Organization Background

Established in 1988, the Arbella Insurance Group is an A rated company by AM Best, with over $1 in revenue and nearly $2 billion in assets. Headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, Arbella is a customer-focused, regional property and casualty insurance company, providing commercial insurance products in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and personal insurance products in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Arbella has been ranked number one on the Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” annual list. This is the 15th consecutive year the company has been named to the list. For 2023, Arbella was named the #1 Best Place to Work in the extra large business category

The Company employs more than 900 workers in the state of Massachusetts and is affiliated with a network of approximately 500 independent insurance agents across New England. Arbella is deeply committed to providing employees with both professional and personal support. The company offers a variety of educational and professional development programs and provides extensive onsite health and wellness activities, including personal training, nutrition classes, counseling and support for new moms transitioning back into the workforce after maternity leave. Arbella strives to foster a hardworking, collaborative and charitable culture beyond the office. Arbella has been recognized as one of the Boston Business Journal’s “Top Charitable Contributors” for 14 consecutive years. The company and its employees support a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, from hunger relief to educational initiatives. In 2022, the Foundation donated more than $3.6 million to support 623 different charitable organizations throughout New England.

The Opportunity

Successfully lead a large team of underwriters and underwriting technicians to achieve the collective goals of the personal lines organization. Build, enhance and maintain strategic relationships with independent agents to drive positive business results. Develop and provide customized approaches to opportunities based on market conditions and agency needs. Provide expert oversight of and responsibility for the growth, profit, profile, retention and business written by the department. Lines of business include auto, home, dwelling fire and personal umbrella liability in MA and CT. Partner closely with the leadership team on the rate setting and strategic decisions of the organization. Helps lead the PL organization in its budgeting, premium planning and overall strategic initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Help develop, manage and execute Personal Lines Underwriting strategy
• Assists AVP of Underwriting and AVP of PL Product design and execute key strategies to enable the organization to grow and be profitable.
• Collaborates with AVP of PL Product and AVP of PL Underwriting on rate and product decisions
• Responsible for management of Underwriting Managers and Team Managers.
• Creates and implements profitable underwriting strategies in concert with other departments. Manages and administers policies, procedures and practices to drive profitable growth, produce the highest profit and lowest loss/expense ratios. Constantly seeks ways to improve business processes and workflow
• Assists in the preparation of salary and expense budget, controlling expenses accordingly. Manages and executes daily business objectives with reference to budget, customer service, production, and business plan objectives
• Develops sales skills of underwriting team to help drive growth
• Partners with Marketing in the management of agency force including day to day issues and opportunities to annual planning activities. Develops extremely close relationship with owned agency.
• Reviews and approves potential book rolls, groups and new agency appointments.
• Partners with Claim on identification of negative trends and desirability of risks.
• Keeps abreast of regulatory rulings and legal developments which affect underwriting practices.
• Stays current on climate change as it relates to change in exposure
• Sets underwriting guidelines and practices. Authorizes exceptions to underwriting rules and monitors those of staff.
• Measures underwriting effectiveness through monthly reporting of key metrics and processes.
• Collaborate closely with operations and Service Center on end to end underwriting and services processes to ensure efficient, profitable and accurate outcomes.
• Demonstrates ability to plan, organize and control work environment
• Selects trains and develops an effective high performing team. Responsible for direct management of employees, which includes: hiring, performance management, coaching, evaluating performance, development, assigns tasks and sets objectives.
• Is very collaborative and works well with others within the business unit and across the organization
• Confers with agents and brokers regarding underwriting policies and procedures.
• Help develop and implement strategy for expansion into additional states

Professional Experience / Qualifications

• Intimate working knowledge of the Personal Lines Property and Casualty insurance industry including underwriting practices, pricing, product, and competitive analysis
• Ability to represent the needs of the organization at the highest levels of the company, with regulators, residual market mechanisms, and agencies.
• In depth experience developing, leading and retaining a highly qualified underwriting team.
• Ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with independent agents that yields positive results.
• Superior diplomacy, oral and written communication skills is a must.
• The ideal candidate will have at least seven years of progressive leadership experience and the ability to access/ interpret management information that achieves positive change.

Required Competencies

• Customer Focus
• Communication
• Consensual
• Feedback
• Leveraging Innovation
• Management Focus
• Persuasive
• Production
• Shaping Strategy

Success Metrics

• Achieves performance goals set in support of business plan while successfully demonstrating Manager competencies
• Effectively manages budget
• Creates, develops and retains a high-performing, engaged team
• Has attention to detail resulting in solid fundamentals in the business.
• Effectively interacts with the PL and Arbella leadership team to achieve goals

Nature of Business Contacts Required

• Collaborates functionally and cross-functionally with other managers at all levels in support of Arbella business goals
• Manages high performing team to achieve departmental goals and sets example for other leaders and individual competitors
• Assists and supports AVP and peers in meeting departmental and functional initiatives
• May represent Arbella to industry professionals and other non-employees

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree, plus 8 years of experience. CPCU a plus
• Computer Software Programs Utilized:
• Microsoft Office Outlook
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Explorer

Reasonable accommodation will be made, when possible, for persons with physical disabilities or covered under the American with Disabilities Act.

This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.

SE# 510650907