Director, Workers' Compensation Claims

Are you looking to make an impactful difference in your work, yourself, and your community? Why settle for just a job when you can land a career? At ICW Group, we are hiring team members who are ready to use their skills, curiosity, and drive to be part of our  journey as we strive to transform the insurance  carrier space. We're proud to be in business for over 50 years, and its change agents like yourself that will help us continue to deliver our mission to create the best insurance experience possible.

Headquartered in San Diego with regional offices located throughout the United States, ICW Group has been named for ten consecutive years as a Top 50 performing P&C organization offering the stability of a large, profitable and growing company combined with a focus on all things people. It's our team members who make us an employer of choice and the vibrant company we are today. We strive to make both our  internal and external communities better everyday! Learn more about why you want to be here!

JOB SUMMARY

The Director, Workers’ Compensation Claims, leads assigned branches, overseeing claims handling strategies, compliance, and team performance with a focus on either California or multiple states. This role plays a critical part in driving continuous improvement, delivering cost-effective outcomes, and ensuring exceptional service for policyholders and injured workers. By ensuring excellence in claims resolution and leadership, the Director also directly influences ICW Group’s reputation in the marketplace as a trusted, high-performing carrier. 

RESPONSIBILITIES 

Strategic Claims Management 

• Leads branch managers to ensure fair, timely, and cost-effective claim resolutions 

• Establishes and maintains compliance with all state regulations and company policies 

• Works closely with branch managers to establish the department’s strategy and philosophy of claims handling 

• Ensures compliance with state regulations through periodic audits, reporting of losses, as well as client retention through excellent customer service  

• Directs the efforts of branch managers to ensure claims are proactively and fairly processed to achieve the best possible results with an acceptable closing ratio    

• Approves reserves and settlements based on data and authority guidelines; provides rationale for claims where reserves exceeds approval limits  

• Oversees the strategy for litigated claims, reserve practices, and planning for claims closure  

Operational Excellence  

• Drives continuous improvement in processes, technology, and customer service 

• Identifies necessary resources and training; adjusts staffing based on claims volumes and desired outcomes 

• Works closely with Claims leadership to manage branch expenses and budgets   

• Manages department budget, technology and other resources, workload and customer requests 

• Ensures claims quality, adherence to Company guidelines, profitability and other risk-related metrics for assigned branches  

Stakeholder Engagement 

• Collaborates cross functionally (Underwriting, Risk Management, Actuarial, IT and Finance) to build strong partnerships and communicate with internal stakeholders to align strategies and achieve enterprise goals  

Team Leadership 

• Acts as a subject matter expert for worker’s compensation, supporting claims managers in resolving complex issues  

• Attracts, motivates, develops, and retains talent through strong hiring practices, recognition of top performers, coaching for success and identifying gaps that can be addressed with training  

• Ensures claims managers are accountable for providing orientation, training and coaching for new team members  

• Embraces a continuous learning mindset and development of team members through training and challenging the “status quo”   

• Manages budgets, staffing, and resources to meet department goals 

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS  

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience and education required); advanced degree preferred 

• 12 -15+ years of claims leadership experience, with at least 5 years managing leaders 

• Expertise in California or multi-state workers’ compensation laws and operations dependent upon assigned branches 

• Adjuster Certification of Workers’ Compensation may be required depending on Branch and/or State. 

• Expert kn