Claims Handler

It is the people at Shakespeare Martineau that make us so special. By understanding what our people want, giving them the support they need, recognising everyone’s contribution and realising the unique power of teams; together we win.  As a firm we are focused on proactively building and developing diverse teams, bringing different backgrounds, personalities and perspectives together. We play to our strengths, pushing ourselves to be consistently better than yesterday and deliver amazing solutions for our clients. We empower our teams with a high degree of individual responsibility; we self-manage and encourage everyone to be responsible for their own learning, knowing it makes us even better at what we do!    

We believe in trusting our people to make the right decisions for themselves from how you dress to how, when and where you work – we focus on outputs. 

Want to find more about our amazing benefits?

The Corclaim superteam offers an additional discretionary bonus scheme for employees, based on team and also individual performances.

Our Litigation Services & Dispute Resolution group has a long-standing experience of working with some of the most successful and influential businesses in the UK and also internationally. Our specialist teams combine expertise with a sound understanding of the commercial landscape to provide exceptional solutions for every aspect of our clients’ corporate requirements.

Our niche Uninsured Loss Recovery team, part of the Corclaim super-team, consists of specialists who focus solely on recovering uninsured losses for businesses in the public and private sectors who have sustained loss or damage to property resulting from the actions of others. We recover these costs and losses from the “at fault” party or their insurers. We have particular expertise in the application of the Road Traffic Act, European regulations in relation to vehicle insurance and all matters relating to the Motor Insurers Bureau so far as these matters relate to the recovery of damages.

Our clients include retailers, construction companies, utility providers, hire operators, logistics businesses and any business that operates its own vehicle fleet or has exposure to property risks and can provide repeat / volume instructions. In the last twelve months we have handled almost 7,000 cases, issued 2,700 legal proceedings and recovered £6.9m of client damages.

The role:

Are you a team player with a great attitude? Are you enthusiastic and keen to learn and develop your skills in the area of claims handling?

Are you interested in joining a growing business in a fast-paced team with a strong track record of progression and development for its people? If this sounds like you, we want to hear from you…

We have a number of opportunities for ambitious and driven individuals to join us as Claims Handlers within our Uninsured Loss Recovery team.

The role will offer exposure to a variety of work from day one. You’ll be trained up to manage your own caseload and will act on behalf of businesses on the recovery of their uninsured losses; personal injury claims do not form part of this post.

Your key duties will include:

• managing your own caseload of contentious claims and being responsible for your own diary management
• considering liability by assessing evidence and establishing responsibility
• evaluating each claim and calculating the quantum figure
• negotiating liability or quantum with defendant solicitors or insurers
• sending Letters Before Action (LBA’s) to third parties; these are standard letters which are held on a case management system
• assessing and collating any relevant documentation to support the claim, pro-actively pursuing claims and making appropriate use of telephone and litigation
• drafting own legal proceedings and dealing with all aspects of litigation / compliance with the civil procedure rules, following through to and attending small claims trials
• instructing counsel to attend hearings where necessary
• drafting your own correspondence and witness statements etc.
• maintaining client relationships e.g. informing them on the progress of a claim and taking new instructions over the phone, by email or letter
• carrying out general administration to include archiving, billing, file management (filing etc.)
• maintaining case files in accordance with office procedures
• carrying out any other duties that are in keeping with the role

Skills and experience you will have:

• a minimum of 3 months’ recent administration experience, gained from within a motor, property or insurance claims environment; candidates with 3 months+ legal administration experience will also be considered
• experience in managing your own caseload is ideal however, not essential
• previous experience in using a case management system is too ideal however, not essential
• confidence with IT systems to include Microsoft Word and Excel

Key competencies you will need:

• the ability to prioritise well and produce a high standard of work, sometimes under pressure, whilst maintaining accuracy and good attention to detail
• strong organisational skills whilst maintaining team processes and procedures
• a pro-active approach in settling claims
• the ability to cope and respond to sudden client demands
• good communication skills, good telephone manner and the ability to negotiate on the telephone
• an analytical, problem solving approach

How we work:

We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work.

We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we’re keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it.

We have hubs in Birmingham, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon and Sheffield. This role will offer a blend of home and office working in our Birmingham hub.

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.

Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.