Director, Underwriting Appetite & Standards
$120,000–$185,000 year
On-site · Peoria, Arizona, United States
Job Summary
Directs underwriting appetite & standards program, developing and maintaining underwriting guidelines across Small Business, Middle Market, and Large Commercial portfolios; handles underwriting referrals across lines of business for large or high-severity risks with technical authority; provides enterprise underwriting quality assurance including file reviews and targeted QA initiatives; aggregates QA findings to identify trends, gaps, and training opportunities; collaborates with Underwriting Training to deliver technical topics driven by QA findings, appetite expansion, and product growth; supports documentation and refinement of guidelines, standards, and processes to enable profitable growth and underwriting consistency; serves as a technical resource on complex exposures and coverage considerations; participates in strategic initiatives (new products, appetite expansion, process optimization); monitors market conditions and regulatory changes; assists with referral and authority governance including LOA structures; manages and develops a team; accountable for referral quality and turnaround; supports leadership with underwriting governance and collaboration with Product Development; builds relationships across departments and supports product expansion with high-quality underwriting resources; compensation and benefits described in posting; location-based requirements include Arizona-based, full-time role with an internal candidate path.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, risk management, or related field
- CPCU strongly preferred
- Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive underwriting experience across Workers' Compensation, Commercial Auto, General Liability, Commercial Property, and Umbrella
- Deep, advanced technical knowledge of risk assessment, coverage, pricing methodology, and regulatory requirements across all lines of business
- Demonstrated experience handling large, complex, and non-standard risks
- Demonstrated experience defining, interpreting, or governing underwriting appetite, eligibility, and underwriting standards
- Solid understanding of underwriting governance concepts, including guidelines, authority structures, referrals, and underwriting controls
- Strong consultative, analytical, and decision-making skills
- Experience partnering with Product, Actuarial/Pricing, Claims, Safety/Loss Control, Compliance, and Sales to support profitable growth and risk discipline
Apply with one swipe on Sorce. We auto-fill applications and apply on your behalf — no cover letters, no 40-minute forms.
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.