Underwriter Trainee Jobs in Iowa (NOW HIRING)

UFG is currently hiring a Senior Reinsurance Underwriting Manager who is responsible for leading a team of Reinsurance Underwriters while directly managing a profitable book of U.S. reinsurance business, ensuring disciplined risk selection, pricing, and portfolio performance in line with company strategy and underwriting standards.

The ideal candidate is collaborative by nature and possesses a strong grasp of industry business practices, with the ability to build and maintain senior-level relationships with brokers and ceding companies.

The Assumed Reinsurance business is a key component in our strategy to grow and create economic value.  The team supporting assumed reinsurance is comprised of senior leaders and experienced professionals acting together to selectively underwrite business that offers a material contribution toward our corporate performance goals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Reinsurance Underwriters, providing technical guidance, feedback, and career development support.
• Ensure underwriting practices comply with internal guidelines, regulatory requirements, and rating agency expectations, including documentation quality, file audits, and adherence to internal controls.
• Oversee team workflow, capacity, and service standards to ensure timely quote turnaround, high-quality underwriting analysis, and consistent broker/client experience across the portfolio.
• Lead the underwriting process for a portfolio of treaty submissions. Following our general process for underwriting reinsurance treaties, this person will lead the analysis and due diligence and will be a key contributor to growing the treaty portfolio.
• Function as a senior underwriter on key accounts. The Senior Reinsurance Underwriting Manager will function as the lead underwriter on important treaty reinsurance accounts.
• Review, price, and structure complex new and renewal treaty opportunities using actuarial models, exposure analysis, catastrophe modeling output, and qualitative judgment. Partner closely with actuaries, catastrophe modelers, claims, finance, operations, and legal/wordings to evaluate opportunities, structure solutions, and ensure accurate contract documentation and data quality.
• Build, manage, and expand relationships with key brokers and ceding companies, leading negotiations of treaty terms, structures, and pricing while representing the company as a trusted risk partner in the market.
• Monitor portfolio performance using KPIs such as premium growth, hit ratios, combined ratios, rate change, and aggregate/catastrophe accumulations; implement actions to improve profitability where needed.
• Maintain awareness of US market trends, competitor behavior, and emerging risks; communicate relevant insights to senior management and incorporate them into underwriting tactics.
• Support or lead special projects such as new product development, expansion into new segments or territories (including selected nonUS markets), underwriting process improvements, and automation/analytics initiatives.
• Provide portfolio and account updates to senior management, including pipeline visibility, production and rate change trends, largeloss and catastrophe impacts, and forwardlooking views on market conditions.

Job Specifications: 

Education: 

• Bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or related field.
• Graduate degree in business or quantitative discipline (e.g. MBA, Financial Engineering, Economics, etc.)

Experience:  

• 15+ years in underwriting treaty reinsurance. 5+ years of experience leading or mentoring underwriters, with demonstrated ability to manage performance and develop talent.
• Demonstrated experience in managing complex projects and implementing strategic plans
• History of communicating complex findings to non-technical executive leadership
• Proven track record underwriting U.S. P&C treaty business, including portfolio management responsibility and exposure to catastropheexposed property and casualty lines.
• Experience building and managing broker and client relationships, including leading treaty negotiations and representing the company at market meetings, audits, and industry conferences.
• Prior exposure to, or direct responsibility for, international or multiterritory treaty portfolios (e.g., London market, Bermuda, Europe, or Latin America) is strongly preferred.

Knowledge, skills & abilities: 

• The successful candidate will be a proven leader.
• The successful candidate understands what makes a financial impact on our business:
  • Knowledge and understanding of insurance industry products, services, and business practices
  • Knowledge and understanding of the challenges faced in the P&C insurance business.
  • Deep understanding of treaty reinsurance structures (quota share, surplus, excess of loss, aggregate, catastrophe), wordings, and common clauses, with the ability to identify and negotiate key terms and conditions.
  • Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including comfort working with large datasets, actuarial pricing output, catastrophe models, and portfolio management tools to inform underwriting decision.
  • Solid knowledge of US regulatory and ratingagency considerations relevant to assumed reinsurance, with awareness of how capital, solvency, and accounting frameworks affect underwriting strategy.
• The successful candidate has personal traits:
  • Self-motivated, collaborative, creative, and diligent
  • Strong written and oral communication skills
  • Ability to speak publicly and build the UFG brand

Working Conditions: 

• Remote (USA) or Cedar Rapids office.
• General office environment with travel to industry events, reinsurance audits and broker visits. Occasional overseas travel.

Pay Transparency Statement:

UFG Insurance is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The base salary range for this position is $193,573 - $255,243 annually, which represents the typical range for new hires in this role. Individual pay within this range will be determined based on a variety of factors, including relevant experience, education, certifications, skills, internal equity, geography and market data.

In addition to base salary, UFG Insurance offers a comprehensive total rewards package that includes:

• Annual incentive compensation
• Medical, dental, vision & life insurance
• Accident, critical Illness & short-term disability insurance
• Retirement plans with employer contributions
• Generous time-off program
• Programs designed to support the employee well-being and financial security.

This pay range disclosure is provided in accordance with applicable state and local pay transparency laws.