Assistant Vice President, Builder’s Risk

This is an opportunity to join Ascot Group - one of the world’s preeminent specialty risk underwriting organizations.

Designed as a modern-era company operating through an ecosystem of interconnected global operating platforms, we’re bound by a common mission and purpose: One Ascot. Our greatest strength is a talented team who flourish in a collaborative, inclusive, and entrepreneurial culture, steeped in underwriting excellence, integrity, and a passion to find a better way, The Ascot Way.

The Ascot Way guides our people and our organization. Our underwriting platforms collaborate to find creative ways to deploy our capital in a true cross-product and cross-platform approach. These platforms work as one, deploying our capital creatively through our unique Fusion Model: Client Centric, Risk Centric, Technology Centric.

Built to be resilient, Ascot maximizes client financial security while delivering bespoke products and world-class service — both pre- and post-claims. Ascot exists to solve for our clients’ brightest tomorrow, through agility, collaboration, resilience, and discipline.

Ascot is embedding artificial intelligence (AI) and automation across the organization to enhance decision making, efficiency, and quality of outcomes. In this role, you will be expected to work confidently alongside AI-enabled tools, apply sound judgment when interpreting insights, and adapt as technology continues to evolve. We value curiosity, critical thinking, and a willingness to embrace change as part of how we work.

Position Overview:

The Assistant Vice President, Builder’s Risk will be responsible for underwriting construction projects and driving profitable growth within our National Builder’s Risk Practice. This position combines deep technical course-of-construction expertise with production responsibility across retail and wholesale brokers, with an emphasis on developing and expanding retail broker distribution. The role collaborates closely with the Builder’s Risk Practice Leader and the broader Inland Marine and Marine teams. We are looking for a candidate who is highly motivated and results-oriented, with strong technical underwriting skills and established relationships in the construction insurance market.

Location: This position can be based out of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, or Denver.

Responsibilities:

• Underwrites Builder’s Risk and course-of-construction business, including ground-up commercial and residential building projects, renovation and rehabilitation work, industrial projects, civil infrastructure projects, and installation floaters, within the appetite developed by our team.
• Independently evaluates project risk quality, including construction class, project schedule and duration, contractor experience, site protections, and soft cost and delay exposures, and recommends program structure, terms, and pricing to achieve a balanced portfolio and long-term profitability.
• Establishes and maintains business relationships to develop new project opportunities as well as visits insureds, project sites, and brokers/producers to retain existing accounts in support of the producer and territory management plan.
• Develops, manages, and deepens relationships with construction-focused retail brokers and agents through in-person engagement, responsiveness, and marketing activity, supporting the growth of our retail distribution network.
• Independently reviews engineering information, project plans, geotechnical reports, and protective safeguards (including hot work, water intrusion mitigation, and site security programs) to assess risk quality and initiates appropriate loss prevention actions.
• Adheres to CAT guidelines and underwriting discipline, including catastrophe modeling for wind, flood, earthquake, and wildfire exposures, to manage aggregation and appropriately price.
• Manages assigned portfolio to achieve gross written premium, profitability, rate, retention, product mix, new business, and portfolio management goals.
• Evaluates reinsurance requirements, including treaty compliance and facultative placement needs on larger projects, and implements appropriate action.
• Communicates and collaborates across disciplines, including claims, risk engineering, and actuarial, to establish and maintain relationships to achieve organizational and policyholder success.

• Shares Builder’s Risk technical expertise with underwriters at all levels and supports the development of course-of-construction underwriting capability across the team.

• Commit to The Ascot Way: Embody The Ascot Way in their daily interaction with colleagues, fostering colleague engagement and development, collaboration, inclusivity, and individual accountability.

Requirements:

• A minimum of 8 years of experience underwriting Builder’s Risk, course-of-construction, or construction property insurance products.
• Strong technical knowledge of construction classes and methods, project delivery structures, soft costs, delay in start-up, master and reporting form programs, and installation floaters.
• Working familiarity with catastrophe modeling tools and CAT risk evaluation for construction projects; must have the ability to effectively interact with all levels of customers and collaborate with a team of underwriters, claims, and risk engineering.
• Must have proven marketing and negotiation skills with established construction broker relationships; strong communication, interpersonal, and time management skills.
• Knowledge of facultative reinsurance placements.
• Highly collaborative; professional designations such as CRIS, AMIM, or CPCU preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 30% for broker meetings, insured visits, marketing initiatives, and industry events.
• Bachelor’s degree.

***This position may be filled at a different level, depending on experience***

Compensation

Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to experience, subject matter expertise, and skills. The base pay is just one component of Ascot’s total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include annual cash bonus and other forms of discretionary compensation awarded by the Company. 

The annualized base pay range for this role is: $180,000 -  $200,000

Company Benefits

The Company provides a competitive benefits package that includes the following (eligibility requirements apply):

Health and Welfare Benefits: Medical (including prescription coverage), Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Commuter Account, Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Life Insurance, AD&D, Work/Life Resources (including Employee Assistance Program), and more.

Leave Benefits: Paid holidays, annual Paid Time Off (includes paid state/local paid leave where required), Short-term Disability, Long-term Disability, Other leaves (e.g., Bereavement, FMLA, Adoption, Maternity, Military, Primary & Non-Primary Caregiver)

Retirement Benefits: Contributory Savings Plan (401k)

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