Manager, Claims & Insurance

This position will own and lead all aspects of the claims function as a subject matter expert partnering with a variety of internal and external business areas.

This role will be instrumental in helping our Insurance program with the following three key long-term goals: (1) Make insurance a frictionless experience; (2) Buy the "right” insurance at the “right” price with the “right” insurers; and (3) Mature from insurance purchase to strategic risk-sharing with insurers.

• Oversight of all insurance-related claims.
• Cultivate strong relationships with insurance claims personnel, insurance brokers, defense counsels, and all external third parties to minimize the financial loss to American Water or maximize insurance recovery.
• Partnering with external third-party claims administrators and other third parties to practice emergencies & scenarios.
• Partner with internal (Supply Chain, Procurement, Legal, etc.) as well as external (brokers) partners to effectuate an effortless and self-sufficient Contractual Risk Transfer program.
• Reviewing claim reserves to ensure adequacy and accuracy
• Regulator-facing: Assist with all aspects of standardized regulator-facing contractual risk transfer protocols to in compliance with regulatory and internal risk-transfer protocols.
• Oversee all third-party claims administrators, as well as third-party service providers, including surveillance firms, investigation firms, and other third-parties as necessary.
• Facilitate a centralized process for all contractual requests including standardized processes for Certificates of Insurance, Railroad Professional Liability, and other contract review inquiries.
• Claims/Data Analysis: Partner with Operations Excellence, Engineering, Operations, Legal, and 12+ internal stakeholders to conduct analyses of historical losses as well as proactive/predictive loss forecasting to inform appropriate type and level risks to be insured or to evaluate financial risk to the organization.
• Contractual Risk Transfer: Assist the Sr. Manager, Insurance or Director, Insurance with all programmatic aspects of the enterprise Contractual Risk Transfer program resulting in an efficient, transparent, and seamless/frictionless experience:
• Captive Oversight & Special Projects: Undertake all claims-related responsibilities pertaining to self-insured insurance programs (including captives) and lead special projects as needed.
• Act as the primary Claims contact, providing notices, summaries and updates to external partners (including regulatory bodies), as needed, throughout the insurance renewal & claims management processes in coordination with the Sr. Manager, Insurance (or Director, Insurance)
• Conduct routine claims-focused analyses of uninsured and uninsurable exposures to American Water’s balance sheet.
• Ensures the production of accurate, predictable, and reliable claims data, facilitating claims strategy meetings and continuous evaluation of self-insured retentions.
• Claims Management: Lead and manage the development, implementation, and administration of the company’s analytics-focused claims programs including:
• Developing emergency response plans in partnership with external vendors and internal partners to support the business in the event of a crisis.
• Responding to reservation of rights letters
• Coordinate aspects of complex, sensitive, and non-traditional claims (i.e., Employment Practices, Cyber, Directors’ & Officer’s and others as needed).
• Enterprise Crisis Response: act as the primary and lead liaison for the Enterprise Crisis Response Team (ECRT) to ensure claims readiness and responsiveness. This component of the role requires providing 24/7 coverage leading a team of 2-3 individuals to ensure that the insurance claims function is equipped and staffed to respond to foreseen and unforeseen crises. Activities include, but are not limited to:
• Leading coverage negotiations with insurers and other third parties.
• Deploying staff and external resources immediately following the crisis to mitigate the financial impact of an insurance loss or crisis to our customers or other stakeholders.
• Lead, train, and motivate the next generation of insurance claims professionals, ensuring appropriate redundancy, and backup.
• Supplier-facing: Assist with all aspects of standardized supplier-facing contractual risk transfer protocols based on enterprise risk guidelines.
• Claims administration for self-insurance programs, including captive placements.
• Lead all analytical processes to find opportunities for cost-effective claim resolution strategies for insured and uninsured losses.
• Lead analytics-focused initiatives to optimize risk-transfer and self-insurance solutions.
• Ensure that all first-party claims, including property claims are adjudicated promptly, efficiently, cost-effectively, and coordinate all components of payment and reimbursement.
• Ensure proper communication and notices of incidents and/or claims to external partners including but not limited to umbrella and excess insurers as well as brokers
• Customer-facing: Assist with all aspects of standardized customer-facing contractual risk transfer protocols in compliance with internal risk-transfer protocols.
• Compliance: Conduct all compliance-related activities for the Insurance-Claims Team, in compliance with internal policies and statutory laws or other government regulations. Examples include, but are not limited to:

Up to 15% - nationwide.

• Bachelor’s degree in Insurance, Risk, Finance, Analytics, Law, or similar areas.
• Prior experience with complex, highly-litigated, multiparty and multiclaimant claims, including class action claims with a demonstrated ability to de-escalate and mitigate high-value claims in a cost-efficient manner.
• Familiarity with internal regulatory compliance (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley, Internal Audit).
• Proficiency with Microsoft products and knowledge of eCARMA and RISKTRAC or other analytical claims software.
• Prior experience with contract reviews, contractual risk transfer, insurance certificate management, and claims handling.
• Compliance with other applicable laws, rules, and regulations .
• Prior experience leading and managing individuals and teams including training and development of Insurance-Claims Analysts.
• Familiarity with external regulatory compliance (e.g., Contractual compliance, monopolistic states, etc.).
• Compliance with applicable Internal Audit, Sarbanes-Oxley mandates and other internal policies.
• Structured problem-solving approach with demonstrated aptitude for analytical and conceptual problem-solving.
• 5-8 or more years within an insurance company, broker, or corporate risk transfer function with responsibility for claims management, administration, or oversight.
• Knowledge of insurance markets and industry trends.
• Excellent written & verbal negotiation skills.
• Excellent presentation skills with the ability to provide monthly summarized updates to external stakeholders & executives.
• Experience as an insurance claims consultant or a corporate in-house litigation counsel or a claims lead.
• Broad understanding of insurance policy coverages, terms, conditions and exclusions.
• Ability to articulate financial claims exposure as well as litigation strategy with the Senior / Executive Leadership Team of a large organization.
• Master’s degree in a relevant field, such as Law, Litigation Management, Negotiations, etc. is advantageous.
• Knowledge of and experience with water utility and related services business risks is preferred but not required.
• A Juris Doctor (JD) or similar legal professional degree is advantageous and considered in lieu of experience.
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills.
• Deep understanding of the property, casualty, and financial lines of insurance, with an emphasis on claim trends and the litigation landscape.
• Strong understanding of loss control, risk analysis, and cost-benefit analysis related to claims management programs.
• Prior experience leading and managing a complex claims unit, including deep familiarity with products-liability claims, general liability claims, automobile liability claims, and financial lines claims such as cyber, fiduciary, fidelity, employment practices liability, etc.
• Ability to work collaboratively with people at all levels in an organization.
• Knowledge of federal, state and local laws, regulations and tariffs applicable to utilities is preferred but not required.
• Experience as a corporate (in-house) claims manager or professional with a large, complex firm is highly desirable.

Hybrid (Camden, NJ)

$110,000 - $130,000

The base salary range represents a good faith salary range for this position. This position is eligible for annual incentive pay and has the opportunity for continued salary growth. If you are hired at American Water your base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as market, geography, skills, education and/or experience. At American Water, we are committed to pay equity.

• Monopolistic state Worker’s Compensation programs.
• Financial Lines: Surety Bonds, Fiduciary Liability, etc.