Senior Surety Underwriter

Senior Surety Underwriter

Department: Underwriting

Location: Toronto

Reports To:   Manager, Surety - Ontario & Atlantic Region,

Company Overview:

Liberty Mutual Canada is the Canadian operation of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. We offer a broad suite of commercial insurance products and solutions to mid-size and large Canadian companies with Canadian, North American and/or multinational risks. Liberty Mutual Canada has over 250 employees and services its clients coast-to-coast from our regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.

At Liberty Mutual Canada, diversity is about all of us. Our promise to you is a culture that is collaborative, rewarding and empowering. We are committed to attracting and retaining employees across all dimensions of diversity and believe that recognizing, appreciating, and applying the unique insights, perspectives and backgrounds of each person cultivates an atmosphere of trust and respect. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) is how we do business, and we'll continue to invest in it to create a stronger global organization.

If you are unsure whether or not your experience matches every requirement below, we encourage you to apply anyway. We are looking for varied and diverse perspectives and experiences that we can add to our team

Our core values guide all of our decision-making and come to life through our benefits and employee programs. We offer:

• A premier flexible work environment (a combination of on-site & remote work) supporting our employees in their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance
• Competitive health & dental benefits plan
• Market-leading pension plan
• Competitive time off policy
• External education & tuition reimbursement programs
• Employee & Family Assistance Programs
• An opportunity to get involved and become a member of one of our national employee committees – social responsibility, employee engagement, diversity, equity & inclusion

The Opportunity:

Liberty Mutual Surety is seeking a Contract Surety Underwriter in our Toronto office.  In this role, you will market, underwrite, and service customers and accounts within an assigned territory.  Using your excellent people skills, you will build and maintain positive relationships with brokers and customers rather than focused on transactional sales.  You will also use your business and financial acumen to perform primary credit underwriting and financial/risk analysis, provide recommendations, and make decisions on new and existing accounts.  This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced and self-motivated surety professional looking to advance their career with a top surety company that focuses on its employees and customers first.

Liberty Mutual Surety, a business unit of Liberty Mutual Insurance, is the largest global surety provider.  Conducting business worldwide through fronting relationships and Liberty-owned subsidiaries, we provide bonds in over 60 countries for construction firms, manufacturers and suppliers, and commercial enterprises on an account and transactional basis.  We are committed to building mutually profitable relationships by providing smart business solutions, ease of doing business, and consistent, responsive service.  Liberty Mutual Surety is dedicated to the communities we serve and highly values a diverse workforce in more than 20 countries.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Meet with customers from assigned territory to solicit business/submissions via marketing efforts and educate customers on Liberty Mutual Surety policies, procedures, appetite, and requirements.  Act in a consultative capacity and discuss/review accounts and performance.
• Originate, lead, and underwrite surety transactions.
• Develop/maintain strong relationships, meet with clients, and oversee a book of surety business. Meet production, marketing, and profitability goals as set by Manager and assist in business development.  Develop a book of business strategy to broaden the portfolio with various accounts in compliance with given Underwriting Guidelines.
• Perform analytical evaluations of financial statements on both a static and trend basis. Determine an underwriting position on complex risks and monitor their present and historical financial position through analysis of interim financial statements and work in progress data as appropriate.  Recommend, implement and monitor milestones and potential exit strategy on accounts showing high risk trends. 
• Responsible for investigation, analyzing, and managing all necessary underwriting/accounting/workflow issues, within framework of Surety policies and procedures.
• Monitor an existing book of business from an underwriting standpoint.  Continuously evaluate the qualitative characteristics of the business (new and existing) as assigned.  Make recommendations to Manager for proper lines of authority to be submitted to Home Office.  Monitor and control utilization of such lines to ensure compliance with guidelines.
• Analyze exposure and determine the appropriate surety coverage and conditions, risk exposure, loss history, and economic trends that may impact terms and conditions offered to a client.
• Attend client, broker and marketing meetings as well as regular meetings with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable internal and external laws, regulations, policies, procedures and guidance.
• Adhere to underwriting standards, instructions and best practice methodology in order to minimize risk as incorporated into the Underwriting Controls Framework.
• Provide direction for topics to be addressed in meetings with customers.
• Actively contribute to the team spirit and collaborate cross-country and cross-functionally with Liberty Mutual Canada.  Identify cross-selling opportunities with other Liberty product line areas and meet goals as set by Manager.
• Perform special projects and other duties as assigned – bring creativity for the optimization of workflows and accounting and billing issues.

Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, ideally in Finance or Accounting, or equivalent Surety Underwriting experience.
• 3+ years previous Surety Underwriting experience highly preferred; Contract Surety experience desired.
• Mature and self-confident; ability to face clients, business partners and senior colleagues.
• Strong problem-solving, marketing and account management skills.
• Must be detail-oriented, able to manage time and prioritize multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work independently and manage many tasks simultaneously in addition to comfortably interacting with people in small groups and social situations.
• Strong economic, political, current affairs understanding and knowledge.
• Excellent communication skills with all stakeholders (brokers, clients, colleagues and other business partners).
• Strong computer skills, in particular Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.
• Strong level of numeracy, literacy and technology skills without losing the conceptual skills for the bigger picture.
• Demonstrate strong collaboration and teamwork.
• Ambitious self-starter.
• Demonstrate track record of business development.
• Must demonstrate comprehension of technical surety underwriting issues and be capable of defining and implementing necessary underwriting and administrative processes/workflows to properly manage or administer those issues.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Liberty Mutual Canada is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible environment where all employees feel valued and supported. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the communities we operate in and serve. If you require an accommodation for the recruitment/interview process due to a disability (which may be invisible or visible, temporary or permanent), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.