Vice President of Claims

COMPANY INTRO

ARU, founded in 2016, has quickly risen to become the U.S. leader in specialty PROPERTY insurance underwriting, product development, loss control, and technology.

 

ARU continues to grow at a torrid pace, and the company currently seeks an experienced, entrepreneurial, hands-on claims professional to serve as Vice President of Claims. The VP of Claims' primary duty is to lead the EXECUTION and CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT of the company's claims, with the highest levels of timeliness, professionalism, and accuracy. The right candidate will be an individual: 1) who brings substantial experience leading claims excellence at a MGA, TPA, or insurer, and 2) who has the heart of a servant leader, using both words and actions to lead in a hands-on manner.

WHAT WE’RE OFFERING TO YOU:

• You will work in a supportive, team-driven environment, as part of a team dedicated to being the "best in the world."
• You will receive a competitive compensation package, with base annual salary, annual bonus, and company-provided benefits.  You will have 100% employer-paid health insurance for the employee, generous PTO, and a 100% vested retirement plan with company match.
• You will be working in a 100% remote position, for an employer that proactively supports its employees’ comfort and safety.
• You will have a position in a fast-growing, modern, technology-based company, where your contribution will be critical to the company’s success, and where your performance will earn your opportunities for recognition and promotion.

PRIMARY DUTIES:

• Help ARU be the best in the world at what we do, and do not ever settle for mediocrity. Actively participate in ARU’s culture of collaborative problem-solving.
• Treat every assignment as an opportunity to:  1) learn and grow as an insurance professional, and 2) prepare for increased responsibilities in the company.  
• Perform with a high level of polish and professionalism, in all spoken and written communications.  Address internal and external business challenges in a graceful and tactful manner.  Complete all duties with a high degree of urgency, thoroughness, and accuracy.  
• Lead and serve from the front, in a hands-on manner.  Perform as player-coach, leading with a "do what I do" approach (vs. "do what I say").  Perform as the company’s top claims professional, and actively work claims as part of leading the department.  
• Bring an intense academic curiosity, and be a constant student.  Learn the key points of ARU's subject risks, and how / why they fail.  Study all available resources to elevate knowledge and expertise on property FIRE risk.  Collaborate with internal and external resources, such as fire investigators and professional engineers, to constantly increase knowledge.
• Instill an infectious culture of constant improvement in the claims department.  Perform as the claims “improvement czar,” constantly seeking opportunities to identify and implement meaningful, iterative, achievable improvements that deliver value to internal and external stakeholders.  Seek perfection, but ensure that the pursuit of perfection does not impede progress.  Balance all initiatives with the realities of budgetary and resource constraints.
• Lead a SWOT analysis of current claims methods and technology.  Review existing claims personnel, reporting relationships, and resource allocations. Review all claims policies, procedures, processes, workflows, and documentation, with a focus on scaling the company's claims operations while maintaining the company's collaborative and entrepreneurial culture. Review all company technologies and systems and their use cases. Identify current and future operational shortcomings and plan / implement scalable solutions, in accordance with company timeline and budget requirements.
• Lead and manage all company claims operations, identifying and implementing necessary improvements to achieve “best in class” claims operational excellence.  Oversee the entire claims lifecycle, inclusive of FNOL, investigation, forms reviews, file creation and maintenance, internal / external touchpoints and communications, reserving practices, carrier communications, payments, reporting, etc.
• Implement consistent policies and procedures, and develop and implement claims best practices for proper and consistent claim performance, compliance, achievement of business goals, and investigating of potentially fraudulent claims. Achieve FAST and FAIR claims settlements after proper, accurate, and thorough investigations / legal reviews. Evaluate current CX and communication protocols, identity improvement opportunities, and pursue superlative CX. 
• Manage litigation in collaboration with Legal and carrier representatives.
• Identify issues and trends in the portfolio; take appropriate and corrective action where necessary; communicate trends to underwriters, insureds, and brokers.
• Establish robust complaint-handling guidelines and serve as the primary contact.
  Coordinate with underwriting on current and proposed policy language and new markets to enter.
• Cultivate a departmental culture that excels in communication and collaboration.
  Drive the development, implementation and continuous planning, organizing and leading of all claim programs, metrics, processes, results and initiatives.
• Proactively establish relationships with brokers and insureds to maximize the competitive advantage derived from the claim’s operation.
• Attend industry conventions and events and become a sought thought leader on developing issues.
• Stay abreast of various state legal environments and key legal developments; ensure legal compliance of claims operations at all times.  
• Attend marketing, account renewal, and reinsurance meetings as appropriate to communicate ARU group claims-handling philosophy and leading position in this area.
• Perform as key claims relationship liaison with both external carriers and internal ARU underwriting departments. Achieve close, working relationships with ARU’s underwriting leads, and meet regularly with these individuals.  Inquire about and assess pain points from internal (ARU) and external (carrier) stakeholders and develop / implement ARS plans and adjustments to improve ARS deliverables to these stakeholders.  Directly oversee all external audit or compliance requests and ensure any observed shortcomings are immediately addressed.
• Oversee management of claims account cash (in trust) and claims data.  Execute timely and accurate internal and external reporting, interfacing with the CFO and COO as appropriate.  Swiftly address any performance shortcomings identified by external stakeholders, using all feedback as an opportunity to grow and improve claims operations.
• Train, support, and charge all claims employees with the achievement of operational excellence, and hold them accountable for the same.  Coach and lead all claims professionals in the shared responsibility of essential claims best practices and procedures.
• Coordinate and communicate with the company accounting department in regards to billing issues with underwriting implications.  
• Master the use of ARU standardized hardware, software programs, third party software, and processing procedures.
• Other, as assigned.

