Director, Underwriting

Director, Underwriting

The Director, Underwriting for US and Canada will report to the Sr. Director of Underwriting and will work as part of a cross functional team supporting the needs of Asurion’s US and Canada region in collaboration with the global Underwriting team. The Director will be a strategic business and underwriting leader, focused on developing and enhancing relationships with US and Canada (re)insurance carriers, internal stakeholders, business partners, and clients.

The Director will be expected to work with other Underwriting team members within the US and Canada region. The role is based in Asurion’s office in Chicago, IL with regular US and Canada travel to support our business relationships.

Key Responsibilities:

• Be an effective member of the underwriting function within the US and Canada region and understand, collaborate with others and communicate openly about Asurion’s service contract and insurance products
• Work productively with team members at varying levels with the organization as well as internal and external clients and business partners to establish functional trust-based relationships
• Conduct financial analysis of client and insurance company reporting and reconciliation processes.
• Represent Asurion with (re)insurance carrier partners, lead discussions on current and future programs and pursue innovative solutions that deliver desired results. This includes working and communicating with all involved areas at our (re)insurance carriers such as underwriting and claims, actuarial, legal & regulatory, finance & accounting, reinsurance, credit risk and collateral assessments and operations
• Display leadership attributes and develop a leadership role within Asurion’s global Underwriting team over time; and
• Develop solutions and consistently execute against those commitments, and act with the client’s best interest in mind.
• Take initiative and personally engage with the issues and opportunities that matter most
• Identify the most critical information needed to understand the problem and evaluate alternative courses of action, be persuasive and align stakeholders when offering solutions to drive effective decision making.
• Work with the legal and regulatory team to identify, manage and mitigate legal and regulatory risks
• Develop an understanding of Asurion’s risk profile and the impact of product decisions on Asurion
• Ask insightful questions to uncover potential issues or unsupported assumptions, exhibit patience to thoroughly review and understand matters at a granular level
• Maintain knowledge of US and Canada region competitor products and market intelligence for (re)insurance programs and service contract plans
• Represent the underwriting function in product development and go to market forums to ensure optimum design and launch
• Support the Client Services teams by acting as subject matter expert in client and internal meetings relating to insurance products and service contracts
• Understand captive (re)insurance programs and captive management governance processes
• Support global Underwriting leadership to drive priorities and focus on objectives and key results, take part in special projects and duties as needed

Skills/Requirements:

• Expertise and understanding of (re)insurance underwriting and service contract concepts and processes, industry experience with US and Canada (re)insurance programs and service contract plan products and markets. This includes the roles and responsibilities of (re)insurers, obligors, administrators, program management, dealers and distributors, clients and their consumers. Specific experience in the mobile device and consumer(re)insurance and service contract products sector is an advantage for the role
• Have a strong attention to detail, able to analyze trends, interpret financial reports, assess forecasts and budgets and solve problems effectively.
•  Work well within a team environment, as well as individually and collaborate effectively
• Possess advanced business acumen and meticulous attention to detail
• Influences others internally and externally, including senior leaders.
• Strong professional, interpersonal and organizational skills, and experienced at communicating with colleagues at various levels of the organization
• Initiative-taking, outgoing, and open-minded, and having a flair for discovering and learning new things
• Possessing strong analytical and critical thinking skills to understand problems, evaluate alternative courses of action to drive effective decision making
• Aptitude and motivation for staying current with changes in (re) insurance and service contract industry
• Computer skills commensurate with an underwriting and finance role.