Head of Underwriting

Position Overview:

The Head of Underwriting is responsible for leading the company’s underwriting function, driving risk selection, pricing discipline, and portfolio performance. This role combines strategic ownership with team leadership, ensuring underwriting excellence through strong guidelines, data-driven decision-making, and consistent execution.

The Head of Underwriting plays a critical role in balancing growth and profitability, particularly in catastrophe-exposed portfolios, while building a high-performing underwriting team.  This role also proactively identifies opportunities to streamline processes and implement automation, leveraging a forward-thinking approach to position the organization for long-term success in an evolving industry.

Key Responsibilities: 

Underwriting Strategy & Leadership

       Define and execute underwriting strategy aligned with company risk appetite and growth goals

       Establish clear underwriting frameworks, guidelines, and authority structures

       Lead and develop the underwriting team to ensure consistent, high-quality decision-making

Team Management & Development

       Manage, mentor, and scale a team of underwriters

       Set performance expectations, KPIs, and accountability standards

       Foster a culture of discipline, collaboration, and continuous improvement

Portfolio Management

       Own portfolio performance, including loss ratio, exposure, and concentration risk

       Monitor trends and adjust underwriting strategy based on performance and market conditions

       Actively manage catastrophe exposure, including wildfire and other perils

Pricing & Risk Selection

       Ensure alignment between underwriting decisions and pricing models

       Partner with actuarial and data teams to refine segmentation and risk selection

       Maintain balance between growth targets and profitability

Data & Analytics Integration

       Drive adoption of data-driven underwriting tools, models, and risk scores

       Collaborate with data science teams to improve model performance and usability

       Ensure underwriting decisions are informed by robust analytics and insights

Reinsurance & Risk Alignment

       Partner with reinsurance to align underwriting strategy with risk transfer programs

       Ensure portfolio construction reflects reinsurance structures and constraints

       Support optimization of retention and exposure

Governance & Compliance

       Ensure underwriting practices meet regulatory requirements and internal controls

       Maintain clear documentation, auditability, and consistency

       Support regulatory interactions and internal reviews

       Cross-Functional Leadership

       Collaborate with claims, finance, and revenue teams to align on performance and strategy

       Provide insights into loss drivers and emerging risks

       Serve as a key advisor to executive leadership on portfolio risk and growth

Qualifications:

• 10–15+ years of underwriting experience, preferably in property insurance
• Active Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance license in at least one U.S. state is required. If not currently licensed in California, candidates must be able to obtain a California Non-Resident Property & Casualty license within 90 days of hire.
• Proven leadership experience managing and developing underwriting teams
• Strong expertise in catastrophe-exposed risks; wildfire experience strongly preferred
• Deep understanding of underwriting, pricing, and portfolio management
• Experience in insurtech or data-driven underwriting environments preferred
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance frameworks

Compensation and Benefits

       Competitive salary plus equity stock options

       Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States

       Unlimited PTO, including sick leave and company holidays

       Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. (25% paid by employee, 75% covered by Delos including dependents)

       401(k) retirement savings plan

       Professional development opportunities and tuition assistance