Claims Manager - Primary Casualty

About AXIS Capital

This is your opportunity to join AXIS Capital – a trusted global provider of specialty lines insurance and reinsurance. We stand apart for our outstanding client service, intelligent risk taking and superior risk adjusted returns for our shareholders. We also proudly maintain an entrepreneurial, disciplined and ethical corporate culture. As a member of AXIS, you join a team that is among the best in the industry. At AXIS, we believe that we are only as strong as our people. We strive to create an inclusive and welcoming culture where employees of all backgrounds and from all walks of life feel comfortable and empowered to be themselves. This means that we bring our whole selves to work.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic, including age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any basis prohibited by the laws that govern its operations.

Job Description

AXIS is seeking a Claims Manager - Primary Casualty Claims to join our North America Claims team and report to the Head of Primary Casualty Claims. The successful candidate will lead and develop a team of claims professionals handling a diverse portfolio of Primary Casualty claims. The role requires strong technical judgment, disciplined claim execution, effective people leadership, and close partnership with underwriting and other internal stakeholders.

This role will be responsible for leading and developing a team of claims professionals whose responsibilities include:

• Overseeing the investigation, coverage analysis, liability and damages evaluation, reserving, and resolution of Primary Casualty claims in accordance with claims best practices and applicable authority.
• Providing technical direction, training, and guidance to direct reports and TPA or contractor adjusters, including strategy on complex, high-exposure, litigated, and coverage-sensitive matters.
• Reviewing General Liability, Commercial Auto, Garagekeepers, and other assigned casualty claims to confirm timely investigation, defensible evaluations, appropriate reserves, and clear resolution strategies.
• Ensuring prompt coverage analysis, issuance of appropriate coverage communications, and escalation of material coverage issues, including recommendations for coverage counsel where warranted.
• Formulating claim and litigation strategies and directing outside counsel through key events, including pleadings, discovery, expert work, dispositive motions, mediation, trial, and appeal.
• Driving early resolution and effective settlement strategies while protecting the interests of AXIS and its insureds and maintaining appropriate reserve discipline.
• Managing defense, expert, and other claim-related expenses in partnership with Litigation Management and Vendor Management, including effective use of approved counsel and vendors.
• Leading, coaching, and developing claims professionals through regular feedback, workload oversight, technical development, performance management, and succession planning.
• Recruiting, retaining, and developing strong talent and promoting consistent claim practices, accountability, collaboration, and sound decision-making across the team.
• Developing and maintaining productive relationships with insureds, brokers, underwriters, reinsurers, actuaries, auditors, counsel, TPAs, and other internal and external partners.
• Partnering with Underwriting on policy interpretation, claim trends, account-specific concerns, risk assessments, and information requests while maintaining appropriate claim independence.
• Monitoring portfolio trends, emerging exposures, severity drivers, and operational issues, and implementing strategies to improve claim outcomes and consistency.
• Maintaining accurate claim documentation and line-of-business metrics and delivering clear, timely reporting to senior management and business partners.
• Leading and participating in large-loss reviews, stewardship meetings, claim audits, audit closeouts, and presentations concerning claim trends and portfolio performance.
• Collaborating with Specialty Complex Claims, Legal, Compliance, Human Resources, and other functions on significant coverage disputes, claim-handling issues, and matters with broader organizational impact.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Key Skills & Abilities

• 7-10+ years of progressively responsible casualty claims experience, including leadership or material team oversight experience.
• Primary Casualty claims experience is required.
• Demonstrated leadership, organizational, and people-management capability, including experience supervising directly handled and TPA-managed claims.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and resolve complex and disputed casualty claims and to influence outcomes across multiple organizational levels.
• Strong knowledge of Primary Casualty coverage, claim investigation, litigation, trial, arbitration, mediation, reserving, negotiation, and settlement practices.
• Ability to balance immediate file strategy with broader portfolio, underwriting, customer, operational, and reputational considerations.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex claim issues and recommendations clearly to senior management and business partners.
• Strong analytical, investigative, negotiation, decision-making, and execution skills, with the ability to drive timely results.
• Consistent exercise of independent judgment in coverage, liability, damages, reserving, litigation strategy, and settlement evaluation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; JD or relevant advanced degree is a plus.
• Technical knowledge, skills, and experience should include: Complex casualty coverage analysis and claim strategy; General Liability, Commercial Auto, and Garagekeepers coverage and claim-handling experience; Experience managing litigated claims, defense counsel, mediations, trials, and significant settlement negotiations; Confidence in evaluation, reserving, authority recommendations, and written claim documentation; Excellent writing, editing, negotiation, and presentation skills; Experience providing direction, authority, and technical coaching to claims professionals and TPAs; Working knowledge of claims KPIs, data, metrics, and portfolio reporting; Valid adjuster licenses as required by state law, with additional licenses obtained and maintained as needed.
• Travel is associated with this role, including team meetings, court proceedings, mediations, trials, stewardship meetings, and settlement conferences.

Compensation & Benefits

For this position, we currently expect to offer a base salary in the range of X to Y. Your salary offer will be based on an assessment of a variety of factors including your specific experience and work location. In addition, you will be offered competitive target incentive compensation, with awards based on overall corporate and individual performance. On top of this, you will be eligible for a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes medical plans for you and your family, health and wellness programs, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, and much more.

Why AXIS?

This posting is for an existing vacancy. Rewarding. Challenging. Meaningful. We are shaping the direction of Insurance and Reinsurance during a critical and exciting time for the industry. Whether you are a student approaching graduation or a seasoned professional looking for a new environment, AXIS has the right challenges and career opportunities for you. At AXIS, we value each individual and recognize that attracting and retaining the right people is essential to the success of our company. We offer a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes medical plans for employees and their families, health and wellness programs, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, and much more.