Claims Counsel Representative

Western National Group & Umialik Insurance • Edina, MN

23h

About The Position

Western National Insurance Group is a private mutual insurance company with over 120 years of experience serving customers' property-and-casualty insurance needs in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern United States. Known as “The Relationship Company®,” we define success as a measure of the relationships we’ve built over time. In everything that we do, we know that delivering a friendly and helpful interaction makes for a better experience for everyone involved. That’s the power of “nice”. At Western National, nice is something we work to bring to every person and organization with whom we partner and serve. Western National Insurance Group is seeking a Claims Counsel Representative to join our team! The individual in this role will have the opportunity to perform legal work including conducting research, reviewing policies, evaluating contracts and conduct, ensuring compliance with legal requirements, and overseeing litigation.

Requirements

• Demonstrated knowledge of industry practices, standards, and claims concepts.
• Ability to anticipate legal obstacles and challenges and strategize plans to address them.
• Skillfully negotiate complex settlements.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Proficient oral and written communication skills.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to multitask.
• Proficient use of various core systems, office and computer equipment, and software packages.
• Ability to travel to home office when appropriate.

Nice To Haves

• Strong communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain professional relationships.
• J.D. degree and admission to the Minnesota Bar required; Washington Bar admission preferred.
• Five-plus years of claims litigation experience.

Responsibilities

• Supports our core business principles of empowerment, accountability, and connectiveness by working collaboratively with claims and legal teams and learning how these values guide daily decision-making.
• Assists with the handling of civil litigation claims, including gathering information, reviewing case details, coordinating with internal partners and defense counsel, and supporting timely and effective claim resolution.
• Provides support to claims staff by helping evaluate legal issues, researching questions, and escalating more complex matters as appropriate. This role offers hands-on exposure to legal and claims decision-making.
• Learns and shares updates on legal changes and trends by assisting with tracking relevant laws and regulations and helping communicate their impact to claims and other departments with guidance from experienced team members.
• Helps ensure information is shared appropriately by communicating relevant details to team members and stakeholders who may be affected by claims decisions or policy interpretations.
• Applies and explains company policies under supervision, helping ensure consistency while developing a strong understanding of policy language and intent.
• Contributes to process and procedure development by identifying questions, documenting workflows, and offering suggestions for improvement as experience grows.
• Consistently acts according to our customer experience standards, including responding quickly, maintaining a positive attitude, building rapport, demonstrating empathy, managing the customer’s expectations, using the proper communication channel for the situation, and taking ownership to ensure the customer’s issue is resolved.

Benefits

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (Risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Bonus opportunities
• Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees