Vice President, Claims

Who We Are:

At PEMCO we’re all about people – our customers, our employees, and the community. We’re a mutual insurance company owned by our Northwest policyholders. We provide auto, home, renters, and boat coverage. Recently, Forbes named PEMCO as one of the Best Insurance Companies in America in 2023 based on customer survey feedback. We are consistently recognized for our outstanding customer service, employee expertise, diverse community partnership and engagement, and social impact as well.

Our social impact programs motivate high achievement by youth in education; build stronger and greener communities; and increase safety at home, on the road, and at play. We’re committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and to fostering an inspiring and inclusive workplace. These efforts create and cultivate an environment that builds fairness and understanding, encourages collaboration and flexibility, and celebrates all the ways in which we’re different and the same – enabling all individuals to achieve their full potential.

Why We Need You:

PEMCO has a dynamic, challenging, and rare opportunity for a Vice President of Claims to join our community. This position is the highest-level executive role in the Claims function at PEMCO which includes Casualty, Property, Auto Liability, Auto Physical Damage, Total Loss, Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Subrogation, Legal Claims, Claims Operations, Special Investigations, and Insurance Quality and Risk. This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer and serves as a member of PEMCO's executive team which is responsible for delivering on PEMCO's strategic imperatives.

What You’ll Be Doing:

General Executive Responsibilities:

• Make Agile Decisions. Assess and respond to the operating conditions of the company including the broader market and competitive environment. With the executive team, define desired strategic outcomes and drive enterprise results with urgency. Drive effective decision-making at all levels of the organization.
• Build Trust. Model PEMCO's core values, culture traits, and guiding principles and create a can-do culture of dignity and trust. Model effective leadership by "walking the talk." Inspire change in an environment where we celebrate the journey and the results and learn from our victories and defeats.
• Own Results. Commit to define outcomes and measures, anticipating and proactively mitigating risk. Operate in strict adherence to regulatory requirements and company by-laws. Ensure that company assets are secured to support our insurance obligations, and that resources are aligned to sustainably achieve our goals and meet policyholder obligations.
• Empower Execution. With the rest of the executive team, provide strategic direction and guidance to the enterprise. Use systems thinking and whole-company perspective to ensure alignment between cross-functional initiatives, resources, and plans. Ensure individuals and teams have the resources to deliver results short- and long-term.
• Explore Fearlessly . Ensure people, processes, technology, capabilities, and procedures are in place to ensure high productivity and deliver high quality service to our customers. Embody and foster a safe environment that promotes high-performance testing, learning, and continuous improvement. Assess and internalize external perspectives, developments and opportunities, bringing innovative thought and approaches to PEMCO.
• Value People . Hire, inspire, and motivate high potential talent to fulfill strategic imperatives, deliver on multi-year priorities, and achieve annual goals. Foster and celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Authentically and meaningfully support and celebrate people - employees, customers, and community.

Functional Area Responsibilities (Claims):

• Create, communicate, and drive an aligned Claims strategy with emphasis on quality adjusting practices, process automation, and customer experience delivery.
• Ensure effective management of all claims and claims issues, provide quality management and technical oversight to ensure execution of the company’s claims policies and philosophies.
• Drive and facilitate planning and evaluation activities including budgets, forecasts, loss costs calculations, data analytics, setting and adjusting reserves, and effective risk transfer.
• Ensure the highest degree of claims talent through effective recruiting, mentoring, and coaching.
• Exhibit keen understanding of property and casualty industry practices and trends, and of the competitive landscape.
• Demonstrate behaviors consistent with PEMCO's policies, values, code of ethics and business conduct.
• Authentically support the PEMCO Brand and constantly are on the lookout for top talent to join us to achieve our Mission to Worry Less and Live More.
• Other duties as assigned.

What You'll Bring:

