Director, Commercial Lines Operations

Responsibilities

Lead the transformation of Commercial Lines operations, including underwriting support, service operations, workflow redesign, and operational performance management.

Oversee the development, maintenance, and continuous refinement of the Commercial Lines service menu, ensuring alignment to business objectives and frontline execution needs.

Embed a continuous improvement mindset across all operational processes by identifying opportunities, implementing enhancements, and monitoring impact to drive sustainable performance gains.

Drive accountability across assurance providers, ensuring required actions are completed on time and operational issues are resolved effectively to maintain operational integrity.

Validate and facilitate field engagement for pilots, tests, and “learn and iterate” initiatives, minimizing disruption by translating operational expertise to development teams and reducing excessive field involvement.

Build and operationalize a centralized Underwriting Assistant (UA) function supporting small commercial and complex underwriting teams.

Design and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs), RACIs, process maps, and a centralized knowledge base to reduce tribal knowledge and drive consistency.

Implement workflow tools, queue management solutions, and productivity dashboards to replace email-driven work and improve visibility into backlog levels, SLAs, and performance.

Improve quote, renewal, endorsement, and service cycle times while maintaining quality and underwriting integrity.

Develop and monitor KPIs, operational reporting, and daily management routines to enable effective capacity planning, workload distribution, and performance accountability.

Partner closely with IT to advance modernization initiatives including Guidewire enhancements, automated and manual rating tools, submission intake automation, and workflow solutions.

Lead teams responsible for Underwriting Assistants, service representatives, team leads, and vendor/offshore partners (e.g., EXL), ensuring effective utilization, clear ownership, and performance accountability.

Support underwriting leadership by removing operational bottlenecks, improving referral processes, and reinforcing operational discipline.

Develop training programs, cross-training structures, and career paths to strengthen operational talent and reduce single-thread risk.

Drive measurable improvements in agent and customer experience by partnering with Distribution and Underwriting to align service delivery with agent segmentation and appetite strategy.

Foster a culture of accountability, partnership, transparency, and continuous improvement across all Commercial Lines operational functions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of P&C insurance experience, including at least 5 years in Commercial Lines operations, underwriting operations, or transformation leadership roles.
• Proven track record leading large operational teams, including vendor and offshore partners.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing new workflow models, SOPs, process maps, and performance dashboards.
• Deep understanding of Commercial Lines workflows, including rating, intake, triage, and policy servicing.
• Strong knowledge of workflow technologies, operational reporting, process improvement methodologies, and operational best practices.
• Familiarity with legacy policy administration systems and modernization initiatives such as Guidewire, rating tools, workflow engines, and submission intake automation.