Vice President, Life Sciences Underwriting Manager

Join to apply for the Vice President, Life Sciences Underwriting Manager role at Berkley Life Sciences (a Berkley Company)

The company is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Company Details

W.R. Berkley Corporation is a Fortune 500 Company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company delivers high-quality insurance products and services to specialized markets worldwide. Berkley Life Sciences supports life science innovators by offering a broad range of sophisticated property & casualty products and services to meet customers’ individualized needs. The team focuses on innovation, collaboration, and deep expertise in the life science market.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a strategic vision for long-term profitable growth of all products within Berkley Life Sciences.
• Serve as a strategic connector between field underwriting teams, senior management, and external broker partners to ensure alignment, consistency, and momentum across territories.
• Develop the annual operating plan objectives (top and bottom line) and the long-term strategic plan, with a focus on broker/producer development planning.
• Direct management of underwriting leaders and accountability for the team and its results.
• Provide leadership to meet goals for new business, retention, rate, and customer service; act as a catalyst for field activity and business development.
• Coach, mentor, and develop the team; establish goals, provide feedback and training, and enable career development.
• Oversee distribution management to grow a knowledgeable producer population across retail and wholesale channels.
• Monitor and improve team results; review performance with senior leaders and address obstacles as needed.
• Devise strategies to grow profitably across market cycles and manage business assignments with contingency planning for vacations and time off.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with brokers to meet or exceed financial goals, including growth, profit, retention, and new business; represent Berkley Life Sciences externally to expand market presence.
• Handle account solicitation, risk selection and analysis, pricing, and marketing of Berkley Life Sciences products for new and existing customers.
• Manage portfolio balance across segments and lines of business; ensure compliance with applicable procedures and workflows.
• Collaborate with underwriting, operations, legal, home office underwriting, and claims; evolve the underwriting framework across teams.
• Engage in innovation initiatives, product launches, marketing campaigns, and short-term projects to contribute to team and company success.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 10 years of underwriting experience including products, property, workers compensation, and automobile.
• Previous management experience; claims-made experience and Life Science experience are a plus.
• Technical skills: customer focus, teamwork, results delivery, technical excellence, and innovation.
• Strong sales acumen with a client-focused presence; ability to build trust and win business.
• Exceptional oral and written communication; adaptable communication style.
• Underwriting or field leadership experience with a track record of leading teams and driving results.
• Calm under pressure with strong organizational skills, integrity, and follow-through; comfortable challenging norms while collaborating at all levels.
• Strong ability to build and maintain relationships with insureds, agents, and brokers; customer service bias and responsiveness.
• Natural curiosity and an analytical mindset to craft pricing and coverage aligned with underwriting guidelines and profitability goals.
• Ability to travel up to 50% (including overnight travel).
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office.

The company offers a competitive compensation plan and robust benefits for full-time regular employees, including base salary and annual discretionary bonus eligibility, plus health, dental, vision, life, disability, wellness programs, paid time off, 401(k), and profit-sharing plans.

The actual salary will be determined by factors such as scope, location, candidate skills and experience, and other conditions of employment.

We do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiting agencies or firms.