Litigation Specialist Liability - Melville, NY

What Is the Opportunity?

This role is eligible for a sign on bonus!

What Will You Do?

• Directly handles assigned claims.
• Provides quality customer service and ensures file quality and timely coverage analysis and communication with insured based on application of policy information to facts or allegations of each case.
• Consults with Manager on use of Claim Coverage Counsel as needed.
• Directly investigates each claim through prompt and strategically-appropriate contact with appropriate parties such as policyholders, accounts, claimants, law enforcement agencies, witnesses, agents, medical providers and technical experts to determine the extent of liability, damages, and contribution potential.
• Interviews witnesses and stakeholders; takes necessary statements, as strategically appropriate.
• Actively engages in the identification, selection and direction of appropriate internal and/or external resources for specific activities required to effectively evaluate claims, such as Subrogation, Risk Control, nurse consultants, and fire or fraud investigators, and other experts.
• Verifies the nature and extent of injury or property damage by obtaining and reviewing appropriate records and damages documentation.
• Maintains claim files and documents claim file activities in accordance with established procedures.
• Utilizes evaluation documentation tools in accordance with department guidelines.
• Proactively creates Claim File Analysis (CFA) by adhering to quality standards.
• Utilizes diary management system to ensure that all claims are handled timely.
• Evaluates liability and damages exposure at required time intervals.
• Establishes and maintains proper indemnity and expense reserves.
• Recommends appropriate cases for discussion at roundtable.
• Attends and/or presents at roundtables/authority discussions for collaboration of technical expertise resulting in improved payout on indemnity and expense.
• Develops and employs creative resolution strategies.
• Promptly and properly disposes of all claims within delegated authority.
• Negotiates disposition of claims with insureds and claimants or their legal representatives.
• Recognizes and implements alternate means of resolution.
• Manages litigated claims.
• Develops litigation plan with staff or panel counsel, including discovery and legal expenses, to assure effective resolution and to satisfy customers.
• Applies litigation management through the selection of counsel, evaluation and direction of claim and litigation strategy.
• Tracks and controls legal expenses to assure cost-effective resolution.
• Effectively and efficiently manages both allocated and unallocated loss adjustment expenses.
• Attends depositions, mediations, arbitrations, pre-trials, trials and all other legal proceedings, as needed.
• Updates appropriate parties as needed, providing new facts as they become available, and their impact upon the liability analysis and settlement options.
• Recognizes cases, based on severity/complexity protocols that should be transferred to another level of claim professional and refers on a timely basis.
• Adequately deals with information that is considered personal and confidential.
• Fulfills specific service commitments made to certain accounts, as outlined in Special Account Communication (SAC) instructions and inquiries from agents and brokers.
• Represents the company as a technical resource; attends legal proceedings as needed, acts within established professional guidelines as well as applicable state laws.
• Actively provides mentoring and coaching to less experienced claim professionals to increase the technical expertise and improve bench strength.
• Shares accountability with business partners to achieve and sustain quality results.
• Evaluates all claims for recovery potential; directly handles recovery efforts and/or engages and directs Company resources for recovery efforts.

Additional Qualifications/Responsibilities

• What Will Our Ideal Candidate Have?
• Bachelor's Degree.
• 5 years business experience.
• Advanced level knowledge and skill in claim and litigation.
• Basic working level knowledge and skill in various business line products.
• Strong negotiation and customer service skills.
• Skilled in coverage, liability and damages analysis and has a thorough understanding of the litigation process, relevant case and statutory law and expert litigation management skills.
• Extensive claim and/or legal experience and technical expertise to evaluate severe and complex claims.
• Able to make independent decisions on most assigned cases without involvement of supervisor.
• Openness to the ideas and expertise of others actively solicits input and shares ideas.
• Thorough understanding of commercial lines products, policy language, exclusions, ISO forms, and effective claims handling practices.
• Demonstrated coaching, influence and persuasion skills.
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills are required so as to understand, synthesize, interpret and convey, in a simplified manner, complex data and information to audiences with varying levels of expertise.
• Can adapt to and support cultural change.
• Strong technology aptitude; ability to use business technology tools to effectively research, track, and communicate information.
• Analytical Thinking - Intermediate.
• Judgment/Decision Making - Intermediate.
• Communication - Intermediate.
• Negotiation - Intermediate.
• Insurance Contract. Knowledge - Intermediate.
• Principles of Investigation - Intermediate.
• Value Determination - Intermediate.
• Settlement Techniques - Intermediate.
• Legal Knowledge - Intermediate.
• Medical Knowledge - Intermediate.

Must Have

• High School Diploma or GED.
• 2 years of liability claim handling experience and/or comparable litigation claim experience.
• In order to perform the essential job functions of this job, acquisition and maintenance of Insurance License(s) may be required to comply with state and Travelers requirements.
• Generally, License(s) are required to be obtained within three months of starting the job.