Claims Associate

Steamship Mutual; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private healthcare

Hybrid working policy

Clear career pathway

Job summary

Steamship Mutual is seeking a qualified maritime lawyer to join its European Syndicate claims team. The role focuses on P&I and FDD claims handling across Europe, including the UK and other jurisdictions.

You will handle assigned claims, provide advice, draft and file correspondence, and contribute to procedures and insights for loss prevention. Strong communication and dispute-resolution skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience handling shipping litigation and dispute resolution.
• Excellent communication, negotiating, reporting skills.
• Proactive, well-organised, able to manage workload and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Promote and represent the Club with Members at senior level.
• Handle assigned claims per procedures and provide advice on issues.
• Process large claims as directed by Syndicate Manager or Claims Director.
• Ensure electronic files are up-to-date and properly filed.
• Contribute to development of procedures and systems and publish articles.

Skills

Shipping litigation

Dispute resolution

Communication skills

Relationship building

Team player

Education

English-qualified lawyer

Maritime Law degree (LLB/LLM)

Job description

About the company

Steamship Mutual is a P&I insurance company, with 250 employees worldwide. The main office is based near Liverpool Street station, London. We have offices in Bermuda, Brazil, Cyprus, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, New York & Singapore.

Overall Job Purpose:

The role sits within the European Syndicate. Responsibilities will include providing P&I and FDD (Freight, Demurrage and Defence) claims handling services and advice to Members based across a number of European countries, including Switzerland, Scandinavia, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia, and Turkey amongst others.

Key Responsibilities:

• To promote the relationship between the Club and existing Members for which the Claims team is responsible and represent the Club at a senior level.
• To handle assigned claims in accordance with company procedures, provide advice and support on claims-related issues and identify the need for loss prevention activity.
• To process large claims in line with company operating procedures in circumstances where requested to do so by the Syndicate Manager or Claims Director and where it is appropriate for such claims to be handled by an Associate.
• To ensure that all electronic correspondence, whether received or sent, relating to claim files assigned to the particular individual is promptly and correctly filed in accordance with the agreed working practices and to maintain and keep updated such e-files.
• To contribute to the continuous development of company procedures and systems.
• To produce relevant articles for inclusion in Club publications.
• To participate in meetings / engagements with brokers and service providers including Club correspondents and lawyers.
• Understands the importance of the Club/Member relationship and able to identify areas of additional service that will add value to the relationship.
• Ability to break down and solve problems through quantitative thinking and analysis.
• To support the Syndicate Underwriting objectives.
• To carry out any other duties that are within the scope of personal skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed.
• To attend appropriate training and to develop relevant knowledge and skills.
• To perform any other ad hoc duties as required.

Person Specification

• Previous experience handling shipping litigation and dispute resolution, from either another P&I club, insurer, law firm, or ship owner / charterer.
• Qualified lawyer (preferably English-qualified) with experience equivalent to approximately 2 years' PQE, or degree-educated (LLB or LLM in Maritime Law or equivalent) with at least 3 years' relevant claims-handling or industry experience.
• Excellent communication skills, including negotiating, presenting, and reporting (written and verbal).
• Ability to build and maintain effective business relationships at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Highly organised, motivated, and enthusiastic with an excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to deliver high quality work within agreed timeframes to and prioritise individual workload.
• Proficiency in a European language, in addition to English, is considered an advantage but is not essential.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and able to work collaboratively as part of a team.

What you will get:

• Joining our collaborative, supportive and friendly working environment, you will enjoy a rewarding career with the opportunity to build on your existing skills and knowledge.
• We offer great work life balance initiatives, including competitive hybrid working policy.
• Clear and transparent career pathway - offering you continued support with enhancing your skills and creating employment development opportunities.
• We offer free educational access to the Protection & Indemnity Qualification, created by the International Group of P&I Clubs.
• An attractive benefits package which includes private healthcare.
• We also provide competitive health subsidy, and access to our comprehensive wellbeing and savings programme throughout the year, to create an environment that supports everyone’s mental and physical health.

Company Values

Mutuality - ensuring fairness amongst Club Members

Integrity - upholding high ethical, legal, and regulatory standards

Safety and Sustainability - contributing to safety of life at sea and the preservation of the environment.

Transparency - building strong relationships based on trust and open communication.

Excellence - enabling our people to realise their full potential as team members, industry experts, leaders, and managers.

Collaborative - embracing flexibility, diversity, and inclusivity.

Steamship Insurance Management Services Ltd is committed to providing a great service to all our members. We pride ourselves on offering a people-centred culture that provides mutual respect and support for all our staff.