Senior Vice President Underwriting

Develop overall strategy for Division and ensure delivery of profitable underwriting results.

The Opportunity :

This is an opportunity to join a growing and ambitious business in a high-impact, and visible role at a pivotal time in our journey.

You will play a crucial role in the development and ultimate delivery of Markel’s strategy in Canada, while driving greater growth, cohesion, and optimization across the book.

The role is responsible for underwriting direction and profitability that supports growth key, as the field is primarily responsible for growth through implementation of the strategic direction and selling the products it is given by underwriting.

Working closely with the Markel Canada leadership team, you will join a values-driven culture with integrity and accountability at its core with significant onward career opportunities.

The role also has a significant amount of interaction with the OCUO (Office of the Chief Underwriting Officer), Actuarial, and other UK-based colleagues as well as occasionally with US-based colleagues.

What you'll be doing :

Underwriting Performance :

• Managing the portfolio to achieve business / profitability goals now and in the future.
• Ensuring all product lines achieve their planned goals and leading optimization or rehabilitation plans to completion.
• Addressing social, economic, and environmental factors that impact the book now and in the future.
• Setting the underwriting standards for Markel Canada and clear guidance for all distribution channels.
• Utilizing pricing capability and resource to drive insight, performance, and better outcomes.
• The role has direct P&L responsibility for the Delegated portfolio, which is 15% of the divisional GWP.
• Ensuring the delivery of the Portfolio Performance and Combined Ratio reviews.
• Highest referral point for underwriting risks in Canada.
• Sponsoring referrals to the wider Markel business units.

Enterprise Leadership :

• Developing and communicating divisional underwriting strategy including risk appetite, limit deployment, aggregation, pricing, exposure change / inflation, key terms and conditions, and their translation into activities, to support Canadian plan and growth goals.
• Monitoring insurance marketplace and identifying underwriting opportunities, threats, and emerging risks.
• Delivering strong underwriting guidance to the Canadian leadership team ensuring Markel underwriting principles lie at the heart of decision making.
• Influencing the product head, pricing, and underwriting oversight. Improving effectiveness and efficiency of the team as the business continues to grow.
• Developing and improving the underwriting capabilities, leading from the front.
• Fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, reinforcing the business’s competitive edge within the region.

Product Development :

• Managing and coordinating product development / material change in risk process.
• Coordinating the research, development, and delivery of new initiatives including new products to support the growth trajectory of the division.
• Management of technical product teams.

Governance and Compliance :

• Maintaining correct level of governance and underwriting oversight, working with the separate compliance function.
• The role is the acting Risk Officer for the Canadian division.
• Ensuring products and services are fair and meet customer / broker needs.
• Ensuring DA processes and procedures are appropriate in line with international standards.
• Supervision and oversight of cover holders.
• Underwriting guides in place and relevant.
• Awareness of changes in legislation and regulation, assessing their impact and responding accordingly.

Our must haves :

• Deep understanding of the Canadian insurance market dynamics, trends, and regulatory landscape.
• Proven track record of successful leadership and the ability to navigate complex, matrixed environments.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic vision and direction of the book. Proven track record of driving book growth.
• Exhibit a mindset that considers the business holistically and is willing to step into wider parts of the business when required.
• Strong reputation in the Canadian market with established long-term partnerships with senior c-suite brokers. Ability to challenge broker thinking and shape narrative in the market.
• Deep underwriting exposure spanning multiple product lines.
• Unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and adherence to a sound corporate environment.
• Ability to recruit, develop, and retain top talent within the region, fostering a high-performance culture and a robust talent pipeline.
• Ability to travel within Canada and occasionally to the US and UK.

Markel Brand Values

We’re all about people :

Empowering them, supporting them, and helping protect what matters most to them.

We win together :

We work as a team, exchanging ideas, supporting each other, and respecting everyone’s opinion.

We strive for better :

We aspire to lead and win in all that we do.

We enjoy the everyday :

We are dedicated to our work, but we always keep a sense of humor and leave our egos at the door.

We think further :

We are committed to building a legacy and making decisions that leave a lasting impact on our customers, partners, employees, and communities.

Who we are :

Markel Group (NYSE MKL) a Fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory, and investment operations around the world.

What’s in it for you :

• A great starting salary plus annual bonus potential & strong benefits package.
• 20 vacation days plus additional floater days per year.
• Fantastic company RRSP, extended health and dental coverage, life insurance, travel insurance, vision care, and wellness initiatives.
• There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we can provide the support needed to do just that!

Are you ready to play your part?

Choose Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances.

Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer, which means you'll have a positive experience applying for a role at Markel and are able to perform at your best.

If there are any adjustments we can reasonably make to ensure that the process is accessible for you at every stage please let us know.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful.

Please contact us to request any accommodations that may be needed.

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