Rotational Insurance Specialist (RIS) Program

Job Description

Rotational Insurance Specialist (RIS) | Palomar

The Tone:
This is an early career Rotational Insurance Specialist position at Palomar, intended for recent graduates and early-career professionals within a hybrid work environment, typically requiring 2-3 days onsite per week. Palomar is a rapidly growing insurer focused on providing specialty insurance to residential and commercial customers. The company welcomes new talent to its thriving, dynamic, and diverse team, guided by an entrepreneurial spirit. This role offers a structured path to accelerate technical and professional development, build durable relationships across departments, and provide a well-rounded view of both the insurance industry and Palomar’s operations, creating a pipeline of future talent.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Hybrid – La Jolla, CA
• Pay: $60000–$70000 yearly
• Team: Reports to dedicated managers/mentors across five capability-based rotational tracks
• Mission: To accelerate professional development and build a qualified pipeline of future talent by providing a well-rounded view of the insurance industry and Palomar’s operations.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Gain comprehensive insurance knowledge: Build end-to-end fluency in how work is prioritized, executed, and translated into disciplined risk selection. This involves exposure to multiple product lines and understanding core functions like underwriting, operations, and claims across the insurance value chain.
• Increase business acumen: Develop a deeper understanding of Palomar’s operations through consistent interaction with cross-functional teams. This includes analytics, reserving, pricing, reinsurance, investments, corporate development, technology, data & analytics, and product strategy.
• Support strategic initiatives: Conduct research on new product opportunities, analyze their financial implications, and contribute to the development of key performance indicators (KPIs). This path may involve connecting risk selection to product design and portfolio-level decisions.
• Assist with core business functions: Apply automation, data, and technology to redesign work and scale processes, while also preparing presentations, reports, facilitating customer account set-up, and engaging in customer service activities.
• Progress through structured development: Participate in an 18-month program organized around five capability-based paths, each with clear learning objectives, a dedicated manager or mentor, and formal performance feedback, leading to potential permanent placement decisions.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as insurance, risk management, financial services, mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science. This program is for graduating seniors and early-career professionals.
• Experience: 0+ years of professional work experience, with prior internship experience preferred. Must be able to commence the program in September 2027.
• Skills: Strong academic performance, a genuine interest in developing a career in insurance, risk management, or financial services, intellectual curiosity, creativity, pragmatism, strong communication, professionalism, and adaptability. Ability to build strong relationships, collaborate, and work autonomously to drive progress is also key.
• Bonus: For the Actuarial Rotational Program, coursework or demonstrated aptitude in mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science is preferred, and candidates must be actively sitting for Actuarial Exams. Willingness to relocate for hybrid work if needed is also beneficial.