WHAT WE MINIMALLY REQUIRE - YOUR EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLSET:

• 10+ years of Property and Casualty claims insurance experience at an MGA, TPA, or carrier, with strong PROPERTY experience preferred.
• 4+ years leading a team of adjusters / claims professionals.
• Active adjuster license in at least one state, or the ability to obtain such.
• Proficient in claims best practices, claims operational excellence, customer experience, and compliance obligations.
• Excellent dispute resolution skills, including negotiating with public adjusters and plaintiff attorneys.
• Exceptional leadership and soft skills, with the strong ability to resolve challenging situations with a patient and calm demeanor.
• Excellent professional presentation and polish, in the spoken word and written form.
• Excellent thoroughness, accuracy, personal organization, time management, and record-keeping skills.
• Excellent critical thinker and problem-solver under pressure. High intellectual curiosity, with an enjoyment of learning and self-improvement.

REMOTE POSITION / HOME OFFICE / TIME ZONE REQUIREMENTS:

• This is a 100% remote position. As such, adherence to remote-work best practices is required, which includes (but is not limited to) having an appropriate professional home-office set-up, with reliable high speed internet. The space used for the office must be a separate enclosed room with a door that closes and that has professional decor appropriate for video conferencing.
• As this is a remote position, candidates may live anywhere in the United States. However, working either EASTERN or CENTRAL time business hours is required.

ABOUT ARU’S CULTURE:

We demand excellence from ourselves and those around us; we work accurately and thoroughly, but also with a great sense of urgency; we are excellent critical thinkers and creative problem solvers; we contribute cheerfully to ARU’s environment of collaborative brainstorming and respectful debate; we love to explore and experiment, and we are comfortable occasionally blazing a trail that ends up actually being a “bridge to nowhere” -- just as long as we fail fast, pivot appropriately, and become tougher and smarter as a result; we love to learn, read, and grow as human beings; we believe in science-based truths, and we know there is no such thing as an alternative fact.

MORE ABOUT ARU:

ARU was founded with a goal to use expertise, engineering, and technology to disrupt the legacy marketplace. Our core mission is to deliver a superior experience to our policyholders, while also maintaining sustainability and consistency writing historically-challenging classes of business. To do so, we build and deploy 100% proprietary insurance products, we invest heavily in property loss prevention engineering and research, and we develop home-grown software and other technology. We also focus on collaborative broker and policyholder relationships, which allow us to deliver shared victories for all stakeholders.  ARU is part of the Accelerant Insurance family:  https://accelins.com/