Senior Product Manager - Workers Compensation Underwriting

$102,400 - $171,500/Yr

Af - Group - Kalamazoo, MI

Full-time - Senior

Kalamazoo, MI

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations

About the position

The Senior Product Manager for Workers' Compensation Underwriting at AF Group is a pivotal role responsible for spearheading new market development, product innovation, and enhancements to existing products from a commercial property and casualty technical underwriting perspective. This position requires a deep understanding of the commercial multi-line environment and involves supporting the strategic goals of the organization while implementing best practices across all operating units. The Senior Product Manager will exercise broad discretion and judgment, ensuring operational consistency and integrity throughout the enterprise. This role encompasses managing complex business processes and improvement initiatives across various departments and lines of business, making it essential for the candidate to possess strong analytical and leadership skills. In this role, the Senior Product Manager will be tasked with aggressively identifying and managing problem markets, analyzing underwriting trends, and providing recommendations based on research and reporting. The position also involves developing enterprise underwriting policies and procedures, implementing quality control strategies, and coaching management on improvement opportunities. The Senior Product Manager will serve as a technical expert and consultant, addressing inquiries from operating units regarding premium audits and regulatory compliance. Additionally, the role includes conducting underwriting due diligence, leading product strategy execution, and collaborating with various stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of innovative products. The Senior Product Manager will also be responsible for maintaining expert knowledge of state regulations, compliance, and operational processes, while supporting complex ISO and NCCI changes. This position requires a proactive approach to market development, including drafting business cases and white papers, and evaluating the cost-benefit of market opportunities. The successful candidate will play a key role in developing short and long-term strategic product and underwriting strategies that align with AF Group's business and profitability goals, ensuring the delivery of high-quality products and services to clients.

Responsibilities

• Assists in aggressively identifying, solving and managing/re-directing problem markets.
• Responsible for analyzing, researching and reporting on underwriting trends, issues, laws, rules, regulations and best practices, and provides recommendations as appropriate.
• Analyzes current and potential book of business and provides appropriate reports and recommendations.
• Assists in the development of enterprise underwriting policies, procedures and best practices.
• Assists in the implementation and monitoring of policies, practices, procedures and workflows.
• Identifies and establishes strategy for quality control to ensure consistency with best practices and workflows.
• Outlines improvement opportunities and coaches management on ways to improve.
• Participates in the identification, preparation and presentation of training and programs at an Operating Unit and Enterprise level.
• Serves as a technical expert and consultant in Corporate Underwriting on responses to questions and concerns for all operating units.
• Serves as an advisor on responses to questions and concerns from operating units and others on premium audit issues and Bureau inquiries.
• Analyzes and reviews accounts above the authority limits of Operation Unit managers and underwriters and makes determinations on pricing and programs, as needed.
• Collaborates with enterprise operating units and Corporate Underwriting in furtherance of enterprise cost containment strategies as necessary.
• Represents Product Management & Corporate Underwriting and the enterprise, on various committees and events as appropriate and approved.
• Conducts underwriting due diligence assignments, as needed.
• Performs special projects, as assigned. Provides evaluation and input regarding effectiveness of departmental programs and projects.
• Maintains confidentiality of all information processed.
• Leads the research, analysis and implementation of new or existing product ideas, market development, and product enhancements, including creating supporting business cases, designing solutions, and implementing innovative products for multiple commercial lines of insurance.
• Responsible for the ownership and execution of the overall product strategy, new product and business model innovation, including developing white papers, proposals for action or implementation plans.
• Evaluates the cost benefit of market opportunities and product initiatives and recommends actions based on evaluation, including identifying product improvements for complex product and policy construction considerations.
• Plays a key role in the development of short and long term strategic product & underwriting strategies in support of AF Group's business and profitability goals.
• Develop new product ideas, review existing and draft new coverage language, executes to the Product Development Life Cycle.
• Responsible for creating best practices, underwriting guidance and training to engage enterprise.
• Responsible for managing key compliance and regulatory relationships to include Product Objection Management.
• Serves as a key contact for developing and implementing new products or organizational practices specific to the product.
• Maintains expert knowledge including state regulations, compliance, coverages, operational processes, underwriting criteria and system application and tools.
• Supports complex ISO, NCCI based and proprietary changes. Coordinate with business partners to develop complete filing packages.
• Apply expert guidance and insight related to more highly regulated states/complex filings.
• Research and approve complex updates and changes to ISO, NCCI, Regulatory product updates, applying expert knowledge, problem solving skills and judgment. Recommend actions based on regulatory changes.
• Research, access and communicate risk of ISO, NCCI, Bureau, Regulatory noncompliance due to technical constraints and other operational issues. Collaborate with business partners and leadership to resolve noncompliance issues.
• Collaborates with and serves as liaison between Product Development, Innovation and Corporate Underwriting, with Enterprise Operating Units, including Accountability/Oversight for the Product delivery of Functional Specs.
• In collaboration with Corp UW Line of Business owner, develops underwriting guidelines and letters of authority, for new programs/products within the Workers' Compensation commercial lines arena.
• Works with third party vendors (ISO, NCCI, etc.), manages consultant relationships with our internal partners to integrate product needs based on market, product and technical requirements.
• Assists in new market development, including creating supporting business cases, drafting white papers and acting as a liaison to departments involved in new market development for multiple commercial lines of insurance.
• Analyzes new opportunity design, build, and implementation.
• Understands complex reinsurance structures, and critically evaluates complex clauses within proportional and non-proportional treaty and facultative reinsurance policies.
• Conduct full policy wording reviews for renewals to ensure compliance with underwriting guidelines.
• Collaborates with and serves as liaison between Corporate Underwriting, Product Management and Operating Units.
• Serves as owner for drafting, developing and implementing new products or organizational practices specific to the product.
• Develops underwriting guidelines and letters of authority, for new programs/products within the multi-line arena - including workers' compensation plus other commercial lines of insurance.
• Establishes enterprise quality control/governance standards.
• Assists with the Market Intelligence Initiative as needed.
• Maintains a clear understanding of all business requirements and applies expert product knowledge throughout the functional design process, including requirement documentation and technology liaising.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Insurance, Business, Math, Finance, or a related field required.
• Minimum ten years of commercial property and casualty underwriting experience, with strong multi-line commercial property and casualty lines experience.
• Demonstrated technical knowledge with both small and large accounts, or equivalent experience that provides the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities.
• Experience with alternative market/specialty programs is a plus.
• Two years of experience with the Enterprise as a Corporate Underwriting Consultant or equivalent experience which provides the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities required.
• Workers' Compensation experience preferred.
• Progress towards, or completion of, industry-recognized professional designations (i.e., CIC, AU, CPCU) preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in insurance product development and product ideation.
• Ability to build out multi-line capabilities for the enterprise.
• Experience with insurance related regulatory and governing bodies.
• Experience in implementing new product offerings into a technology platform.

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional development.
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching contributions.
• Paid time off and holidays.
• Flexible work environment with potential for remote work options.