VP, UW & Prod Dev & Delivery - CL

If you’re passionate about helping people protect what matters most to them at a Fortune 100 company with nearly $70 billion in annual sales, as well as innovating and simplifying processes and operations to provide the best customer value, then Nationwide’s Property and Casualty team could be the place for you! At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers and partners are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

Job Description Summary

Role Summary This officer position is responsible for providing overall underwriting excellence, product development and enhancement, management, and oversight through strategic and thought leadership, management and tactical direction for the Standard Commercial Casualty and Business Auto (BA) lines of business. Directs the development and implementation of strategic and operational objectives for the Standard Casualty and BA lines in accordance with Nationwide's Commercial strategic plans. This position is also responsible for the identification of new, innovative Commercial products and product line enhancements in support of the Enterprise and Commercial Lines business strategy; Researching, assessing and executing new product development that optimize technology, track with industry and consumer trends, and meet customer needs - including Telematics, User Based Insurance (UBI), and the Internet of Things (IOT).

Job Description

Reports to: SVP, P&C Commercial Lines.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Creates strategic and operational objectives with significant impact on the short-term success for the CL Casualty and Business Auto (BA) lines of business and moderate impact on the long-term business goals. Develops, maintains, and effectively executes underwriting guidelines and product management and best practices to ensure the integrity, consistency, and effectiveness of the portfolio across all channels. Leads the exploration and delivery of innovative product solutions and product enhancements for all Standard CL, ensuring profitable growth can be achieved.

2. Creates strategic and operational objectives with significant impact on the overall success for the Standard CL Casualty and BA, as well as product development and enhancement. Develops, maintains, and effectively executes underwriting guidelines and product management and best practices to ensure the integrity, consistency, and effectiveness of the portfolio across all channels.   

3. Leads, directs and has full management accountability for staff in area of responsibility with an emphasis on talent development and succession planning in accordance with strategic direction. Collaborates with key business partners in Lines of Business, Segments, Underwriting Services, Loss Control, Pricing, Claims, Distribution, and Compliance to address governance, processing, and compliance issues related to Casualty and BA underwriting and product practices, as well as product development and enhancements for all Standard CL. 

4. Leads product development and enhancement efforts for all Standard Commercial focusing on external market conditions, technology advances, and consumer trends impacting CL underwriting and product.  Provides overall direction for underwriting authority delegation and audit criteria. Responsible for the audit results and action plans for these lines of business. Conducts research and analysis and recommends development of Standard CL insurance products. Assimilates trends in the industry, determines underwriting best practices and contributes to training/development curricula for Casualty and BA as well as any new products introduced or enhancements to products.

         

Breadth Across Enterprise:

The leader of Casualty, BA, and Product Development is responsible for both Small and MM underwriting operational strategy, product development and enhancement, and execution across all Standard CL distribution channels. This leader will influence culture, rules, processes, procedures, product enhancement and product development to ensure profitability. Will effectively interface and have influence with appropriate leadership and key stakeholders. Product development and enhancement includes researching, assessing, and executing new product development that optimize technology, track with industry and consumer trends, and meet customer needs - including Telematics, User Based Insurance (UBI), and the Internet of Things (IOT). 

Financial Responsibility and Scope:

Responsible for $2B in DWP Performance. Will be accountable for top and bottom line performance of Casualty and BA lines of business. Has full P&L responsibility for Casualty and BA Lines and newly developed or enhanced products.  Position is accountable for driving growth and profitability with Standard CL product enhancement, development, and execution. 

Leadership Accountability:

Developing Strategy: Develops the Standard CL Casualty and BA underwriting and product development and enhancement strategy to meet Nationwide's strategic goals and transformation to the One Nationwide business model (one product, one contract, one company). Accountable for the strategic build out of the CL Casualty and BA lines of business which includes the strategy road map for underwriting, pricing, modeling, and loss control services across standard commercial lines. This role develops and determines the appetite, need and desire of the many facets of CL UW to continue merging to One Nationwide and a national underwriting organization. This role leads all Standard CL product development and enhancement initiatives. 

Providing Input on Strategic Direction: As a leader in the organization, serves as the senior underwriting SME and provides input to the strategic direction for Standard CL Underwriting, with primary focus in CL Casualty and BA Lines of Business as well as product development and enhancement.     

Executing Strategy: Leads "plan and build" underwriting teams to effectively develop and execute underwriting guidelines and best practices according to underwriting appetite. Also leads product development and enhancement teams researching, creating, and executing enhanced or new products to Standard Commercial's profitable growth strategies. Influences and collaborates with the "run" underwriting teams to ensure effective execution of the strategic and operational plans. Also accountable for development of centralized underwriting team and product development teams to support all distribution channels and CL segmentation (SM/MM) in execution of the strategy. Has overall P&L responsibility for Casualty, BA, and newly developed and executed products. 

Team Composition:

Composition: Organization will consist of 5 Directors, 1 -2 Senior Consultants, 1 -2 Consultants, 5 - 7 Product
Managers, 8 - 10 Associate Product Managers; Has a team of 5 – 7 Product Managers dedicated to product innovation. 

Typical Skills and Experiences:

Education/Certification/Licenses: Bachelor’s degree with Master’s preferred in a related discipline, or equivalent. A minimum of 12 years of related work experience, with seven years management experience. Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation preferred.

Experience/Skills: Mastery of underwriting discipline and knowledge, preferably in Commercial Underwriting in the insurance field, and a broad understanding of the critical issues in other related areas. Advanced communication, relationship building and collaboration skills, which are critical to building consensus across area of influence (external and/or internal relationships), teams and/or matrix environment. Strong leadership and management skills demonstrating integrity and professionalism. Ability to drive results by identifying and resolving significant problems within scope of responsibility. Senior-level knowledge of the insurance industry; its products and services. Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt).

Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Some travel may be required.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.
 

We currently anticipate accepting applications until 07/31/2026. However, we encourage early submissions, as the posting may close sooner if a strong candidate slate is identified before the deadline.

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

This position could be filled within any of the lower 48 U.S. states.

Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.

For NY residents please review the following state law information: Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740 (ny.gov) https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/02/ls740_1.pdf

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule.

The national salary range for VP, UW & Prod Dev & Delivery - CL : $225,750.00-$376,250.00

The expected starting salary range for VP, UW & Prod Dev & Delivery - CL : $225,750.00-$376,250.00