E&S Underwriting Clearance Manager

Zurich E&S is looking to hire an Underwriting Clearance Manager to lead the central clearance team! Hiring preference in Schaumburg, IL; Chicago, IL; or Atlanta, GA. This position is accountable for the people management, process management, and financial management of the Zurich E&S Underwriting Clearance team. This team is responsible for clearing and registering submissions from Wholesale brokers, basic triage of these submissions, and providing customer service to Zurich E&S Underwriters and Wholesale Brokers. As a leader, you will be expected to assess performance of direct reports, ensuring meaningful on-boarding experiences and provide regular, actionable coaching and feedback to employees to review progress, recognize accomplishments, support development and/or improve performance.

Additional Responsibilities include:

• Recruit, train, develop, manage, and motivate a talented team of clearance specialists supporting Underwriting teams in achieving a balanced and profitable book of business by performing various pre-Underwriting activities such as registering submissions, capturing submission information and entering into databases, liaising with producers to ensure submission completeness, routing submissions
• Drive superior customer service by ensuring the unit develops and maintains effective business relationships with Underwriters and Underwriting Assistant, internal partners, and external partners
• Ensure Clearance team members know what is expected of them by: setting clear goals/expectations, providing ongoing performance coaching, offering guidance on career management, and conducting performance review leveraging the Zurich performance management process
• Monitor, manage and oversee workload capacity of each team member
• Support the continued improvement of the Clearance team by maintaining standardized procedures and associated training material and providing functional guidance or training to less experienced team members
• Achieve critical productivity metrics through rigorous and diligent tracking and monitoring of performance, and by continuing to improve the efficiency of processes and workflows
• Support delivery of process improvement actions, including system and process enhancements
• Maintain professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, professional publications, establishing personal networks, and leveraging Zurich training resources
• Business travel, as required
• Ensure compliance with all legal, regulatory, and internal control requirements
• Investigate and report on issues associated with the Clearance process to drive continuous improvement

Basic Qualifications Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree and 4 or more years of experience in Insurance Operations, Underwriting or Market Facing area

  OR

• Zurich Certified Insurance Apprentice, including Associate Degree, and 4 or more years of Insurance Operations, Underwriting or Market Facing area

  OR

• High School Diploma or Equivalent and 6 or more years of experience in Insurance Operations, Underwriting or Market Facing area

  AND

• Knowledge of the insurance industry and the legal and regulatory environment

Preferred Qualifications:

• High School Diploma or Equivalent and 6 or more years of experience in Underwriting AND at least 2 years in a supervisory capacity
• Insurance Operations experience
• People management experience overseeing full- and part-time remote employees (exempt and non-exempt)
• Strong analytical skills including knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Adobe Reader and other Microsoft Office Products
• Superior communication, interpersonal, and process management skills
• Effectively multi-task, and balance multiple priorities along with effective teamwork and demonstration of integrity
• Experience working with insurance clearance systems and processes
• Microsoft Office experience

Your pay at Zurich is based on your role, location, skills, and experience. We follow local laws to ensure fair compensation. You may also be eligible for bonuses and merit increases. If your expectations are above the listed range, we still encourage you to apply—your unique background matters to us. The pay range shown is a national average and may vary by location. The proposed Salary range for this position is $75,800.00 - $124,100.00, with short-term incentive bonus eligibility set at 10%.

We offer competitive pay and comprehensive benefits for employees and their families. [Learn more about Total Rewards here.]

Why Zurich?

At Zurich, we value your ideas and experience. We offer growth, inclusion, and a supportive environment—so you can help shape the future of insurance. Zurich North America is a leader in risk management, with over 150 years of expertise and coverage across 25+ industries, including 90% of the Fortune 500®.

Join us for a brighter future—for yourself and our customers.

Zurich in North America does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy or other characteristics protected by applicable law. Equal Opportunity Employer disability/vets.

Zurich complies with 18 U.S. Code § 1033.

Please note: Zurich does not accept unsolicited CVs from agencies. Preferred vendors should use our Recruiting Agency Portal.

Location(s): AM - Atlanta, AM - Chicago, AM - Schaumburg

Remote Working: Hybrid

Schedule: Full Time

Employment Sponsorship Offered: No

Linkedin Recruiter Tag: #LI-WL1 #LI-ASSOCIATE #LI-HYBRID