Underwriting Specialist Sales, Middle Market

Our Middle Market department is seeking a Senior Sales Underwriter to join our growing team for our Virginia territory. This is a Full-time, Exempt role. This is a Hybrid position.

Position Overview/Summary:

Responsible for identifying, soliciting, underwriting and selling new and renewal Middle Market accounts that drive profitable growth and align with Industry Segments, appetite and mix goals.
Apply advanced technical, sales and analytical skills to provide insurance solutions that help Hanover’s customers manage risk. Demonstrates a thorough understanding of Hanover’s strategies and appetites and will use internal and external data to make appropriate individual and portfolio risk decisions.
Operates within a broad Letter of Authority for all underwriting decisions and with limited direction while managing an assigned book of business, generally with high technical complexity and coordination.

Responsibilities/Essential Functions:
Technical Underwriting

Knows and applies advanced underwriting concepts including risk selection, exposure and hazard identification and control, coverage implications, and loss analysis.
Uses all appropriate underwriting tools (e.g. RQI, WC RST, UWWS, and CLAY.), disciplines and knowledge of strategies to ensure underwriting guidelines are followed.
Advanced knowledge of pricing components and rating methodology and correlates pricing to exposure, financial and competitive analysis.
Completes file documentation according to best practices guidelines and state regulations and can clearly explain account decisions.
Adheres to CAT guidelines and underwriting discipline to minimize exposure and appropriately price individual risks. Applies increased knowledge of CAT aggregation to decision making. Portfolio Management & Financial Acumen:
Manages assigned portfolio to achieve gross written premium, profitability, rate, retention, industry and LOB mix, new business and portfolio management goals.
Reviews key metrics and uncovers trends that may lead to new business opportunities with agents while achieving profitable growth in accordance with business strategies.
Demonstrates an understanding of the market factors and trends that can affect pricing (i.e. distribution channels, competition, organization’s growth/ profit strategy, regulation, reinsurance costs and branding).
Prepares or analyzes information on adverse underwriting decisions, rate appeals, underwriting requirements, status and declinations in order to drive results within the assigned territory.
Supports the implementation of profit improvement initiatives with key agents.

Sales Acumen & Customer Advocacy:

Can identify, solicit, pipeline, negotiate, and close accounts aligned with MM branch strategy.
Ability to profile assigned agency plant and to strategically market our capabilities to agents.
Operates with a franchise perspective to identify and drive enhanced sell opportunities and create growth within other lines of business and customer segments.
Utilize our value proposition to enhance agency economics, partner conversion and product specialization in partnership with local management.
Prioritizes and drives effective relationship management and producer activities to build trust, facilitate negotiation, and secure commitment in order to improve yield and retention ratios.
Keeps current on state/territory issues, regulations and trends. Utilizes market and competitor information to enhance agent relationships by becoming a trusted advisor.
Through stewardship process engage at the customer level for the most complex and prominent accounts within their territory.
Independently implements territory business plans, monitors performance, adjusts plan to ensure a substantial pipeline for future profitable growth.
Makes sales presentations to agents and customers on a regular basis and participants in more complex accounts:
Utilize Industry Solutions partners to augment sales process through enhanced knowledge transfer, strategic producer visits/sales calls, and effective training sessions for both agents and customers.
Effectively utilize Claims, Risk Solutions and Operations to display service and/or technical expertise to build confidence in customers to further secure business opportunities.

Required Skills, Key Competencies and Experience:

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience
3-7+ years Underwriting experience, with a minimum of 3 years of experience underwriting MM accounts.
3+ years of experience driving agency relationships resulting in profitable new and renewal business.
May specialize /certify in one or more Industry Segments.