Claim Counsel - Design Professional Claim

Travelers; Downers Grove, Chicago (IL, IL); On-site; USD 112,000 - 184,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401(k) matching

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Travelers is seeking a Design Professional Claim Counsel to join the Bond & Specialty Insurance (BSI) team. You will analyze and resolve design-professional liability claims, provide legal advice to underwriting colleagues, and contribute to strategic initiatives.

The role requires a law degree, active license, and several years of relevant experience. As part of the BSI design professional line, you will collaborate with underwriters and claim teams, manage outside counsel, and participate in

Qualifications

• Five or more years of relevant legal or claim handling work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work through conflict and resolve issues with a professional demeanor.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate coverage determinations.
• Ability to travel occasionally.

Responsibilities

• Follow operational policies to analyze, investigate, and resolve BSI claims of varying levels of severity with moderate supervision from claims management.
• Prepare and present reports for management that accurately reflect loss development, potential/actual financial exposure, reserve adjustments, coverage issues, and claim and recovery strategies.
• Retain, monitor, and manage outside counsel actively utilizing litigation management plans and budgets.
• Communicate with underwriting on significant claim exposures.
• Continue to develop the ability to identify all recovery opportunities and coordinate recovery efforts with the Recovery Management Unit and Claim management.
• Travel to and attend mediations, settlement conferences, claim conferences, field office visits, trials and depositions.
• Refine policy interpretation/coverage analysis skills including drafting coverage opinions with case law included.
• Strengthen the ability to negotiate settlements/resolutions, review releases and settlement agreements, including confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions.
• Support underwriting marketing efforts, including participation in broker and account visits and risk mitigation seminars and authoring customer-focused white papers and articles.
• Monitor marketplace conditions, conduct research, and draft reference materials to inform claim and underwriting colleagues on law impacting Travelers’ underwriting and claim decisions.
• Obtain and maintain required adjusters’ licenses.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Legal experience

Negotiation

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Juris Doctorate Degree

Job description

Who Are We? Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That’s the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do and where you do it.

Job Category Claim, Legal Compensation Overview The annual base salary range provided for this position is a nationwide market range and represents a broad range of salaries for this role across the country. The actual salary for this position will be determined by a number of factors, including the scope, complexity and location of the role; the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; and other conditions of employment. As part of our comprehensive compensation and benefits program, employees are also eligible for performance-based cash incentive awards. Salary Range $111,600.00 - $184,200.00 Target Openings 4

What Is the Opportunity?

Bond & Specialty Insurance (BSI) provides management and professional liability, cyber, crime insurance, and surety bonds to or on behalf of businesses of all sizes. The BSI Design Professional Claim Counsel team conducts thorough investigation, analysis, evaluation, and disposition of claims and claim litigation to achieve superior customer service and to optimize claim results. As a valued member of our team, in addition to claim, you also will provide legal advice to our underwriting colleagues and non-attorney claim colleagues, and participate in BSI claim strategic initiatives. Travelers' Professional Liability Team offers errors and omissions liability products to various market segments including accountants, design professionals, lawyers, real estate agents, property managers, and miscellaneous professional liability. The focus of this position is professional liability for design professionals such as architects or engineers.

What Will You Do?

• Follow operational policies to analyze, investigate, and resolve BSI claims of varying levels of severity with moderate supervision from claims management.
• Prepare and present reports for management that accurately reflect loss development, potential/actual financial exposure, reserve adjustments, coverage issues, and claim and recovery strategies.
• Retain, monitor, and manage outside counsel actively utilizing litigation management plans and budgets.
• Communicate with underwriting on significant claim exposures.
• Continue to develop the ability to identify all recovery opportunities and coordinate recovery efforts with the Recovery Management Unit and Claim management.
• Travel to and attend mediations, settlement conferences, claim conferences, field office visits, trials and depositions.
• Refine policy interpretation/coverage analysis skills including drafting coverage opinions with case law included.
• Strengthen the ability to negotiate settlements/resolutions, review releases and settlement agreements, including confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions.
• Support underwriting marketing efforts, including participation in broker and account visits and risk mitigation seminars and authoring customer-focused white papers and articles.
• Monitor marketplace conditions, conduct research, and draft reference materials to inform claim and underwriting colleagues on law impacting Travelers’ underwriting and claim decisions.
• Obtain and maintain required adjusters’ licenses.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What Will Our Ideal Candidate Have?

• Five or more years of relevant legal or claim handling work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work through conflict and resolve issues with a professional demeanor.
• Ability to make sound decisions and negotiate terms and conditions within designated authority limit.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate coverage determinations.
• Time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities with an attention to detail, data and analytics.
• Ability to build and maintain effective and collaborative relationships with colleagues, customers, and business partners.

What is a Must Have?

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• Juris Doctorate Degree.
• Properly licensed, registered or authorized, and in good standing, to practice law in the jurisdiction in which you will be working.
• Two years of relevant legal experience.
• Ability to travel occasionally.

What Is in It for You?

• Health Insurance: Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners, and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment.
• Retirement: Travelers matches your 401(k) contributions dollar-for-dollar up to your first 5% of eligible pay, subject to an annual maximum.
• If you have student loan debt, you can enroll in the Paying it Forward Savings Program. When you make a payment toward your student loan, Travelers will make an annual contribution into your 401(k) account.
• Paid Time Off: Start your career at Travelers with a minimum of 20 days Paid Time Off annually, plus nine paid company Holidays.
• Wellness Program: The Travelers wellness program is comprised of tools, discounts and resources that empower you to achieve your wellness goals and caregiving needs. In addition, our mental health program provides access to free professional counseling services, health coaching and other resources to support your daily life needs.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage our employees to get involved. Travelers has a Matching Gift and Volunteer Rewards program that enables you to give back to the charity of your choice.

Employment Practices

Travelers is an equal opportunity employer. We value the unique abilities and talents each individual brings to our organization and recognize that we benefit in numerous ways from our differences. In accordance with local law, candidates seeking employment in Colorado are not required to disclose dates of attendance at or graduation from educational institutions. If you are a candidate and have specific questions regarding the physical requirements of this role, please send us an email so we may assist you.

Travelers reserves the right to fill this position at a level above or below the level included in this posting.

To learn more about our comprehensive benefit programs please visit http://careers.travelers.com/life-at-travelers/benefits/.

Travelers has more than 30,000 employees in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

>Explore life at Travelers . Open to all employees, our 10 Diversity Networks celebrate culture and communities and create spaces for all employees through powerful forums for dialogue and support.

>Discover diversity and inclusion. Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment.

>Read more about recognition. Our employees are valuable assets to their hometowns, volunteering for important causes each year. > Learn about community involvement.

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