Director, Corporate Underwriting - Portage Mutual Insurance

Organization: Portage Mutual Insurance

Position Title: Director, Corporate Underwriting

Reports to: Vice-President Actuarial & Corporate Underwriting

THE ORGANIZATION

Portage Mutual Insurance (“PMI”) is a proudly 100% Canadian-owned company, established in 1884 upon the principles of security, integrity, hard work, and personalized service. Over the years, PMI has continued to grow and has built a reputation as one of the most responsive property and casualty (P&C) insurers in Canada. And, the principles that guide the company, and the friendly, small town style of doing business, remain the same.

PMI offers a wide range of insurance products that, in many cases, have helped set the industry standards for residential, automobile, commercial, and agricultural business coverage. Serving over 167,000 policyholders and taking pride in giving thoughtful, personalized service on each each and every claim, earns PMI’s top ratings for claims service. The company’s products are marketed through over 295 independent insurance brokers and more than 700 points of distribution. This reflects a partnership approach which aims to deliver better service and value to policyholders.

The combination of PMI’s logo and tagline Facing the storm with you is an apt metaphor to describe a company whose purpose is to take on risk and protect people.

THE OPPORTUNITY

PMI is seeking an experienced Director of Corporate Underwriting to serve as a key leader accountable for the profitability, strategic direction, and sustainable growth of the company’s Commercial, Farm, and Personal Lines portfolios. This is a high-impact opportunity which provides vision and leadership across underwriting, product strategy, pricing, marketing, business development, and talent development, ensuring that portfolio performance aligns with the company’s long‑term objectives and risk appetite.

As the head of the Corporate Underwriting function, the Director leads a team of underwriting professionals and partners closely with both Head Office and Branch Office leadership to shape, advance, and execute underwriting strategies. The role plays a critical part in driving innovation, strengthening governance, and ensuring consistent execution of underwriting standards across the organization.

In addition, the Director fosters a high‑performance culture that emphasizes employee engagement, capability building, and professional growth supporting a workplace environment where employees can excel and deliver strong results for the organization.

In the first 12–18 months, the successful Director, Corporate Underwriting will have clearly established the corporate underwriting function as a strategic, value‑adding capability across the organization, having:

• Developed a unified corporate underwriting framework with clear risk appetite, philosophy, limits, authorities, guidelines, and governance, applied consistently across all provinces and lines of business.
• Standardised underwriting practices nationwide by addressing variations, providing training and guidance, establishing governance processes and maintaining strong collaboration with local operational underwriting teams.
• Established robust set of underwriting KPIs and monitoring mechanisms to regularly review portfolio performance, ensure compliance, and inform leadership decisions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Underwriting Strategy and Financial Leadership

• Leads the development, refinement, and execution of enterprise‑wide underwriting strategies to support long-term profitable growth.
• Oversees the performance of all Property & Casualty underwriting portfolios, ensuring alignment with the organization’s risk appetite, strategic goals, and reinsurance strategies.
• Partners with Senior Leaders, Branch Managers, and the Actuarial Team on pricing strategy, portfolio segmentation, and performance optimization.
• Provides executive‑level oversight on underwriting discipline, governance, and market competitiveness.

Product Strategy, Marketing & Business Development

• Guides product development and enhancement to ensure competitiveness, customer relevance, and alignment with company strategy.
• Supports marketing strategy through the development of product positioning, materials, and competitive insights.
• Collaborates with Branch Leadership, and Senior Leaders to establish annual new business sales plans and growth targets.

Enterprise Collaboration & Leadership Influence

• Serves as the primary authority for underwriting, policy wordings, capacity questions, and referral decisions from Branch Offices.
• Acts as a strategic advisor to Senior Leaders on reinsurance, underwriting practices, portfolio performance, and market trends.
• Leads cross-functional collaboration with Claims, Actuarial, Internal Audit, Product, Branch Management, and other partners to ensure consistent execution of underwriting strategy across the enterprise.

Governance Risk & Policy Stewardship

• Oversees the creation, review, and evolution of policy wordings, underwriting guidelines, and risk appetite frameworks.
• Ensures underwriting practices remain aligned with enterprise governance, regulatory compliance, and industry standards including reinsurance agreements.
• Supports Internal Audit in the review of underwriting portfolios and contributes to mitigation planning.

Strategic Partnerships & External Representation

• Acts as a key liaison with strategic partners, reinsurers, and industry stakeholders, representing the company’s interests and supporting strong external relationships.
• Serves as an ambassador for the company at industry events and reinforces the organization’s reputation as a leader in underwriting excellence.

People Leadership & Culture

• Provides strong leadership to the Corporate Underwriting Team, fostering high performance, professional growth, and technical excellence.
• Leads training, mentorship, and capability development across underwriting disciplines, supporting the development of strong future leaders.
• Builds a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and employee engagement.

IDEAL SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

The ideal candidate will possess the following experience, qualifications, knowledge, skills and attributes:

• A seasoned professional with a minimum 10+ years of progressive underwriting leadership experience in Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, Farm, or related Property & Casualty disciplines, with a demonstrated track record of influencing portfolio strategy and results.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change, drive underwriting excellence, and navigate evolving market conditions and competitive landscapes.
• Experience collaborating at senior leadership levels, contributing to enterprise planning, pricing strategy, product development, and governance processes.
• Capability in managing cross‑functional initiatives, building consensus, and supporting enterprise‑wide execution.
• Ability to translate market insights, portfolio data, and emerging trends into actionable underwriting strategies.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills, with the ability to assess complex issues, anticipate challenges, and develop solutions that support enterprise goals.
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate strategy, unify stakeholders, and secure alignment through periods of change.
• High emotional intelligence, demonstrating empathy, sound judgment, and the ability to build trust across teams and geographies.
• Commitment to accuracy, discipline, and consistency in underwriting practices, governance, and risk management.
• Ability to lead the creation, refinement, and application of underwriting guidelines, policy wordings, and risk appetite frameworks.
• Demonstrated capability to lead, mentor, and develop high‑performing teams, fostering technical excellence and professional growth; building capability, and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.
• Proven agility in adapting to new technologies, processes, and industry shifts; forward‑thinking mindset with a continuous improvement orientation.
• Strong proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) and ability to adopt new systems and tools as part of modernization initiatives.
• CIP designation
• CRM or FCIP Designations, considered assets
• Bachelor’s Degree or post-secondary in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of industry experience and education.

To better serve the diversity of its community, Portage Mutual Insurance is dedicated to creating an inclusive and equitable environment for both clients and staff, and to the representation and hiring of all ethnicities, races, sexual/gender identities, cultural backgrounds, abilities, and beliefs. Portage Mutual Insurance is committed to providing a barrier-free environment for everyone who enters its premises, accesses its information, or uses its services. Should you require accommodation to participate as a candidate in the hiring process, please communicate your needs to the LHH Knightsbridge project team.