Specialist, Underwriting - Personal Lines

If you’re passionate about helping people protect what matters most to them, as well as innovating and simplifying processes and operations to provide the best customer value, then Nationwide’s Property and Casualty team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Nationwide is expanding our Personal Lines Underwriting team, and we’re looking for experienced professionals to join us in delivering exceptional service to our members. If you bring deep industry knowledge and a sharp eye for risk, this role could be a great fit.

Location:

Columbus, OH and Des Moines, IA; we’re especially eager to connect with top‑tier candidates who work remotely within the United States.

• Underwriter – Personal Lines (1+ year experience)
• Senior Underwriter – Personal Lines (2+ years’ experience)
• Specialist, Underwriting – Personal Lines (6+ years’ experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, insurance, or a related field
• 6+ years of underwriting or insurance experience
• Progress toward a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation or similar certification
• Strong understanding of underwriting, pricing, and insurance contracts
• Skilled in data analysis and tools like Excel
• Clear communicator with agents and internal teams
• Experience leading projects or working across teams

• Strategic thinking and sound business judgment
• Relationship‑building and negotiation skills
• Data‑driven decision‑making
• Motivation to deliver results and support team growth

This role is currently remote but will transition to a hybrid schedule next year, requiring three days per week in the office.

Compensation varies by role and experience level.

Compensation Grade:
Roles can be filled at multiple levels, and compensation bands will vary based on the qualifications and role.

• Research agency, district, and market data for assigned underwriting territory to identify business trends and opportunities for profitable growth. Obtain data from published sources, company databases, and partnerships with sales, claims, agency, or other contacts.
• Review and analyze profitability measures through existing reports and adhoc reports and queries to develop creative, intuitive and profitable business recommendations for agency, market, state and/or region. Develop written portfolio management reports/action plans for joint implementation with sales to drive profit and growth results or support the portfolio management plans within assigned territory. Link knowledge of products, competitors, appropriate business mix, state statutes, rate structure, and underwriting guidelines to develop and/or support action plans in partnership with product management.
• Make appropriate new business and renewal policy level underwriting decisions based on analysis, experience, and judgment in accepting, modifying or rejecting risks. Review and consider business loss experience, investigative reports, claims activity, file information and nature of risks, etc. in reaching sound decisions. Understand and adhere to filed rating plans.
• Make account underwriting decisions based on agency history, policyholder’s tenure, number of accounts, claims history, and long‑term performance indicators.
• Ensure proper classification of risks to match price and product to the customer. Skillfully interpret and use approved classification systems, rating plans and selection standards to determine eligibility, desirability and proper classification/pricing benchmarks for assigned product lines. Lead assessment of product/pricing effectiveness as it relates to underwriting and provide input to leadership.
• Initiate consulting opportunities with assigned agency force regarding business results, trends, competitor information and application of portfolio management action plans as appropriate. Recommend additional products, coverages and discounts to ensure the agency and…