Compliance & Legal Support Specialist

Department: Compliance/Legal, Commercial Lines - Major Accounts

Job Summary

Key member of the Compliance and Legal department tasked with providing assistance to Conner Strong & Buckelew employees through compliance and legal advice on a broad range of topics. Provides analytical, research based compliance support to the Property and Casualty division of Conner Strong & Buckelew. Manages all licensing and state registrations for the company. Manages carrier contracts and appointments for the company.

Principal Responsibilities

• Compliance: Assists account teams with the compliance portion of insurance placement in the non-admitted and international marketplace. Researches complex situations and provides advice on legal regulations then explains information, legal concepts and practical application in layman’s terms.
• Surplus Lines: Point of contact for all compliance questions from the account teams related to placements in the non-admitted marketplace, regardless if Conner Strong is responsible for the filings.
• When approved, responsible for the surplus lines filings in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, including but not limited to:
• Complies and stays abreast of each state’s regulations and filing procedures and the timely payment of monthly, quarterly and annual taxes to avoid penalties and fines
• Stays abreast of states modifying their procedures or regulations then incorporates changes into the company’s internal procedures and communicates changes to team members
• Trains new hires or newly licensed producers on internal surplus lines procedures
• Compliance Forms & RFPs: Completes compliance forms included in RFPs and for public entity accounts requiring compliance forms at renewal.
• Completes disclosure forms on a weekly/daily basis for all lines of business including CS&B, Employee Benefits, PERMA, and J.A. Montgomery
• Completes the forms, gathers all relevant information and ensures the forms are properly signed, notarized, sealed and returned prior to the entity’s deadline
• Drafts responses to legal and business entity questions contained in RFPs
• Carrier Contracts and Appointments: Managers carrier/ wholesaler relationships for both P&C and Employee Benefits, including but not limited to:
• Reviews new and updated carrier/wholesaler agreements and makes recommended changes for the General Counsel’s approval
• Tracks the entire process from start through ensuring delivery of executed contracts to carrier/wholesaler
• Negotiates terms and conditions directly with the carrier/wholesaler and prepares the agreement for final execution and delivery to carrier/ wholesaler
• Provides carrier/wholesaler with required direct deposit authorizations, licenses, E&O, documentation, W-9’s etc. and any other required documentation
• Issues necessary insurer codes and works with Accounting to issue payee codes
• Maintains the approved carrier/wholesaler lists on CSInsider
• Manages all appointment paperwork required for the agency and the individual team member placing coverage at both carrier and state by state levels
• Completes all appointment paperwork for Mike, George and Joe and assists producers with complex business entity questions on individual appointments
• Completes forms, verifies licenses and provides other documentation at carrier’s request
• Pulls Producer Database Reports through NIPR’s website when producers are unsure of company/individual appointments and pays monthly invoice
• Licensing and State Registration: Manages the CSC relationship to ensure CSC is renewing all business entity licenses along with Mike and George’s individual licenses.
• Provides CSC with all information needed to complete the filings
• Becomes involved with more complicated individual producer licensing issues (e.g. bond requests, fingerprinting, carrier appointments, completion of affidavits)
• Assists team members with questions regarding CSC’s web portal
• Maintains the Licensing page on CSInsider
• Provides CSC with all information needed to prepare and file all required annual reports in a timely basis on behalf of CS&B, AIM, J.A. Montgomery and PERMA
• Completes and pays for renewal forms for state level filings of alternative names
• Subpoenas: Manages and completes record requests made by clients or via subpoena.
• Obtains information from archives, Sagitta, ImageRight, CBDoc, shared drive and outlook
• After the General Counsel reviews, prepares the document production by making necessary redactions and bates labeling
• Drafts response letters and works directly with opposing counsel to request extensions when needed
• Training Resources and Tools: Collaborates with internal teams to create training resources for clients and prospects.
• Creates visual representations of insurance concepts and incorporates them into training resources
• Elevates presentations by using Prezi and enhances PowerPoints with graphics

Other Functions

• Provides research and compliance support on other compliance matters when requested by the Account teams
• Attends various meetings weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly at both Conner Strong and client facilities
• Available as on-call contact outside regular working hours
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• 6+ years of work experience in a professional environment required
• Working knowledge of applicable State and Federal laws as it relates to licensing, state registrations, surplus lines/non-admitted markets and other P&C related compliance laws and regulations is a plus
• High level of reading comprehension needed to interpret State and Federal laws and regulations is a plus
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• High level skill and demonstrated ability analyze and research complex legal regulations, laws and other information, then explain them in layman’s terms
• Strong problem solving skills including the ability to find creative solutions to common or unusual situations; Not afraid to question the status quo
• Demonstrated ability to effectively prioritize, delegate and apply strong time management techniques to effectively manage workload
• Ability to develop and manage key relationships at all levels within the P&C/Conner Strong organization as well as with regulatory agencies, external counsel and carriers; flexible in dealing with others
• Excellent organizational, communication, interpersonal, collaborative and consultative skills; proven ability to multi-task under pressure
• Ability to negotiate, influence and meet deadlines with minimal support from supervisor
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Prezi, iMovie and Photoshop
• Authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without Company sponsorship.

Specialized Knowledge or Licenses

• Producer license

Working Conditions

Office environment with moderate noise level; Able to work flexible hours and travel to other offices as required.

Conner Strong & Buckelew is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, nationality, age, disability (physical or mental), marital or domestic partnership or Civil Union status, pregnancy, family medical history or genetic information, atypical cellular or blood trait, military service or any other status protected by law.

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