Senior Director Claims Management

Hornblower Group is a global leader in experience and transportation. Spanning a 100-year history, Hornblower Group's portfolio of international offerings includes water- and land-based experiences and ferry and transportation services. City Experiences, Hornblower Group's premier experience division, offers dining and sightseeing cruises and walking and food tours through the City Cruises, Walks, and Devour brands. City Ferry, part of Hornblower Group's Ferry and Transportation Division, is the largest private operator of high-speed passenger and vehicle ferries in the United States, carrying more than 10 million passengers annually and operating services including NYC Ferry, Puerto Rico Ferry, and other regional ferry systems. Hornblower Group's subsidiaries include Hornblower Marine, which provides vessel outhaul and maintenance services at Bridgeport Boatworks in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Seaward Services, Inc., a full-service shipping, waterfront logistics and management company that specializes in the operation and maintenance of government and commercial vessels. Additionally, Anchor Operating System, LLC, a Hornblower Group subsidiary and independent entity, provides reservation, ticketing and website integration services for clients in the transportation, tourism and entertainment industries. Today, Hornblower Group's global portfolio covers over 10 countries, over 50 U.S. cities and serves more than 20 million guests annually. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Hornblower Group's additional corporate offices reside in San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; London, United Kingdom; New York, New York; Dublin, Ireland; and across Ontario, Canada. For more information, visit hornblowercorp.com.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director Claims Management oversees the investigation, evaluation, negotiation, and settlement of marine insurance claims. This role manages a team of claims adjusters and works closely with underwriters, surveyors, maritime attorneys, and brokers. The ideal candidate possesses deep knowledge of maritime law, North America shipping practices, and marine insurance policies (including Hull and Machinery, Protection and Indemnity, Cargo, and passenger vessels.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Claims Management & Oversight: Lead the end-to-end lifecycle of complex marine cargo, hull, liability, and employee injury claims. Review high-value claims to determine coverage, liability, and quantum (financial value).
• Team Leadership: Supervise, mentor, and evaluate a team of outside marine claims adjusters, ensuring adherence to company guidelines, regulatory compliance, and service level agreements.
• Strategy & Settlement Negotiation: Negotiate settlements on complex, high-value, or disputed claims with brokers, claimants, insurance companies, and legal counsel. Implement strategies to mitigate losses.
• Vendor Management: Appoint, manage, and audit external vendors, including marine surveyors, investigators, recovery agents, and maritime lawyers.
• Reserving & Financial Auditing: Establish accurate financial reserves for individual claims and ensure the team maintains proper reserving practices in line with corporate financial guidelines.
• Subrogation & Recovery: Identify and pursue subrogation (recovery) opportunities against third parties to recoup paid losses.
• Risk & Underwriting Collaboration: Partner with internal teams to share insights on loss trends, risk accumulation, and policy wording vulnerabilities to improve future risk selection.

Requirements & Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Maritime Studies, Business Administration, Pre-Law, or a related field. Advanced degrees (e.g., JD) or professional designations (e.g., CPCU, Associate in Marine Insurance) are highly preferred.
• Experience: A minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience in marine insurance claims handling, with at least 3 years in a supervisory or management capacity.
• Legal & Regulatory Knowledge: Deep understanding of Admiralty/Maritime and general insurance principles (e.g., General Average, Utmost Good Faith).
• Technical Skills: Proficiency with modern claims management software, data analytics tools for loss trend analysis, and standard office suites.

Core Competencies

• Analytical Thinking: Ability to dissect complex maritime incidents, interpret ambiguous policy wordings, and make sound, defensible coverage determinations.
• Negotiation & Conflict Resolution: Proven ability to handle highly contentious disputes and reach mutually agreeable settlements without defaulting to litigation.
• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex maritime legalities to non-technical stakeholders.
• Crisis Management: Calmness and decisiveness under pressure, especially when managing major maritime casualties or environmental impact claims.

The RESPECT Service System embodies our mission, vision, values and operating principles. By creating a company culture that puts RESPECT at its core, we believe it will drive us to achieve our goal of becoming a Global Experiences and Transportation Leader.

EEO / Disabled / Protected Veteran Employer. Hornblower is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We offer equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and prohibit discrimination and/or harassment of any type, including but not limited to discrimination and or harassment based upon race, religion, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, pregnancy or relation medical conditions, childbirth, breastfeeding, parental status, veteran and/or military status, disability (physical or mental), medical condition, genetic information or characteristics, political affiliation, domestic violence survivor status, marital status, or other characteristics prohibited by federal, state, or local law. Additionally, as a federal, state, and local contractor, Hornblower complies with government regulations, including affirmative action responsibilities for qualified individuals, where and as they apply. The company also participates in the E-Verify program in certain locations.