Senior Counsel - Reinsurance Transactions

About the role

This position is a critical member of Nationwide’s Alternative Risk, Reinsurance, and Insurance Claims legal center of excellence within the Office of the Chief Legal Officer (OCLO), supporting complex matters across the Nationwide enterprise. The role provides specialized legal and regulatory counsel on alternative risk financing strategies, reinsurance transactions, and insurance and reinsurance claims, including related coverage, regulatory, governance, and external audit matters for Property & Casualty and Financial Services businesses.

Responsibilities

• Provides legal counsel on sophisticated reinsurance and alternative risk structures supporting Nationwide’s risk transfer and capital management strategies, including:
• Lead and support complex reinsurance transactions, including structuring, drafting, review, and negotiation of reinsurance treaties, facultative arrangements, fronting agreements, trust agreements, and related ancillary documents.
• Advise and support alternative risk financing solutions, including captives, structured programs, insurance-linked securities, catastrophe bonds, and other bespoke risk transfer mechanisms.
• Advise on transactional and operational issues involving reinsurance intermediaries, program administrators, general agents, third party administrators, trusts, collateral arrangements, and multinational insurance programs, including coordination with actuarial, finance, risk, and treasury stakeholders.
• Navigate cross-border and offshore regulatory frameworks (including Bermuda and other jurisdictions) working collaboratively with subject matter experts in tax, privacy, sanctions, and other specialty legal teams.
• Support enterprise risk management through legal guidance on insurance programs, governance, and compliance, including:
• Provide legal counsel on a broad range of property and casualty insurance products, including general liability, auto liability, property, workers’ compensation, excess and surplus lines, and management specialty lines (E&O, D&O, fiduciary liability). Draft and negotiate manuscript policy provisions and endorsements as needed to address unique risk exposures.
• Proactively identify, assess, and mitigate legal and enterprise risk across the organization, partnering with business, risk, finance, and compliance stakeholders to develop and implement strategies that protect the company’s interests and align with risk appetite.
• Advise on corporate governance, regulatory, compliance, and risk management considerations relating to captive insurance programs, including structure, oversight, and ongoing operational matters.
• Advise on complex coverage, recoveries, and dispute matters, while supporting external audit requirements, including:
• Advise on insurance and reinsurance coverage issues, including interpretation of policy and treaty language, legal risk, precedent considerations, and allocation matters.
• Lead the pursuit and management of insurance and reinsurance claims, including drafting demand and notice letters, developing strategic approaches to recovery, and overseeing outside counsel in connection with arbitrations, mediations, and litigation.
• Identify and evaluate material legal and claims matters for financial disclosure, working with finance, internal stakeholders, and external counsel to prepare and issue audit response letters.
• Review and negotiate engagement letters and related agreements with external auditor, ensuring appropriate allocation of risk and alignment with company policies.

Requirements

The successful candidate will bring deep insurance industry experience and sound judgment to enterprise-level risk management and high-impact legal matters. This role requires a Juris Doctorate from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, with typically 15 or more years of relevant legal experience. Must be fully licensed in accordance with OCLO policy, in good standing and in compliance with all continuing legal education requirements at all times in the state(s) in which they practice.

Qualifications

Strong verbal and written communication skills for contacts interacting with all levels within OCLO and with business partners. Analytical ability to interpret statutes, regulations, insurance policies and other contracts. Decision-making ability to set work priorities and make recommendations. Ability to lead cross-functional projects. Ability to lead, initiate, organize and coordinate highly complex projects and/or cases. Takes the lead role in negotiations that are complex, strategic, or sensitive in nature. Supervisory skills useful. Significant professional and/or civic involvement.

Skills

Sound business acuity and knowledge of the business goals and objectives as they relate to the matter at hand. Takes the lead role in matters that are highly complex, strategic, or sensitive in nature. Supervisory skills useful. Significant professional and/or civic involvement.

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Pay

Commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Varies.