DCUO, Head of Product Liability in Phoenix

Deputy Chief Underwriting Officer, Head of Product Liability

Reporting to the Chief Underwriting Officer, the Deputy Chief Underwriting Officer (DCUO), Head of Product Liability will serve as a key partner to the CUO in executing underwriting strategy, strengthening underwriting governance and discipline, and driving profitable portfolio performance.

This role will have end-to-end responsibility for building, launching, and leading the portfolio. This includes executing the strategy, defining the market approach, establishing appetite and underwriting frameworks, building and developing the team, and ultimately bringing the portfolio to market. Once launched, the DCUO will be accountable for actively managing portfolio performance, balancing growth opportunities with underwriting discipline and long-term profitability.

Key responsibilities include:

• Partner with the CUO and Senior Leaders to develop and execute the company's overall underwriting strategy, standards, and operating priorities.
• Serve as a senior underwriting authority and trusted advisor on complex risks, referrals, portfolio issues, and emerging exposures.
• Establish and maintain underwriting governance, including underwriting guidelines, authorities, referral protocols, pricing discipline, and risk-selection standards.
• Drive consistent execution of underwriting strategy.
• Work with underwriting leadership to identify portfolio trends, areas of emerging risk, performance issues, and opportunities for profitable growth.
• Promote a culture of underwriting accountability.
• Support the CUO in evaluating underwriting performance and communicating underwriting priorities to senior leadership.
• Coach and develop underwriting leaders and underwriters.
• Partner closely with Actuarial, Claims, Risk, Product, Operations, Finance, and Distribution to ensure underwriting decisions reflect a comprehensive view of risk and expected profitability.

Additionally, as Head of Product Liability, responsibilities include:

• Own the underwriting strategy and financial performance of the Product Liability portfolio.
• Develop a clear portfolio strategy identifying targeted industries, risk characteristics, attachment profiles, structures, and areas to avoid or constrain.
• Monitor portfolio performance using loss experience, pricing, exposure, rate, claims trends, actuarial analysis, and other relevant underwriting metrics.
• Identify emerging Product Liability exposures and develop appropriate underwriting responses before they materially affect portfolio performance.
• Provide technical leadership on complex or unusual Product Liability accounts.
• Evaluate severity potential, including complex bodily injury and property damage exposures, supply-chain risks, component-part exposures, contractual risk transfer, and aggregation or systemic risks.
• Work with Distribution and underwriting leadership to identify attractive market opportunities and develop profitable growth strategies within established appetite.
• Lead development and implementation of Product Liability underwriting tools, guidelines, training, and best practices.
• Maintain awareness of evolving legal, regulatory, technological, economic, and societal developments affecting Product Liability exposures.
• Represent the company as a senior technical authority on Product Liability.

Leadership expectations include:

• Demonstrate exceptional underwriting judgment and intellectual curiosity.
• Balance commercial opportunity with disciplined risk selection and portfolio management.
• Challenge assumptions constructively and make decisions based on data, experience, and forward-looking risk assessment.
• Create clarity around underwriting appetite and empower underwriters to make sound decisions within that framework.
• Build credibility with underwriting teams through technical expertise, accessibility, and practical decision-making.
• Develop talent and foster a culture of continuous learning and underwriting excellence.
• Collaborate effectively across functions while maintaining clear accountability for underwriting outcomes.
• Anticipate changes in the risk environment and translate them into actionable underwriting strategies.

Qualifications include:

• Significant commercial casualty underwriting experience, including substantial expertise in Product Liability.
• Demonstrated success managing a profitable casualty or Product Liability portfolio through multiple market cycles.
• Deep understanding of casualty risk selection, pricing, coverage, attachment strategy, limits management, and portfolio construction.
• Strong knowledge of Product Liability exposures, including severity drivers, litigation trends, emerging risks, contractual risk transfer, and complex coverage considerations.
• Experience establishing or managing underwriting appetite, guidelines, authorities, and governance.
• Strong analytical capabilities with demonstrated ability to use underwriting, actuarial, claims, and portfolio data to drive decisions.
• Proven ability to evaluate complex risks and make sound decisions where…