Director, Claims

AAA Life Insurance Company; Livonia (MI); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Medical, dental and vision coverage

401k match and pension plan

PTO and parental leave

Job summary

AAA Life Insurance Company is seeking a Director of Claims to lead the Life Claims organization, driving strategic vision and operational excellence. The role focuses on empathetic, compliant adjudication, analytics, and automation while partnering across disciplines to advance enterprise growth.

The ideal candidate will bring 10+ years in life insurance claims, 7+ years leading teams, and a proven track record in dashboards, KPIs, and enterprise transformation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive life insurance claims experience.
• 7+ years leading managers and operational teams.
• Experience managing claims operations in a regulated insurance environment.
• Experience developing operational dashboards, KPIs, and executive reporting.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the strategic vision for the Life Claims organization aligned to enterprise objectives.
• Lead all aspects of life insurance claims operations ensuring timely, accurate, empathetic, and compliant adjudication.
• Establish and monitor KPIs including turnaround time, quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, compliance, and financial outcomes.
• Build a data-driven claims organization using dashboards, predictive analytics, executive reporting, and workforce forecasting.
• Lead automation initiatives including workflow automation, RPA, AI-enabled document processing, intelligent routing, and digital claims capabilities.
• Partner with Technology, Data & Analytics, Underwriting, Actuarial, Compliance, Legal, Finance, and Customer Experience teams.
• Drive Lean continuous improvement and process redesign initiatives.
• Oversee complex claims, litigation, appeals, fraud, and escalated customer matters.
• Manage claims budgets, technology investments, and vendor relationships.
• Develop high-performing leaders through coaching, succession planning, and performance management.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Operational Excellence

Claims Analytics & BI

Data-Driven Decision Making

Digital Transformation

Process Automation & AI Enablement

Regulatory & Risk Management

Financial Stewardship

Customer Experience Leadership

Cross-functional Collaboration

Talent Development

Continuous Improvement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/Insurance/Finance/Risk Management

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Snowflake

Job description

Overview

AAA Life is a respected and trusted American brand that has been focusing on Life Insurance and Annuity Products since 1969. At AAA Life we have over 1.8 million policies where we take pride in earning the trust of our policyholders who understand our promise to be there for them – and their families – when we’re needed most. By joining the AAA Life team, you are joining a company that genuinely cares about helping each other, with a devotion to protect the lives of those around us. We embrace a diverse, equitable, inclusive culture where all associates can feel a sense of belonging and use their unique talents and perspective to influence, innovate, motivate, and thrive.

We need an ambitious, curious leader to become the Director of Claims on the Enterprise Operations Team to help drive the biggest change in the company’s history.

The Opportunity – Why Join

Are you ready to redefine how an entire industry engages with customers? At AAA Life we leverage technology to put human connection at the heart of what we do. If you are someone who thrives on purpose and wants to make a tangible difference in people’s lives when it matters most, then join AAA Life who has the unique ability to access tens of millions of existing AAA customers powered by the strength of one of America’s most trusted brands. We have embarked on a mission to double in size - Becoming one of the largest providers in the US. These facts showcase why we're the right choice:

• On purpose: a leading professional services firm found that the commitment, empathy and dedication of employees at AAA Life was the highest across a benchmark of top US companies
• On growth: we have the privilege to offer our products to tens of millions of Americans that are proud members of AAA
• On making a difference: we serve Americans by delivering life insurance products that make a true difference for families during their hardest times, not wealth management instruments (more details on this during the interview)
• On culture: USA Today named us 2025 top workplace nationwide. We believe the job of an insurance company is to do good. Our mission is to help our members during what is often the hardest times in their lives. We pick up the phone to people who have lost loved ones and offer our genuine support. That is why we will always put human connection at the heart of what we do - always being there to talk to our members person to person. We believe the job of an insurance company is to pay out. That is what insurance is for. Most of our members have real life policies - policies that bring peace of mind during life, and genuine support in the event of death. We are not here to chase the super-rich with annuities and wealth management products. AAA has been one of the most trusted names in America because it believes in providing the services that middle class Americans need.

Responsibilities

The Role

The Director, Claims provides strategic leadership for AAA Life's Claims organization, overseeing claims operations while driving operational excellence, digital transformation, analytics, automation, and customer experience. This leader ensures accurate, timely, empathetic, and compliant claims adjudication while leveraging technology and data to modernize operations and support enterprise growth.

The Next Phase

Our mission is to provide those services for as many people as we can. To achieve that we need to evolve. We need to boldly embrace innovation and technology. Your leadership will help us deliver on our mission together and achieve our transformation. At AAA Life, empathy and progress go hand in hand, creating a culture where bright ideas flourish and meaningful impact grow. If you are drawn to

an environment that values purpose as much as potential, we invite you to join us. Because here, being there for people isn’t just a promise, it is our driving force.

Position Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the strategic vision for the Life Claims organization aligned to enterprise objectives.
• Lead all aspects of life insurance claims operations ensuring timely, accurate, empathetic, and compliant adjudication.
• Establish and monitor KPIs including turnaround time, quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, compliance, and financial outcomes.
• Build a data-driven claims organization using dashboards, predictive analytics, executive reporting, and workforce forecasting.
• Lead automation initiatives including workflow automation, RPA, AI-enabled document processing, intelligent routing, and digital claims capabilities.
• Partner with Technology, Data & Analytics, Underwriting, Actuarial, Compliance, Legal, Finance, and Customer Experience teams.
• Drive Lean continuous improvement and process redesign initiatives.
• Oversee complex claims, litigation, appeals, fraud, and escalated customer matters.
• Manage claims budgets, technology investments, and vendor relationships.
• Develop high-performing leaders through coaching, succession planning, and performance management.

Core Competencies – How You Will Contribute

• Strategic Leadership
• Operational Excellence
• Claims Analytics & Business Intelligence
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Digital Transformation
• Process Automation & AI Enablement
• Regulatory & Risk Management
• Financial Stewardship
• Customer Experience Leadership
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Talent Development
• Continuous Improvement

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Insurance, Finance, Risk Management or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive life insurance claims experience.
• 7+ years leading managers and operational teams.
• Experience managing claims operations in a regulated insurance environment.
• Experience developing operational dashboards, KPIs, and executive reporting.
• Experience leading enterprise transformation or operational improvement initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree (MBA or related).

• FLMI, ACS, AALU, ALHC or similar insurance designation.

• Experience implementing workflow automation, RPA, AI, OCR, or intelligent document

  processing.

• Strong experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, Snowflake, or comparable BI tools.

• Lean Six Sigma certification or equivalent process improvement experience.

• Experience with claims platform modernization and vendor management.

How You’ll Work

• Work Solution: Hybrid
• Relocation Eligibility: Available

What We Bring to the Table

• Hybrid work environment that promotes work-life balance
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage starting from your first day
• Employer 401k match and employer contribution to a pension plan
• Generous PTO and paid parental leave to support your family needs
• Various associate resource groups and community involvement initiatives

Essential Job Functions

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

This job requires the ability to perform duties contained in the job description for this position, including, but not limited to, the above requirements. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for otherwise qualified applicants as needed to enable them to fulfill these requirements.

AAA Life Insurance Company does not offer immigration sponsorship for this position. This includes visa types such as H-1B, TN, and STEM OPT. Please do not apply if you currently require or may require employer-sponsored immigration support now or in the future.