Associate Claims Specialist - Calgary, AB

Associate Claims Specialist

Claims  •  Entry Level  •  Calgary, AB  •  Hybrid  •  Full-Time, Permanent

Take the first call. Get the facts right. Settle what you can and set up the rest to succeed.

Most of Optiom’s claims are resolved at first notice, and the Associate Claims Specialist is where that happens. This is not a call-logging role. You will be the first point of contact for customers making a claim after an accident, theft, or mechanical failure, usually alongside a claim with their own motor insurer. You will take the first notice of loss by phone, email, and online, confirm the customer’s policy, vehicle, and purchased benefits before discussing entitlement, gather everything needed to assess the claim in one request, and settle straightforward claims from start to finish within the authority given to the role. Claims you do not settle are passed on with the groundwork done, so your accuracy shapes the outcome, cost, and speed of everything that follows.

You will report to Optiom’s claims leadership and work within clear settlement limits, with coaching and an experienced team behind you. Service is measured in days, not weeks. If you have handled customers in a regulated or service environment, you capture information accurately while the conversation is still happening, and you would rather confirm an answer than guess one, this is the role where that discipline becomes the foundation of a career in insurance.

Who You Are

You are a customer-facing professional who establishes the facts before giving an answer, including under time pressure. You have worked to defined procedures and service standards, and you understand why they matter rather than just following them. You can hold a conversation and document it at the same time, stay calm and clear when delivering news a customer will not want, and say that an answer will be confirmed rather than guessing. You ask for help early rather than holding on to something that needs more experience, you leave every file in a state a colleague can act on immediately, and you raise recurring problems or unclear guidance instead of working around them.

You Bring

• Experience in a customer-facing role in a regulated, financial services, insurance, or service environment.
• Experience capturing information accurately during live customer conversations. We will ask you how you make sure nothing is missed.
• Experience working to defined procedures, service standards, and quality requirements.
• Experience handling disappointing or difficult conversations with customers professionally. Be ready to describe one and how you handled it.
• Strong attention to detail: you confirm the facts before giving an answer, and you are comfortable saying an answer will be confirmed rather than guessing.
• Reliable follow-through: you chase outstanding information on schedule and bring every piece of work to a clear conclusion.
• Sound judgment on when to seek help, and the confidence to work within set limits.
• Clear verbal and written communication: your notes must let any colleague pick up a file without asking the customer to repeat themselves. We will see this in your screening responses.

Bonus Points For

• Experience in claims handling, insurance administration, warranty, or automotive retail.
• Experience working in a contact centre or telephone queue environment.
• Experience reading insurance policies or contracts and explaining them to customers.
• Experience working with multiple products or across several provinces.
• Interest in pursuing Insurance Institute of Canada coursework, such as the CIP (Chartered Insurance Professional) designation.

What We Offer

• Structured claims training and coaching from an experienced team
• Employer-supported Insurance Institute of Canada coursework toward the CIP designation
• A comprehensive group benefits plan, including medical, dental, vision, and EAP
• Three weeks’ vacation to start, increasing with tenure
• Group RRSP with employer contribution
• A hybrid work model, with flexibility between home and our Calgary office

Who We Are

Optiom helps Canadians worry less about their financial position and lifestyle when it comes to the benefits provided by traditional auto insurance. We take a customer-centric approach and provide greater value to Canadian drivers through our total loss vehicle replacement products and additional benefits. Optiom provides products in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.

We are a team of specialists who take pride in what we build and how we serve. Our products protect Canadians in moments that matter, and our people are the reason our broker and dealer partners trust us. Joining Optiom means joining a business with strong backing, a clear purpose, and real room to grow.

Optiom is a specialty MGA and a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviva Canada, one of the country’s largest property and casualty insurers. We design and distribute specialty insurance products through a national network of broker and dealer partners, embedded at the point of vehicle financing and leasing.

Optiom uses AI tools to assist with initial application screening. All hiring decisions are made by our human hiring team. We thank all applicants for their interest; only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.