Vice President of Auto Claims

JOB TITLE: Vice President - Claims

DEPARTMENT: Claims

REPORTS TO: CEO

Leadership role in our expanding non-standard auto claims department within a dynamic, growing organization; providing opportunity to advance your career and grow professionally.

SUMMARY: Leads overall Claims operations. Responsible for staff performance and development, establishes best claims practices, and overall claims results.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Oversees all claims personnel including the litigation department, CSR’s, and all managers/adjusters.
• Administers staff performance appraisals and compensation; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Directs the selection, training, and development of a high performing team.
• Demonstrated progressive leadership experience with increasing responsibility in claims operations and people management.
• Manages and provides guidance on complex coverage investigations, policy construction, policy language, and applicability of case laws.
• Establishes best practices to assess liability and apply comparative negligence according to state specific liability laws.
• Provides guidance to employees and vendors regarding investigations, evaluations, damages, and settlements.
• Oversees reviews of claim correspondence and provides counsel on further action.
• Guarantees quality assurance of claims in process on a regular basis and ensures appropriate follow-up or closing action was taken.
• Ensures time limit demands and attorney involved bodily injury claims are handled within company standards.
• Proven ability to lead, scale, and manage a large, multi-level claims organization across multiple functional areas.
• Leads claims AI initiatives to create automation, additional claims tools, and cost savings within the unit.
• Directs, coaches, and manages the performance of the team.
• Establishes exceptional customer service and high-quality work standards for the department and vendors; routinely monitoring for compliance.
• Continuously assesses procedures, processes, and structure to optimize resources and utilize best practices to align with business goals.
• Collaborates with other department leaders to help achieve company goals.
• Analyzes claims and management information to measure performance and identify strengths and weaknesses to improve overall department.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in a Vice President–level role or equivalent senior leadership position within claims or insurance operations.
• Collaborates with managers, adjusters, appraisers, insureds, claimants, vendors, and attorneys as needed to facilitate claim investigations and settlement processes.
• Stays current with insurance industry trends, market conditions, and competitor information for the states company operates in and follows trends in other states that might potentially impact the company.
• Represents company to outside parties in a professional manner.
• Performs other related duties as assigned by management.
  
  

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervises a team of directors, managers and supervisors and their direct reports.
• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.
• Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Risk Management/Insurance, Business or related field
• Experience in a leadership role.
• 10 years of nonstandard auto liability and casualty experience required.
• Exceptional communication, customer service and relationship building skills.
• Expanded knowledge of claims, the insurance industry, and insurance legal and regulatory rules and guidelines.
• Demonstrated ability to teach, coach and train staff for technical claims handling and excellent customer service.
• Candidates can show how they drive efficient management of claims and key metrics.
• Must be well organized with effective negotiation and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and motivate subordinates.
  
  

Competencies

• Adaptability - able to effectively manage multiple demands, shifting priorities, and changing situations; willingness and openness to policy and procedure changes
• Claims Communication – Ability to effectively and courteously communicate with policyholders, claimants, attorneys, and vendors; Maintains a professional demeanor
• Conflict Management- good listener; committed to finding solution to problems; works well with difficult people; diffuses difficult situations strives to understand contributing factors.
• Decision Making – able to make quality decisions independently and seeks input when needed; takes thoughtful approach when considering options
• Employee Development – teaches employees their duties; offers feedback and coaches employees appropriately; takes mentoring role; challenges and develops employees; offers growth opportunity
• Employee Management – defines responsibilities; motivates employees; delegates well; provides appropriate/fair feedback; recognizes accomplishments; takes appropriate disciplinary action when needed.
• Insurance Knowledge - Claims – Has a practical understanding of the insurance policies, products, and services offered by The Company; recognizes and applies jurisdictional code, statutes, and case law when suitable; adheres to internal procedures and guidelines
• Interpersonal Skills– Works well with others; Solicits feedback; Builds strong relationships; Manages disputes and disagreements in a positive manner
• Knowledge of System – Functional understanding of all systems and software used; ability to maneuver through systems to answer questions and resolve issues; asks questions when needed
• Leadership – motivates and inspires subordinates; leads by example; supports company goals, vision, and policies; creates a positive environment
• Organizational Skills – Able to prioritize workday; maintains efficient workspace; Keeps up with diaries and deadlines; Delegates tasks as needed; Consistently manages time well; identifies workflow inefficiencies and communicates to management
• Vendor Management – is effective at managing the relationship with 3rd party vendors (HR, benefits, staffing, hardware, software, legal, subro, salvage vendors, etc.) to ensure Connect receives best value for services; negotiates optimal terms and pricing; looks for better opportunities in pricing and service