Personal Lines Underwriting Manager

Penn National Insurance has an amazing opportunity to join our team as a Personal Lines Underwriting Manager! This is a hybrid position reporting to our home office in Harrisburg, PA.

 

The Personal Lines Underwriting Manager is an underwriting expert who manages the underwriting staff, interacts with the Personal Lines Territory Managers and RVPs regarding underwriting decisions, and assists in the underwriting of complex business. This position is responsible for achieving Personal Lines production, profitability, quality, service, and the performance and development of Personal Lines underwriting personnel. 

 

COMPETENCIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES OF THE PERSONAL LINES UNDERWRITING MANAGER

 

Coaching & Influencing               

• Ensures the branch’s underwriting staff underwrites risks in accordance with the guidelines set by Penn National Insurance.  The Personal Lines Underwriting Manager is responsible for the office’s Personal Lines underwriting quality in order to ensure a consistently profitable book of business.
• Performs the Underwriting Quality reviews of the underwriters for all Personal Lines of business.
• Reviews and evaluates large loss reports, confers with the Territory Managers and underwriting staff, and recommends the appropriate actions to be taken on accounts, as necessary. 
• Manages and is responsible for hiring, developing, and directing the branch’s Personal Lines underwriting staff; monitors performance and institutes corrective action as necessary.
• Accompanies Personal Lines Territory Managers on agent visits as directed by the RVPs.  The incumbent also travels independently to visit agents as necessary. 

 

Facilitating Change        

• Coordinates the implementation of programs/changes involving underwriting issues. 

 

Ability to Grow & Adapt 

• Monitor performance of new and existing products, target markets, etc. 

 

Conflict Management  

• Provides guidance and input to the branch’s underwriting teams to resolve agent and policyholder issues/concerns. 

 

Strategic Planning          

• Serves as the branch’s primary liaison with the Home Office Personal Lines Underwriting Analysts regarding complex underwriting issues and development of underwriting strategies for states assigned.

 

Driving Execution            

• Completes agency book roll-over analysis. 
• Responsible for monitoring and achieving performance goals for productivity, work quality, and service timeliness, assures that underwriting workflows are followed, and takes actions to achieve goals beyond what is required. 
• Performs various projects requested or assigned by the Regional Vice President

 

CORPORATE CORE COMPETENCIES OF THE PERSONAL LINES UNDERWRITING MANAGER

 

Effectively Communicates and Connects          

• Articulates and presents important information clearly and concisely across all levels of the organization, fostering a feedback loop around decisions made, status of initiatives, etc., to all contributors.
• Creates healthy tension by challenging ideas and assumptions that impact business results to drive improvement; embraces conflict.
• Shapes the opinions of senior individuals by presenting persuasive arguments; negotiates solutions to best meet business needs.
• Provides feedback to direct reports on an ongoing basis.
• Encourages individuals in the department to provide feedback and challenge others, justifying their reasoning.

 

Customer Focused        

• Predicts broad need across customer groups based on business, industry and economic trends.
• Develops strong relationships and proactively builds new relationships through responsiveness at all levels within the organization.
• Use customer experience to influence add-on offerings driving growth and profitability.
• Leads development of cross team, cutting edge solutions to address emerging customer needs.
• Recognizes and understands the customer needs to drive superior customer experience across the customer journey.
• Takes action to create a superior customer experience.
• Leads others to build relationships with key influencers.

 

Talent Development Mindset    

• Develops learning strategies that reinforces the importance of technical and personal development.
• Supports continuing education, suggests and/or delivers training, and/or facilitates developmental experiences.
• Provides meaningful or challenging opportunities and delegates work to build others' skills; encourages teams to learn from each other and from others in the organization.
• Sets clear performance expectations; rewards and recognizes individuals and teams for high performance and encourages others to do the same.
• Finds opportunities to individually coach others, providing specific insights and tips to enhance skills, knowledge, or work performance.
• Identifies career paths and informs training/experience needed to move into other roles.

 

Demonstrates Adaptability

• Generates numerous ideas and takes action on new approaches to address a range of departmental work areas; encourages others to generate ideas.
• Considers non-conventional ideas and approaches when developing solutions that have the potential to improve services delivered by the business.
• Launches a variety of initiatives that contribute to departmental success with cohesive purpose.
• Pursues success with tenacity and persistence, actively seeking feedback on where continuous improvement is needed and turning difficult situations into opportunities for growth.
• Advocates change initiatives and proactively develops and implements strategies to help others embrace change and overcome resistance to change.

 

Demonstrates Accountability  

• Collaborates to make critical decisions that have important outcomes for the business; takes full responsibility for decisions, ensuring resulting action is taken.
• Establishes departmental expectations and reputation for accountability by driving accurate and impactful work results and rewarding demonstrated behavior of ownership and accountability.
• Anticipates department deliverables, timelines and behaviors, setting expectations and priorities, allowing team members to meet objectives and operate effectively.
• Forecasts long-term needs for the business and establishes a plan to execute.
• Addresses and communicates difficult personnel and business scenarios.

 

QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PERSONAL LINES UNDERWRITING MANAGER

 

Education/Credentials

• Four-year college degree, or equivalent work experience, with continuing education in insurance-related courses
• CPCU, or equivalent industry designations desired

 

Experience        

• Minimum of seven years’ experience in underwriting
• Previous supervisory experience

 

Technical/ Professional Knowledge       

• Solid working knowledge of all automated systems used in underwriting and information warehouse and is responsible for ensuring that their Personal Lines underwriting staff is utilizing such automation in all applicable underwriting activities.
• Maintains in-depth knowledge and an exceptional level of expertise in all aspects of Personal Lines underwriting functions, including current industry developments/trends, regulatory issues applicable to the operating territory and the standards, guidelines and reinsurance programs.
• Effective communicator and negotiator with internal and external customers on issues of a positive/negative, simplex/complex nature and strives to reach “win/win” solutions.