Head of Surety
About the role
Role Purpose
To lead the Malaysia Surety business and support the creation of a scalable APAC Surety operating hub in Malaysia. The role is accountable for profitable underwriting growth, local broker, agents and client development, underwriting governance, regional coordination, and long-term operational scalability.
Responsibilities
Management of current indigenous book:
• Strategy – primary role on business development; agency relationship & development; product; planning & forecasting – working closely with HOS.
• Underwriting oversight within delegated limits.
• Compliance – incl underwriting guidelines, authority, peer review
• Profitable financial performance – deliver profitable P&L ≥ plan; minimal-nil losses.
• Champion digitization of Tier 1 bonds and use of AI as appropriate
Assist new business initiative
• Assist strategy – targeting large, financially solvent Malaysian corporates mirroring APAC strategy in other countries, issuing bonds locally and overseas. Initially under close management of HOS:
• Local broker engagement to drive strategy and ID prospects.
• Engage with key prospects to “sell” Chubb Surety proposition.
• Facilitate underwriting of new business by APAC Surety regional team.
• Assist with servicing of customers.
Portfolio, Underwriting & Governance
• Underwrite within delegated authority and ensure timely referral of cases outside authority.
• Lead portfolio planning, pricing discipline, risk selection and profitability monitoring.
• Review financial strength, credit quality, contractual obligations, bond wordings, recourse documentation and indemnity structures.
• Ensure underwriting files contain clear rationale, complete approvals, pricing evidence, financial analysis and compliance documentation.
• Drive profitable Malaysia Surety P&L meeting / exceeding COG Surety plans and targets.
• Support peer review, underwriting audits, technical reviews and remediation of any control gaps.
Business Development & Market Management
• Develop relationships with agents, brokers, clients, banks, contractors and large corporates.
• Specific to current Malaysia surety indigenous book, broaden agent / distribution channels and reduce reliance and dilute reliance on few agents to deliver production.
• Assist with launch of NBI, initially under direction and support of APAC Regional team:
• Identify target segments including financially solvent Malaysian corporates, infrastructure-related clients and multinational/local groups with overseas bond requirements.
• Develop and maintain appropriate distribution channels relevant to NBI (incl brokers).
• Engage with key prospects and support regional teams in converting Malaysia-originated opportunities.
• Capture broker/agent and clients feedback, competitor activity and market intelligence to refine go-to-market strategy.
APAC Surety Regional & Operations Contribution
• Assist APAC Surety regional operations:
o Work with Surety Operations to digitize current Malaysia indigenous book to extent appropriate and possible.
o Provide local management support, assisting APAC Surety Regional Team.
• Help define the future operating model, process split between underwriting and operations, and role clarity for junior and senior resources.
• Participate in strategic projects, automation initiatives and cross-functional APAC Surety planning.
• Support wider APAC Surety initiatives under direction and support of APAC Regional team. In time, contribute to APAC Surety activities in Asia:
o Assist HOS & Regional Underwriting Manager in specific markets.
o Market R&D – surety market knowledge, regulatory environment, ID local surety participants / issuers.
o Local broker engagement to drive strategy and ID prospects.
o Engage with key prospects to “sell” Chubb Surety proposition.
o Facilitate underwriting of new business by APAC Surety regional team.
• Bachelor degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Law, Actuarial Science, Engineering or related discipline; professional insurance qualifications are advantageous.
• Minimum 7-10 years of relevant experience in surety, credit insurance, banking, corporate credit, specialty underwriting or commercial insurance.
• Prior people management or functional leadership experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of financial statements, credit assessment, bond structures, indemnity arrangements and commercial contract risk.
• Established Malaysian broker/client relationships strongly preferred; regional APAC exposure advantageous.
• Fluent written and spoken English; Bahasa Malaysia and additional Asian language capability advantageous.