Higginbotham, a privately held, independent insurance and financial services firm that ranks within the top 20 nationwide, has an immediate opening for a Claims Manager in our Bossier City, LA office.This position is responsible for oversight and management of claims including coordination of receiving new property and casualty first reports of claims via phone, email, fax or mail from insureds; reporting them to the appropriate carrier and following up to ensure timely and complete resolution. Also responsible for assisting with education of agency employees and clients relative to claims process. Position will work with various individuals including agency, clients and carriers.Core Competencies:
- Action-Oriented: enjoys working hard; full of energy for the things he/she sees as challenging; not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning; seizes more opportunities than others
- Approachability: easy to approach and talk to; spends the extra effort to put others at ease; can be warm, pleasant and gracious; builds rapport well; is a good listener; is an early knower, getting informal and incomplete information in time to do something about it
- Comfort with Higher Management: Can deal comfortably with more senior managers; can present to more senior managers without undue tension and nervousness; understands how senior managers think and work; can determine the best way to get things done with them by talking their language and responding to their needs; can craft approaches likely to be appropriate and positive
- Command Skills: relishes leading; takes unpopular stands if necessary; encourages direct and tough debate but isn't afraid to end it and move on; is looked to for direction in a crisis; faces adversity head on; energized by tough challenges
- Composure: is cool under pressure; does not become defensive or irritated when times are tough; is considered mature; can be counted on to hold things together during tough times; can handle stress; is not knocked off balance by the unexpected; doesn't show frustration when resisted or blocked; is a settling influence in crisis
- Conflict Management: Steps up to conflicts, seeing them as opportunities; reads situations quickly; good at focused listening; can hammer out tough agreements and settle disputes equitably; can find common ground and get cooperation with minimum noise
- Creativity: comes up with new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be original and value-added in brainstorming settings
- Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears with comfort; he/she can decide and act without having the total picture; doesn't upset with things up in the air; doesn't have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty
- Dealing with Paradox: Can act in ways that seem contradictory; is very flexible and adaptable when facing tough calls; can combine seeming opposites like being compassionately tough, stand up for self without trampling others, set strong but flexible standards; can act differently depending on the situation; is balanced despite the conflicting demands of the situation
- Decision Quality: Makes good decisions (without considering how much time it takes) based upon a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement; most of his/her solutions turn out to be correct and accurate when judged over time; sought out by others for advice and solutions
- Ethics & Values: adheres to an appropriate and effective set of core values and beliefs during both good and bad times; acts in line with those values; rewards the right values and disapproves of others; practices what he/she preaches
- Functional/Technical Skills: has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment
- Integrity & Trust: widely trusted; is a direct, truthful individual; can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn't misrepresent for personal gain
- Learning on the Fly: learns quickly when facing new problems; relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything
- Managing Through Systems: Can design practices, processes, and procedures which allow managing from a distance; is comfortable letting things manage themselves without intervening; can make things work through others without being there; can impact people and results remotely
- Negotiating: can negotiate skillfully in tough situations with both internal and external groups; can settle differences with minimum noise; can win concessions without damaging relationships; can be both direct and forceful as well as diplomatic; gains trust quickly of other parties to the negotiations; has a good sense of timing
- Organizational Ability: Knowledgeable about how organizations work; knows how to get things done both through formal channels and the informal network; understands the origin and reasoning behind key policies, practices, and procedures; understands the cultures of organization
- Planning: Accurately Scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; sets objectives and goals; breaks down work into the process steps; develops schedules and task/people assignments; anticipates and adjusts for problems and road blocks; measures performance against goals; evaluates results
- Priority Setting: spends his/her time and the time of others on what's important; quickly zeros in on the critical few and puts the trivial many aside; can quickly sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks; creates focus
- Problem Solving: Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; probes all fruitful sources for answers; can see hidden problems; is excellent at honest analysis; looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers
- Process Management: Good at figuring out the process necessary to get things done; knows how to organize people and activities; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient work flow; knows what to measure and how to measure it; can see opportunities for synergy and integration where others can't'; can simplify complex processes; gets more out of fewer resources
- Self-Development: is personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve him/herself; understands that difference situations and levels may call for different skills and approaches; works to deploy strengths; works on compensating for weaknesses and limits
- Technical Learning: picks up on technical things well; can learn new skills and knowledge; is good at learning new industry, company, product or technical knowledge
- Time Management: uses his/her time effectively and efficiently; values time; concentrates his/her efforts on the more important priorities; gets more done in less time than others; can attend to a broader range of activities
- Timely Decision Making: Makes decisions in a timely manner, sometime with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure; able to make a quick decision
- Written Communications: Is able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles; can get messages across that have the desired effects
Day-to-day responsibilities/tasks pertinent to Claims may include, but are not limited to:
- Prepare and provide claim tracking information
- Develop and implement innovative claims resolution processes
- Assist CAH clients with disputed claims resolutions
- Identify areas on processes to eliminate potential E&O claims
- Review claims that are declined to identify E&O exposure
- Coordination of claims management process to improve customer satisfaction
- Participate in claims review process with producers, clients and service department personnel.
- Provide education of the claims process to agency and client personnel
- Manage claim information and review reporting process in Applied EPIC claims system
- Receive and review new document claim information; manage notification process
- Suspend information and follow up with adjuster to ensure claims has been assigned and is being resolved in a timely manner
- Follow up with adjuster and insured to ensure timely resolution of claim and excellent customer service
- Continually search for process improvements and/or enhancements to workflow; make recommendations for change where appropriate
- Review documents issued by insurance company for accuracy
- Respond to client and company requests for action and information on any claims-related matter
Minimum Qualifications:
- High School diploma is required; Bachelor's degree preferred.
- 3-5 years of experience in property and casualty claims in a commercial insurance environment and experience in claims management processes
- Knowledge of commercial property and casualty forms and coverages for proper claims reporting
- Strong understanding of OSHA, DOT and other regulatory processes, programs and laws
- Proficient in the use of Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs
- Frequent travel required for overnight and trips outside of normal business hours
- Must have appropriate state insurance license
- Strong communication skills, both verbal and written required.