Product Manager - Nationwide Pet

Product Manager – Nationwide Pet

About the team

The Nationwide Pet Product team exists to help Nationwide Pet grow responsibly and profitably by turning product performance insights into action. This team monitors how products are performing, identifies trends that could create risk or opportunity, and recommends changes to rates, coverages, market approach, and product enhancements. In practice, the team serves as a bridge between data, strategy, and execution so the broader Pet business can make informed product decisions and bring the right changes to market.

Role summary

As a Product Manager, this role will help shape the performance and direction of our pet insurance products. The person in this role will analyze results, identify emerging issues and growth opportunities, develop clear recommendations, and help leadership understand what is happening in the business and what actions should follow. This is a strong fit for someone who enjoys combining insurance knowledge, product thinking, and data-driven problem solving.

What you'll do

• Analyze product and portfolio performance to identify meaningful trends, distinguish anomalies from emerging issues, and determine when action is needed.
• Evaluate product opportunities that support growth, including market expansion, competitive coverage gaps, and performance differences across geographies.
• Translate data into a clear business story by summarizing insights, identifying likely drivers, and recommending practical next steps for leadership.
• Partner across product, underwriting strategy, and analytics to support decisions that improve product performance and long-term value to the Pet business.
• Drive implementation of product enhancements that support growth and profitability, including defining business requirements, partnering with IT on development, and collaborating with Regulatory Solutions and actuaries on filings.
• Monitor market trends and competitive activity to proactively identify risks and opportunities, informing product strategy and timely responses to market and competitor movements.
• Use tools such as Power BI and Excel to explore data, build analyses, and support product recommendations.

Skills and experience needed to succeed

• Insurance experience is required; pet insurance experience is not. Candidates from product, underwriting, claims, or other insurance roles who understand how insurance products perform will be well positioned for success.
• Strong analytical ability and sound business judgment. The ideal candidate will be comfortable interpreting trends, understanding what metrics mean, and determining what action should be taken.
• Product mindset. The ideal candidate will know how to think about product improvements, growth opportunities, and competitive positioning, not just report on results.
• Ability to turn analysis into recommendations. Success in this role requires moving beyond the numbers to explain what is happening, why it matters, and what should happen next.
• Working knowledge of Power BI and advanced Excel. The ideal candidate will be comfortable using data tools to build and communicate the story.
• Strong problem-solving approach. The ideal candidate can work through problems with the right methodology, even if their experience comes from a different insurance function.
• Clear communication and collaboration skills, with the confidence to present insights and recommendations to leadership and partner effectively across teams.

Ideal candidate profile

The strongest candidates will bring insurance knowledge, analytical curiosity, and the ability to connect product performance to business action. They will know how to spot patterns early, ask smart questions, work through ambiguity, and recommend changes that support profitable growth for the Pet business. Pet insurance experience is a plus, but the more important requirement is knowing how to build, evaluate, and improve insurance products.

This role does not qualify for employer-sponsored work authorization. Nationwide does not participate in the Stem OPT Extension program.

Job Description Summary

Job Description

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop, implement, and manage strategic plans for assigned states, incorporating top/bottom line performance designed to meet or exceed Personal Lines objectives.

• Owns strategy and performance for assigned state(s).

• Analyzes and reviews financial results, product profitability, business mix and competitive information and forecasts performance.

• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Operations, Claims, Actuarial, Underwriting, Technology, and Legal to align stakeholders in the execution of state-specific strategies.

• Monitor performance, communicate and influence action to address product/pricing issues, strategies, and financial results with appropriate stakeholders and leadership.

• Maintains in-depth knowledge of the personal lines industry, state markets, regulatory environment, and current economic and business trends.

• Develop and maintain formal relationships with state regulatory agencies and trade associations.

• Coordinate and facilitate communication across functions and state management team.

• Applies judgment, understanding and curiosity to data and provides high level analysis considering multiple complexities to build fully developed solutions.

• Communicates information regarding products, pricing and organizational decisions to internal and external partners verbally and in writing. Translates data and strategic concepts into understandable communications to be shared with multiple audiences.

• May participate in cross functional teams to complete projects or support the business. Provides strong leadership, is approachable, and instills trust at all levels.

• Lead all aspects of associate management including performance, salary planning and administration, training and development, workflow and organization planning, day-to-day management, hiring and placement and disciplinary actions for direct reports.

May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to AVP, State Product Manager – Personal Lines or Sr State Product Manager – Personal Lines. Up to two direct reports and no indirect reports.

Typical Skills and Experiences: 

Education: Bachelor’s degree in insurance, actuarial science, mathematics, risk management, economics, finance, accounting, business administration or related subject area or Master of Business Administration degree preferred.

License/Certification/Designation: Progress toward or completion of CPCU, AU CIC, INS ARM, actuarial exams or similar designations preferred.

Experience: Eight years of experience in underwriting or product preferred. Cross-functional experience from other areas and experience with data analysis preferred.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:  Detailed knowledge of core business functions, personal lines insurance products and pricing architecture, state regulations, underwriting procedures and standard methodologies. Solid understanding of financials, trend analysis and competitor data. Proficiency in analytical tools, relational databases, data visualization techniques, query-based language and/or statistical software experience preferred. Excellent verbal and written communication skills to present information, communicate and influence internal and external partners at all levels. Skilled in the use of related systems and analytical tools. Ability to drive for results, deal with ambiguity, solve problems, learn on the job, make quality decisions, see trends and patterns within data. Ability to manage projects, opposing priorities, timelines and resources to complete work. Strong organizational agility and political savvy preferred.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and HR Business Partner. Depending on level, the approvers may change.

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions:

Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt)

Working Conditions: Normal office environment.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job.  Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties. 

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision,life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer,click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.