Director of Commercial Lines Operations

Job Description:

The Director of Commercial Lines Operations leads the transformation and day-to-day execution of Commercial Lines underwriting operations, service operations, workflow management and operational performance. This pivotal leadership role will modernize and scale the commercial lines operating model to support goals for profitable growth, underwriting excellence, and an enhanced agent and customer experience. Reporting into senior leadership, this role partners closely with underwriting, distribution, product, IT, and offshore/vendor teams to design and implement standardized processes, strengthen service delivery and build the operational infrastructure required for long-term scalability. The role is also accountable for establishing a centralized underwriting assistant (UA) model, improving straight-through processing and developing a high-performing, well-trained operational workforce. This leader will reduce friction across the policy lifecycle, improve cycle times and quality, and ensure operational rigor while supporting underwriting discipline and strategic growth.

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 UA function supporting small commercial and complex underwriting teams.

• Design and implement standard operating procedures, 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 UAs, service representatives, team leads and vendor/offshore partners, ensuring effective utilization, clear ownership and performance accountability.

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

• Establish 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.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree; MBA or other advanced degree (preferred)

• 10+ years of property and casualty insurance experience, including 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

Pay Range:

The anticipated pay range for this position is $120,000 to $168,000 annually. We understand salary is an important factor in a job search, and we encourage you to apply even if you feel that your desired compensation may fall outside of the listed range. The final pay for this position is determined based on several factors including but not limited to, relevant experience, skills and certifications, education and training, geographic location, market conditions, and internal equity. We are committed to finding the right candidate for this role and are open to discussing how your unique qualifications align with our needs.

Contact:

Joanna Kruzel
[email protected]