Founding Underwriter
Hedge Specialty
Founding Underwriter
Hedge Specialty
AI-enabled wholesale brokerage for specialized risks
Hedge is hiring a founding underwriter to combine sound risk judgment with the operating discipline and product thinking required to scale. You will help agencies understand appetite, improve submission quality, structure placements, and turn underwriting knowledge into repeatable systems.
Base salary is $125K-$250K. Equity is 0.25%-1.50%. Final placement reflects underwriting depth, line expertise, authority, and the operating scope you can own.
Evaluate commercial risks, exposures, controls, and submission quality
Match risks to appropriate carrier, MGA, and program appetite
Work with agencies and brokers to close information gaps and structure strong submissions
Negotiate terms and clearly communicate coverage, conditions, and tradeoffs
Build underwriting guidelines, decision tools, and feedback loops into Hedge's platform
Track outcomes and improve risk selection, turnaround time, and placement quality
First 30 days: master Hedge's current markets, appetite, workflows, and quality gaps
By day 60: own underwriting and placement decisions for a defined segment
By day 90: improve submission quality or turnaround time in a measurable way
In 12 months: help build a scalable underwriting function with trusted judgment and clear economics
You have at least three years of commercial underwriting or closely related placement experience. You can make and explain decisions, handle ambiguity, and turn tacit knowledge into process without reducing underwriting to a checklist.
Hedge is building the operating system for commercial insurance distribution. You will work directly with the founders, own a consequential part of the company, and help define how the function works as we scale. We offer health benefits and meaningful equity.
This role is based in San Francisco and works in person with the team six days a week.
Application review
A focused introductory conversation
A role-specific deep dive
A practical underwriting case discussion based on a realistic Hedge scenario
Final conversation with the founders
Hedge is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on ability, judgment, and potential, and we do not discriminate based on protected characteristics.
AI-enabled wholesale brokerage for specialized risks
Hedge Specialty is a wholesale insurance broker that connects retail agents with specialty insurance markets to cover hard-to-place commercial risks, especially in Excess & Surplus (E&S) and related lines. It uses an AI-assisted workflow where a retail agent submits an inquiry and Hedge handles intake, market selection, quote delivery, and binding coordination. The company differentiates itself with a broker-to-broker model (no direct-to-consumer sales), no minimum premium or production quotas, and a wide range of specialty risks. Its goal is to streamline insurance workflows, delivering fast responses (median first reply ~30 minutes) and quotes for larger risks within about 48 business hours to help brokers secure coverage efficiently.
Explore more opportunities at Hedge Specialty