s underwriting function, driving risk selection, pricing discipline, and portfolio performance. This role combines strategic ownership with team leadership, ensuring underwriting excellence through strong guidelines, data-driven decision-making, and consistent execution.
The Head of Underwriting plays a critical role in balancing growth and profitability, particularly in catastrophe-exposed portfolios, while building a high-performing underwriting team. This role also proactively identifies opportunities to streamline processes and implement automation, leveraging a forward-thinking approach to position the organization for long-term success in an evolving industry.
Key Responsibilities:
Underwriting Strategy & Leadership
Define and execute underwriting strategy aligned with company risk appetite and growth goals
Establish clear underwriting frameworks, guidelines, and authority structures
Lead and develop the underwriting team to ensure consistent, high-quality decision-making
Team Management & Development
Manage, mentor, and scale a team of underwriters
Set performance expectations, KPIs, and accountability standards
Foster a culture of discipline, collaboration, and continuous improvement
Portfolio Management
Own portfolio performance, including loss ratio, exposure, and concentration risk
Monitor trends and adjust underwriting strategy based on performance and market conditions
Actively manage catastrophe exposure, including wildfire and other perils
Pricing & Risk Selection
Ensure alignment between underwriting decisions and pricing models
Partner with actuarial and data teams to refine segmentation and risk selection
Maintain balance between growth targets and profitability
Data & Analytics Integration
Drive adoption of data-driven underwriting tools, models, and risk scores
Collaborate with data science teams to improve model performance and usability
Ensure underwriting decisions are informed by robust analytics and insights
Reinsurance & Risk Alignment
Partner with reinsurance to align underwriting strategy with risk transfer programs
Ensure portfolio construction reflects reinsurance structures and constraints
Support optimization of retention and exposure
Governance & Compliance
Ensure underwriting practices meet regulatory requirements and internal controls
Maintain clear documentation, auditability, and consistency
Support regulatory interactions and internal reviews
Cross-Functional Leadership
Collaborate with claims, finance, and revenue teams to align on performance and strategy
Provide insights into loss drivers and emerging risks
Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership on portfolio risk and growth
Qualifications:
Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary plus equity stock options
Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States
Unlimited PTO, including sick leave and company holidays
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. (25% paid by employee, 75% covered by Delos including dependents)
401(k) retirement savings plan
Professional development opportunities and tuition assistance