Senior Claim Counsel

Travelers • Hunt Valley, MD

12h

About The Position

Taking care of our customers, our communities and each other. That’s the Travelers Promise. By honoring this commitment, we have maintained our reputation as one of the best property casualty insurers in the industry for over 170 years. Join us to discover a culture that is rooted in innovation and thrives on collaboration. Imagine loving what you do and where you do it. Bond & Specialty Insurance (BSI) provides management and professional liability, cyber, crime insurance, and surety bonds to or on behalf of businesses of all sizes. The BSI Claim Counsel team conducts thorough investigation, analysis, evaluation, and disposition of claims and claim litigation to achieve superior customer service and to optimize claim results. As a valued member of our team, in addition to claim, you also will provide legal advice to our underwriting colleagues and non-attorney claim colleagues, and participate in BSI claim strategic initiatives. Construction Services: Travelers' Construction Services Team includes legal, accounting, and engineering professionals to handle claims on construction-related and other surety bonds, mitigate exposures on construction surety accounts, and provide a wide range of business support and legal services to advance our mission to serve as trusted advisors to our underwriting partners. The main focus of this position is providing business support on a wide variety of topics and issues to our underwriting business partners. There is very little actual claim activity in this group, but the description is below because it is a small part of the role

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• Juris Doctorate Degree.
• Properly licensed, registered or authorized, and in good standing, to practice law in the jurisdiction in which you will be working.
• Three years of relevant legal experience.

Nice To Haves

• Six or more years of relevant legal or claim handling work experience.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively work through conflict and resolve issues with a professional demeanor.
• Ability to make sound decisions and negotiate terms and conditions within designated authority limit.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate coverage determinations.
• Time management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities with an attention to detail, data and analytics.
• Ability to build and maintain effective and collaborative relationships with colleagues, customers, and business partners.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal review and advice to underwriters on bond obligations and project contract documents.
• Review, draft and/or modify bond forms, contract documents, letters to Owners/Obligees regarding onerous bond and contract terms, and other agreements, including indemnity and co-surety, and to a lesser extent, takeover, completion, and subcontractor ratification.
• Review documents pertaining to mergers, equity sales and asset sales to determine the legal status and ownership of indemnitors undergoing a change of control. Draft and negotiate appropriate agreements to document indemnity changes related to such transactions.
• Support underwriting marketing efforts, including participation in broker and account visits/meetings and risk mitigation seminars and authoring customer-focused white papers and articles.
• Research, analyze and provide loss mitigation advice to claim and underwriting colleagues on claims of varying complexity, including drafting/reviewing settlement agreements, releases, assignments, and/or provide transactional support to claim and underwriting colleagues.
• Follow operational policies to analyze, investigate, and resolve BSI claims of varying levels of severity with limited supervision from claims management.
• Retain, monitor, and manage outside counsel actively utilizing litigation management plans and budgets.
• Communicate with underwriting on significant claim exposures.
• Travel to and attend mediations, settlement conferences, claim conferences, field office visits, trials and depositions.
• Modify and/or negotiate terms of agreements including indemnity agreements, letters of credit, set aside letters from lenders, intercreditor agreements and subordination agreements.
• Determine whether bond exposure has expired, including for the purpose of releasing collateral, by reviewing bond terms, applicable law, and court dockets (when applicable).
• Monitor marketplace conditions, conduct research, and draft reference materials to inform claim and underwriting colleagues on law impacting Travelers’ underwriting and claim decisions.
• Obtain and maintain required adjusters’ licenses.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Health Insurance : Employees and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners, and children – are eligible for coverage from the first day of employment.
• Retirement: Travelers matches your 401(k) contributions dollar-for-dollar up to your first 5% of eligible pay, subject to an annual maximum. If you have student loan debt, you can enroll in the Paying it Forward Savings Program. When you make a payment toward your student loan, Travelers will make an annual contribution into your 401(k) account. You are also eligible for a Pension Plan that is 100% funded by Travelers.
• Paid Time Off: Start your career at Travelers with a minimum of 20 days Paid Time Off annually, plus nine paid company Holidays.
• Wellness Program: The Travelers wellness program is comprised of tools, discounts and resources that empower you to achieve your wellness goals and caregiving needs. In addition, our mental health program provides access to free professional counseling services, health coaching and other resources to support your daily life needs.
• Volunteer Encouragement: We have a deep commitment to the communities we serve and encourage our employees to get involved. Travelers has a Matching Gift and Volunteer Rewards program that enables you to give back to the charity of your choice.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree