Commercial Trucking - Claims Manager [940]

Responsibilities

• Lead Our Third-Party Administrator Relationship: Set expectations, review files and reserves, monitor performance, and identify claims that need direct in-house attention.
• Coach and Develop Our Claims Team: Strengthen adjusters’ investigation, communication, and negotiation skills across property damage, bodily injury, and subrogation/recovery claims.
• Personally Negotiate Challenging Claims: Take ownership of high-exposure and difficult bodily injury claims, working directly with unrepresented claimants and plaintiff counsel to pursue fair, practical resolutions.
• Lead Thorough Investigations: Oversee accident investigations, evidence preservation, and witness interviews. Evaluate liability and damages—including catastrophic injury and fatality losses—and establish accurate reserves early.
• Build a Stronger Claims Process: Develop and refine standards for first contact, investigation, reserving, settlement authority, negotiation, and litigation avoidance.
• Manage Litigation and Outside Partners: Ensure defense counsel receives a complete file and clear resolution strategy. Manage counsel, independent adjusters, and experts, including budgets, billing, and performance. Attend mediations, settlement conferences, and trials as needed, and serve as a corporate representative when required.
• Partner with Safety and Legal: Coordinate accident response, coverage questions, tenders, and contractual indemnity while maintaining compliance with applicable claims-handling rules, reporting obligations, and internal authority protocols.
• Turn Claims Data Into Action: Track claim cycle time, litigation rates, average bodily injury severity, and administrator performance—and use those findings to improve results.

Requirements

• 7+ years of commercial auto liability claims experience, with substantial third-party bodily injury experience, including catastrophic and fatality losses.
• A trucking or transportation background, with an understanding of fleet operations and FMCSA regulations.
• A proven record of resolving bodily injury claims before a lawsuit through direct negotiation.
• Experience managing adjusters, a claims team, or a third-party administrator—or a track record demonstrating readiness to take that step.
• Litigation management experience, including counsel strategy, budgets, and settlement.
• Strong knowledge of state claims-handling regulations, fair claims practices, and multi-state compliance.
• An active adjuster license, or the ability to obtain required licenses within 60 days, and a commitment to maintaining licensing and continuing education requirements.
• Workers’ compensation claims handling or oversight.
• Self-insured, captive, or large-deductible programs within transportation.
• Claims management or risk management information systems and claims reporting.
• A bachelor’s degree is preferred, but not required.
• Relevant expertise and demonstrated capability matter.

Skills

• You’re comfortable negotiating difficult claims without making the conversation adversarial.
• You communicate directly, read files critically, and recognize when a claim needs intervention.
• You bring urgency without creating chaos.
• You can coach an adjuster, challenge a vendor’s recommendation, and personally move a difficult claim toward resolution.
• You know that effective claims leadership requires both strong outcomes and fair, compliant handling.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• 401(k) with Company Match
• Paid Time Off

Pay

$125,000–$150,000 Annual Salary

Schedule

Full-Time, Exempt; occasional travel to Commerce, California headquarters and to mediations and site visits as claims require.