VP – Personal Lines
West Bend Insurance Company
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: West Bend • Wisconsin • United States
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Job Level
About the role
- The Vice President (VP) – Personal Lines provides strategic and operational leadership for the Personal Lines (PL) division, with full accountability for growth, profitability, and overall portfolio performance.
- This role sets the strategic direction and delivers profitable growth across auto, homeowners, umbrella, and other personal lines through disciplined underwriting, market-responsive products and pricing, strong distribution partnerships, and operational excellence.
- Leads a cross-functional team spanning underwriting, product, pricing/actuarial partnerships, filing/compliance, operations, and analytics to achieve profitability, retention, new business and growth goals while advancing customer experience and digital capabilities.
- Define and execute a multi‑year PL strategy that balances growth, profitability, and volatility management; own the PL operating plan, including premium, loss ratio, expense ratio, and combined ratio targets.
- Establish risk selection, appetite guides, authority levels, audit cadence, and referral frameworks; strengthen line‑of‑business portfolio management and accumulation controls.
- Lead product roadmaps, coverage forms, pricing segmentation, customer segmentation, and rate/relativity strategies; partner closely with Actuarial for indications and with Compliance on state filings; understand and integrate consumer economic factors around longevity and elasticity (lifetime value) into product strategy.
- Deepen relationships with key independent agents; set compensation, incentives, and ease‑of‑doing‑business standards; drive geographic expansion and appointment strategy.
- Optimize new business, renewal, and endorsement workflows; reduce cycle times and rework; champion straight‑through processing and enhance customer service capabilities through expansion of digital, self‑service, and AI-enabled tools.
- Build, lead, and develop a high-performing leadership bench; attract, retain and mentor underwriting and product talent.
Requirements
- 12+ years in Personal Lines with progressive leadership spanning underwriting and product/pricing; proven multi‑state experience.
- Demonstrated P&L leadership with successful track record executing strategy and improving combined ratio while growing profitably.
- Depth in product design, rating/segmentation (including telematics/UBI), state filings, and regulatory engagement.
- Strong agency/distribution acumen and change leadership across operations and technology.
- Executive‑level communication, influencing, and decision‑making; building followership and cross‑functional alignment.
- Strategic mindset with strong analytical abilities and a focus on continuous improvement.
- Proficiency with policy/rating platforms and business intelligence tools; data‑driven decision maker.
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s Degree (MBA, MS Analytics, etc.) preferred.
- Designations: CPCU preferred; additional insurance/analytics credentials a plus.
Benefits
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Applicant Tracking System Keywords
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Hard Skills & Tools
underwritingproduct designpricing segmentationP&L leadershipdata-driven decision makingregulatory engagementtelematicscombined ratio improvementportfolio managementrisk selection
Soft Skills
strategic mindsetanalytical abilitiesexecutive-level communicationinfluencingdecision-makingchange leadershipbuilding followershipcross-functional alignmentmentoringcontinuous improvement
Certifications
CPCUMBAMS Analytics