Head of Small Commercial P&L Officer
$269.2k - $389k+ Performance-based incentives + 401(k) match
Expert
Chicago, IL, USA+3 moreMore locations: Albany, NY, USA | Omaha, NE, USA | New York, NY, USA
In Person
Insurance
No H1B Sponsorship
About the job
Requirements
- Ability to own the full financial and strategic performance of the Small Commercial business, balancing growth, underwriting profitability, and capital efficiency.
- Ability to diagnose portfolio health, including segment profitability, rate adequacy, expenses, and claims drivers such as severity, litigation, and leakage.
- Ability to evaluate underwriting, pricing, distribution, and operations capabilities, including authority, consistency, referral patterns, talent quality, rating plans, segmentation depth, data gaps, producer mix, productivity, concentration, appetite clarity, cycle time, straight-through processing, and scalability constraints.
- Ability to identify structural capability gaps compared with best-in-class small commercial models, including speed, simplicity, segmentation, and digital enablement.
- Ability to develop a Small Commercial Strategy and Operating Model Blueprint covering target segments and appetite, go-to-market and channel strategy, pricing sophistication, underwriting model, and technology and workflow needs.
- Ability to influence appetite, pricing, segmentation, and distribution decisions and align cross-functional stakeholders.
- Ability to execute an investment roadmap involving talent, pricing and segmentation improvements, and workflow and straight-through-processing enhancements.
- Ability to establish P&L ownership mechanisms, including portfolio steering cadence, rate adequacy governance, and exception and authority frameworks.
- Ability to establish underwriting guidelines and authority aligned to small commercial speed, producer segmentation and targeted growth strategy, and claims feedback loops for loss drivers and leakage.
- Ability to own Small Commercial P&L measures, including gross written premium, earned premium, loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, growth, retention, and mix and segmentation.
- Ability to set and refine appetite by class, business size, industry, geography, and channel; drive rate adequacy and pricing sophistication with actuarial partners; manage concentration risk, catastrophe exposure, and litigation-prone segments; and define and outperform the annual business plan.
- Ability to partner with Operations and IT to develop straight-through processing, simplified workflows, and pre-bind rules and controls, while improving cycle times, responsiveness, and data capture quality.
- Ability to monitor net promoter score, customer satisfaction, referral service-level agreements, and ease of doing business.
- Ability to partner with Claims to understand severity drivers and emerging trends, reduce leakage, improve outcomes, and incorporate claims insights into pricing, appetite, and underwriting rules.
- Ability to assess talent across underwriting, product, and analytics, define hiring plans and capability requirements, and justify the return on investment of organizational build-out.
- Ability to build and lead a dedicated Small Commercial organization spanning product and portfolio management, underwriting, analytics and pricing partnerships, and operations alignment.
- Ability to assume formal authority over underwriting execution for the segment; make decisions on appetite and segmentation, product roadmap, and underwriting framework; and direct dedicated Small Commercial resources.
- Ability to develop advanced segmentation and pricing, automated underwriting and straight-through processing, digital distribution and platform strategy, capital deployment and reinsurance usage, mix management, and expansion into adjacent segments or geographies.
Responsibilities
- Own small commercial P&L visibility, establish baseline performance, and identify segmentation and profitability drivers.
- Diagnose portfolio health, including segment profitability, rate adequacy, expense performance, and claims drivers.
- Evaluate current underwriting, pricing, distribution, and operations capabilities.
- Identify structural gaps against best-in-class small commercial models and develop a strategy and operating-model blueprint.
- Influence appetite, pricing or segmentation fixes, and distribution focus adjustments during the initial phase.
- Execute the approved investment roadmap, including talent additions, pricing and segmentation improvements, and workflow and straight-through-processing enhancements.
- Formalize P&L ownership mechanisms, including portfolio steering cadence, rate adequacy governance, and exception and authority frameworks.
- Deliver improved loss ratios, targeted quote-to-bind and retention, and reduced cycle times and referral friction.
- Establish underwriting guidelines and authority, producer segmentation and targeted growth strategy, and claims feedback loops.
- Build a dedicated Small Commercial identity internally and externally.
- Build and lead a dedicated Small Commercial organization, including product and portfolio management, underwriting teams, analytics and pricing partnerships, and operations alignment as needed.
- Assume formal authority over underwriting execution for the segment and mature its pricing, underwriting automation, and digital distribution capabilities.
- Optimize capital deployment, reinsurance usage, portfolio mix, and expansion into adjacent segments or geographies.
- Own Small Commercial P&L performance, including gross written premium, earned premium, loss ratio, expense ratio, combined ratio, growth, retention, and mix and segmentation.
- Set and continuously refine appetite by class, size, industry, geography, and channel; drive rate adequacy and pricing sophistication with actuarial; manage concentration risk, catastrophe exposure, and litigation-prone segments; and define and outperform the annual business plan.
- Partner with Operations and IT to build a small commercial operating engine using straight-through processing, simplified workflows, and pre-bind rules and controls; improve cycle times, responsiveness, and data capture quality.
- Monitor net promoter score, customer satisfaction, referral service-level agreements, and ease of doing business.
- Partner with Claims to understand severity drivers and emerging trends, reduce leakage, improve outcomes, and embed claims insights into pricing, appetite, and underwriting rules.
- Assess talent across underwriting, product, and analytics; define hiring plans and capability requirements; and justify the return on investment of organizational build-out.
- Build a culture of ownership, data-driven decision-making, speed, and discipline.
- Influence appetite, pricing, and underwriting decisions; recommend investment priorities; and drive alignment across functions during the early phase.
- Co-own appetite, pricing direction, and underwriting frameworks and participate formally in governance committees during the middle phase.
- Make final decisions on appetite and segmentation, product roadmap, and underwriting framework, and exercise direct control over dedicated Small Commercial resources in the full-authority phase.
About the company
Argo Limited operates in the specialty insurance space, offering tailored risk management and insurance solutions for clients with complex or niche risks. It underwrites insurance policies, handles claims, and invests premiums to generate income that supports profitability. The company differentiates itself by focusing on niche sectors such as construction, marine, and energy, applying expert risk assessment rather than relying on generic policies. Its goal is to build long-term client relationships through reliable coverage, disciplined risk management, and commitments to corporate responsibility and community engagement.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
Acquired
Total Funding
$1.1B
Headquarters
Pembroke, Bermuda
Founded
1996
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Fitch assigned Clearbrook a BBB IDR with stable outlook on December 2, 2026.
- Management forecasts underwriting improvement in 2026 from specialty lines and expense reductions.
- Farm Family's results starting in 4Q25 improve Clearbrook's overall financial performance.
What critics are saying
- Run-off legacy lines still drag results; Fitch expects contraction to reduce adverse impact.
- The January 2026 rebrand to Clearbrook signals Argo's standalone identity is gone.
- A 2026 lawsuit against Argo entities shows continuing claims exposure and legal noise.
What makes Argo Group unique
- Brookfield's 2023 $1.1 billion acquisition gives Clearbrook deep capital and portfolio support.
- Clearbrook focuses on U.S. specialty P&C, with casualty, environmental, inland marine, and programs expertise.
- Management added Brookfield-aligned leaders in 2025, including CEO Chris Donahue and COO Arturo Pelaez.
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Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- 401(k) Company Match
- Unlimited Paid Time Off
- Flexible Work Hours
- Paid Vacation
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Holidays
- Paid Caregiver Leave