Valuation Associate - Machinery And Equipment

Who are we?
A strategic and trusted insurance partner, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) provides a broad range of commercial property, casualty, and specialty insurance coverages and outstanding service to customers around the world. As part of Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance operations, we bring our solutions to market with our stellar brand name, top-rated balance sheet, and the expertise of our global team of professionals who exude excellent capabilities and strong character.

We are a values-based organization where respect, integrity, excellence, collaboration, and passion define who we are and how we do business. We value diversity of backgrounds, experience, and perspectives and strive to foster an inclusive environment that enables all our team members to bring their best selves to work. We are one team committed to building a culture where every teammate has the opportunity to contribute and be recognized. Want to be part of the team building the finest property, casualty, and specialty lines insurance company in the world?

Learn more about our unique culture and history.

Job Opportunity:

We have an exciting opportunity to join our Atlanta, Boston, Houston, New York, or Toronto office as a Valuation Specialist within the Property Valuation Team. In this role, under the guidance of more experienced Valuation teammates, you will conduct replacement cost and actual cash value evaluations of our customer’s large Machinery & Equipment assets for BHSI’s insurance underwriting purposes. This role will support global BHSI property insurance underwriters in providing them with valuation insight of insured assets to better understand the value risk, ensure adequate pricing of insurance premiums based on appropriate valuation and identify BHSI’s unique competitive business advantages. BHSI’s property insurance Customers include national and multi-national corporations and government entities with a wide spectrum of Machinery & Equipment asset types across various geographies.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assist in the development of proprietary BHSI property valuation tools for use of estimating Replacement Cost New (“RCN”) and Actual Cash Value (“ACV”) for various Machinery and Equipment property types globally; Conduct market research and develop valuation models for assessing the value of customer’s insured assets, help expand global coverage of valuation tools and develop new resources.
• Leverage in-house expertise to help build, integrate, and incorporate proprietary valuation tools into current internal platforms
• As part of a risk management function, perform desktop and field level valuation reviews to assess the reasonableness of BHSI customers’ reported Machinery and Equipment asset values and/or develop our own internal view for underwriting purposes
• Review property valuation work completed by third-party valuers on customer-insured property assets to assess value reasonableness
• Preparation of valuation reports with observations on customer asset values, BHSI’s internal value estimates, and communication thereof to BHSI account stakeholders and senior leadership on high-profile accounts
• Participate in customer communication as BHSI’s subject matter expert in Machinery & Equipment replacement cost valuation
• Ad-hoc assignments providing market intelligence related to the values of Machinery & Equipment
• Participated in the development of valuation training to enhance underwriters’ internal valuation knowledge and resources as well as develop best practices for various stakeholders.
• Assist in developing internal valuation processes, procedures, and reporting documentation as part of a growing valuation practice
• Some travel required (10 - 15%)

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience
• Certification/License in Machinery & Equipment Appraisal from an accredited valuation organization such as ASA, RICS, etc, is preferred.
• 3 to 5 years of professional experience in Machinery and Equipment valuation is required. Experience in insurance valuation, or a machinery & equipment valuation division at Big Four or other large financial services firm, and international valuation experience a plus.
• Knowledge of major/critical pieces of industrial equipment including, but not limited to, compressors, turbines, large motors, major vessels, tankage and piping systems, boilers, construction and mining equipment, and other mobile equipment, etc.
• Comprehensive understanding of the different valuation approaches, as well as technical aspects of various machinery and equipment.
• Ability to conduct in-depth industry valuation research
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, as well as strong team-building, interpersonal and
• Communication skills (both written and oral)
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and advanced modeling skills in Excel preferred.
• Self-starter

BHSI Offers:

• A competitive package and exciting growth opportunities with a growing global organization
• A liberating, fast-paced culture, centered on always doing the right thing for our customers, teammates, and our business
• A purposely non-bureaucratic organization that embraces simplicity over complexity, encourages innovation and emphasizes individual excellence in a team framework

The base salary range for this position in New York is from $90,000 to $105,000, along with annual bonus eligibility; a candidate’s salary is determined by their relevant skills and experience. We value our teammates – both their capabilities and character – as demonstrated by our amazing culture.

NOTE: Compensation will be commensurate with experience. This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Team Members may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization