Chief Underwriting Officer

Chief Underwriting Officer

The Champlain Insurance Group (“CIG” or “the Company”) is a fast-growing, specialty, surplus and excess lines insurance enterprise, which through our affiliates, Champlain Specialty Insurance Company, West Congress Insurance Services LLC, and West Congress Risk Services LLC, offers primary and excess general liability insurance solutions and claims administration throughout the United States.

The Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) serves as the organization’s strategic leader for underwriting strategy, risk management, pricing integrity, and portfolio performance. This role is accountable for setting underwriting philosophy, ensuring profitable growth, and maintaining disciplined risk selection in alignment with corporate objectives. The CUO partners closely with executive leadership to balance growth, profitability, and compliance while fostering a culture of sound risk assessment and continuous improvement.

• Develop and execute the organization’s underwriting strategy in alignment with business growth and profitability goals.
• Establish underwriting policies, guidelines, and authorities that ensure consistent risk selection and portfolio performance.
• Provide thought leadership in market analysis, competitive positioning, and emerging risk trends.
• Partner with Product, Actuarial, and Finance to design pricing frameworks that reflect accurate risk assessment.

• Lead and oversee all underwriting operations, ensuring high-quality and timely decision-making across all lines of business.
• Implement underwriting governance, audit processes, and performance metrics to ensure portfolio health.
• Continuously evaluate underwriting processes and technology to drive automation, efficiency, and scalability.
• Oversee reinsurance strategies and relationships to optimize risk transfer and capital utilization.

• Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, internal policies, and risk appetite frameworks.
• Collaborate with Risk, Legal, and Compliance teams to monitor emerging risks and ensure proactive mitigation strategies.
• Lead portfolio reviews to assess risk exposure, concentration, and underwriting profitability.

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing underwriting team with strong analytical and decision-making capabilities.
• Promote collaboration across departments to align underwriting with distribution, claims, and product development.
• Foster a culture of accountability, professional growth, and continuous learning.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Economics, Risk Management, or related field (Master’s preferred).
• Minimum 15 years of progressive underwriting experience with at least 7 years in a senior leadership capacity.
• Proven track record in underwriting strategy, portfolio management, and risk governance.
• Deep understanding of market trends, risk modeling, and financial performance levers.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and analytical skills.
• Professional certifications such as CPCU, ARM, or equivalent strongly preferred.

• Strategic Thinking & Decision-Making
• Financial & Risk Acumen
• Data-Driven Leadership
• Change & Innovation Management
• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Talent Development

We offer a competitive compensation package, including bonus opportunity, health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance, matching 401k, paid time off and holidays.