Vice President, Head of Design Professional Liability Claims

Sompo; Morristown (NJ); On-site; USD 135,000 - 235,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical plans

Dental & vision benefits

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Sompo seeks a VP, Head of Design Professional Liability Claims to lead the North America Claims portfolio, including Architects & Engineers, Construction, and Pollution matters. You will guide claim strategy, drive performance, and partner with underwriting to align risk and pricing.

Based in NY or NJ, you will manage a team of claims professionals, collaborate with global colleagues, and represent Sompo at client meetings and industry events while upholding Sompo values and delivering excellent

Qualifications

• Law degree required with 8+ years of claims experience.
• Supervisory experience at an insurance company or law firm.
• Experience handling complex professional liability claims (Architects & Engineers, Construction, Pollution).
• Ability to build relationships with underwriting, actuarial, legal, and other internal stakeholders.
• Strong presentation, verbal and written communication skills with analytical abilities.
• MS Word, Excel, Outlook; Guidewire and ImageRight experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of claims professionals handling complex professional liability claims.
• Serve as the key technical and claim portfolio contact for internal and external stakeholders.
• Identify and execute claims operational priorities, regulatory standards, portfolio exposures, and trends.
• Provide coverage, liability, and damages analysis; respond to coverage questions; support policy drafting.
• Represent the Company at client meetings, mediations, industry events, and conferences.
• Collaborate with Global Sompo Claims and other groups on strategic projects.

Skills

Team leadership

Claims analysis

Stakeholder management

Presentation skills

Education

Law degree

Tools

Guidewire

ImageRight

Job description

Sompo has a unique opportunity for a VP, Head of Design Professional Liability Claims in our North America Insurance Claims team. This role leads the claims portfolio, including related sub-classes and complex claims, to deliver strong business outcomes across loss ratio, capital, and brand while consistently providing excellent service to brokers and customers. It oversees portfolio management in line with claims strategy to support underwriting plans and strategic objectives, provides expert insights and recommendations to enhance portfolio and product performance, drives continuous improvement to control indemnity, reduce expense, and improve customer experience, collaborates with Underwriting Product Heads to strengthen risk selection and pricing through claims intelligence, and ensures Sompo Values are reflected in the performance of the role and team.

Location: This position may be based out of our New York, NY, Morristown, NJ, Garden City, NY or Purchase, NY offices. We strive for collaboration which is why we offer a work environment where our employees thrive and develop long lasting careers.

What you’ll be doing

• Manage and develop a team of claims professionals handling complex professional liability claims, including Architects & Engineers, Construction Professional, and Pollution matters.
• Serve as the key technical and claim portfolio contact for internal and external stakeholders, including claims management, underwriters, brokers, clients, and senior leadership.
• Identify and execute claims operational priorities, claims management requirements, regulatory standards, portfolio exposures, and emerging claim trends.
• Provide coverage, liability, and damages analysis; respond to coverage questions; resolve claim-related issues; and support Professional Lines policy drafting.
• Represent the Company at client meetings, mediations, industry events, and conferences, including potential speaking, presenting, and publishing on claim trends and issues.
• Collaborate with Global Sompo Claims colleagues and other functional groups on strategic projects, complex claims, business initiatives, travel as needed, and other duties as assigned by management.

What You’ll Bring

• Law degree required, with ideally 8+ years of claims experience, supervisory experience at an insurance company, and/or relevant law firm experience.
• Proven ability to analyze coverage, liability, and damages for complex professional liability claims, particularly Architects & Engineers and Construction Professional matters.
• Experience directly handling complex primary and excess claims, including mediations and settlement negotiations.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with underwriting, actuarial, legal, and other internal stakeholders.
• Excellent presentation, verbal, and written communication skills, with strong analytical, decision-making, organizational, and resource management abilities.
• Strong client service focus and computer skills, including MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and claims systems; Guidewire and ImageRight experience preferred.

Salary Range: $135,000 – $235,000. Actual compensation for this role will depend on several factors including the cost of living associated with your work location, your qualifications, skills, competencies, and relevant experience.

At Sompo, we recognize that the talent, skills, and commitment of our employees drive our success. This is why we offer competitive, high-quality compensation and benefit programs to eligible employees.

Our compensation program is built on a foundation that promotes a pay-for-performance culture, resulting in higher incentive awards, on average, when the Company does well and lower incentive awards when the Company underperforms. The total compensation opportunity for all regular, full-time employees is a combination of base salary and incentives that gets adjusted upfront based on overall Company performance with final awards based on individual performance.

Summary

• Two medical plans to choose from, including a Traditional PPO & a Consumer Driven Health Plan with a Health Savings account providing a competitive employer contribution
• Pharmacy benefits with mail order options
• Dental benefits including orthodontia benefits for adults and children
• Vision benefits
• Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Company-paid Life & AD&D benefits, including the option to purchase Supplemental life coverage for employee, spouse & children
• Company-paid Disability benefits with very competitive salary continuation payments
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with competitive employer contributions
• Competitive paid-time-off programs, including company-paid holidays
• Competitive Parental Leave Benefits & Adoption Assistance program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Tax-Free Commuter Benefit
• Tuition Reimbursement & Professional Qualification benefits

Who We Are And What We Stand For

At Sompo, our shared purpose is to create meaningful value for clients, communities, and each other. We strive to foster a workplace where everyone feels respected, included, and empowered to excel. As a global organization, we embrace diversity and champion equal opportunity. Guided by our core values—Accountability, Agility, Collaboration, Development, and Integrity—we build trust and support one another to achieve our goals worldwide. Life at Sompo.

Our values come to life in how we hire and grow talent. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and organizational need, and we strive to ensure equitable access to opportunities so everyone can do their best work.