Commercial Casualty Underwriting Leader (Director)

The role

The Commercial Casualty Underwriting Leader will build and shape a new Retail Commercial Casualty vertical. You will define underwriting strategy, manage a book of business, and lead a team of underwriters.

What you will do

• Define the strategy for retail commercial casualty
• Support the development of underwriting guidelines, authority framework, referral rules, and rating approach
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data to design workflows and tools
• Underwrite new and renewal primary and excess casualty within authority
• Own premium, profit, loss-ratio, retention, and expense results for the vertical
• Use retail broker relationships to drive submission flow
• Hire, coach, and grow a team of casualty underwriters and support staff
• Work with Corporate Underwriting to set letters of authority and run audits
• Work with Claims, Actuarial, Customer Experience and Finance

Required qualifications

• 10+ years of commercial casualty underwriting
• Deep expertise in retail middle market and large accounts across real estate, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and technology
• Proven record of profitable growth including originating new business, quoting, and binding
• Technical command of risk selection, exposure and loss analysis, loss development and trends, pricing, and coverage
• Experience structuring primary and excess casualty programs
• Knowledge of guaranteed-cost and loss-sensitive programs
• Judgment on contractual risk transfer, additional insured requirements, manuscript endorsements, and emerging exposures
• Disciplined portfolio management including limits, accumulation, and clash exposure
• Established retail broker relationships at the regional and national level
• People leadership experience leading, mentoring, or managing underwriters
• Executive presence to present strategy and results
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Benefits

• 100% contribution to top-tier health, dental, and vision
• Fertility Benefits & Family Building Support
• Unlimited PTO
• Daily Lunches, Dinners & Snacks
• Professional Development including premium coaching
• Competitive 401(k) Plan
• Dog-Friendly Office

Before you apply

• Willingness to travel about 25% to meet brokers, partners, and the team

About the company

Shepherd is rebuilding commercial insurance with software, data, AI, and deep underwriting expertise. The company develops insurance products and partners with established insurers to back coverage.