• B.A. or B.S. degree or equivalent work experience (Risk Management, Business, or related field of study) is required
• 15+ years of broad insurance experience including experience in Claims leadership and deep claims technical expertise with increasing scope, scale and complexity is required
• Experience in additional areas of property and casualty insurance work such as customer servicing, underwriting/risk, product management, sales, and/or data analytics is preferred
• Insurance industry designations are preferred
• Organizational Savvy : Interfaces cross-functionally with both technical depth and business savvy. Understands company goals and objectives; thinks critically about business challenges and resolutions. Demonstrates keen listening and observation skills to spot and bring to life the little things that make the organization unique is required
• Leadership & managing others : Establishes and communicates a compelling and inspiring vision, creates winning strategies and plans, ensures team goals are aligned with company goals; develops both self and others is required
• Job specific : Functional skills in a variety of technology tools, data analytics techniques, and/or analytics platforms is required
• Analytical and data-driven : Thinks analytically; a structured thinker who can put complex ideas into clear frameworks; uses data to conduct root cause analysis and develops high quality, consumable, and consistent metrics that drive strategic objectives and priorities is required
• Customer First : Has a relentless focus on the customer and dives deep into the challenges they face with a strong customer service orientation is required
• Communicator : Communicates clearly and informatively, verbally and in writing, with colleagues, customers, and the community in both technical and non-technical professional language is required
• Team Builder : Establishes positive connections with others, solves problems and manages new ideas, and works collaboratively to bring people and culture-first solutions to deliver results is required
• Team Player : Is responsive, flexible, and able to succeed in a team-oriented, collaborative environment, building effective working relations and partnerships with internal partners, customers, and vendors is required
• Business Environment : Has a thorough understanding of our industry, the relevant business landscape, and trends in growth and insurance environments; can spot early indicators of change and apply strategies to adapt quickly is required

What We Value:

PEMCO has identified the below competencies as critical for employees and the future of our business. The competencies are intended to define skills or abilities expected of our employees, behaviors which employees can develop, and be evaluated against in their job. Proficiency levels include Beginner, Skilled, Advanced, and Mastery. Not every employee is expected to master every competency. Instead, we expect that employees will build skills in these areas as they progress through their roles and career at PEMCO.

• Agility : Handles risk and uncertainty, shifts gears with ease and speed, copes with and manages change well
• Growth Mindset: Develops abilities through dedication and hard work, views challenges and failures as opportunities to learn and improve skills
• Service Passion: Provides excellent service to others and seeks ways to improve that service; ensures the customer experience (internal and external) is a key consideration in policies, procedures, and decision-making
• Complex Problem Solving: Solves ill-defined, ambiguous problems in complex settings using logic, process, and experience

Compensation:

The compensation range for this role is shown below. Placement within the range varies depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

• Greater Seattle Area*: The pay range for this position ranges from $231,000-$539,000
• Outside Greater Seattle**: The pay range for this position ranges from $207,900-$485,100

• Greater Seattle Area is defined as working within approximately 100 miles of Seattle.

**Outside Greater Seattle is defined as working approximately 100 miles or more from Seattle.

Benefits:

Regular part-time PEMCO employees working at least 24 hours per week and regular full-time PEMCO employees are eligible to elect coverage under medical, dental, and vision plans for themselves and their eligible family members with generous employer premium cost shares. In addition, as a benefits-eligible employee, you are:

• covered by employer-paid basic life and accidental death & dismemberment insurance policies as well as long- and short-term disability benefit coverages.
• eligible to participate in PEMCO’s 401(k) plan which includes a generous employer match (2 for 1 on the first 6% employee pre-tax and/or Roth deferral, up to federal maximums).

PEMCO provides the following paid leave programs for benefits-eligible employees in their first year of PEMCO employment:

• Vacation accrues at a rate of 10 days for new hires, and increases based on a schedule to a maximum annual accrual of 25 days based on tenure
• Granted four (4) personal days immediately upon hire
• Paid holidays for the eight (8) holidays observed by PEMCO throughout the calendar year.
• Granted up to ten (10) days of sick leave immediately upon hire (pro-rated based on hire date and full-time/part-time status), which is approximately 28 hours more per year than the Washington state-required accrual
• In addition, PEMCO provides paid time off for bereavement, jury duty and employee volunteering in the community.

Other miscellaneous benefit programs offered by PEMCO include:

• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Education Assistance Program after one year of service
• Scholarship program for children of PEMCO employees after one year of service
• Employee Assistance Program
• Well-being program
• Discretionary taxable gifts and gift cards
• And other Perks & Benefits including discounts on computer software and hardware, cell phone plans, and rental cars

Other compensation depending on role, contributions, and performance may include:

• Discretionary bonuses
• Tiered sales commissions and/or incentives (from 5-25% of employee’s monthly sales)
• Employee referral bonuses
• Shift differential pay
• Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan

Equal Employment Opportunity:

At PEMCO, we celebrate and support our differences. We know employing a team rich in diverse thoughts, experiences, and opinions allows our employees, our products and our community to flourish. PEMCO is honored to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are dedicated to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Applicants have rights under Federal Employment Laws:

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)