Senior Economist

Overview

Position Summary:

We are seeking a Senior Economist to build our enterprise economics function and provide forward-looking analysis that informs pricing, underwriting, capital, reinsurance, and investment decisions. The ideal candidate applies solid econometric techniques and industry awareness with clear communication, helping translate macroeconomic, industry, and regulatory developments into practical insights. This hands-on role collaborates with Actuarial, Underwriting, Claims, Finance, Risk/ERM, and Investments to monitor trends, build forecasts, and contribute to profitable, sustainable growth while developing skills and experience on the job. This role will report to the Vice President, Actuarial Services

An in-person interview may be required during the hiring process.

Geo-Salary Information

State specific pay scales for this role are as follows:

$128,136 to $252,194  (CA, NJ, NY, WA, HI, AK, MD, CT, RI, MA)

$116,487 to $229,267 (NV, OR, AZ, CO, WY, TX, ND, MN, MO, IL, WI, FL, GA, MI, OH, VA, PA, DE, VT, NH, ME)

$104,839 to $206,340  (UT, ID, MT, NM, SD, NE, KS, OK, IA, AR, LA, MS, AL, TN, KY, IN, SC, NC, WV)

The expected base salary for this position will vary depending on a number of factors, including relevant experience, skills and location.

Responsibilities

Essential Job Functions: 

• Assist in building the enterprise economic outlook by supporting macro, industry, and regional forecasts that inform growth, pricing, capital deployment, and portfolio mix. 

• Help model and forecast loss cost inflation, social inflation, frequency/severity, and exposure trends by line of business; prepare analyses that inform rate adequacy and reserving discussions. 

• Contribute to nowcasts and scenarios for CPI/PPI, medical wage and parts inflation, construction and auto repair costs, legal/tort environment, and supply-chain factors affecting claims costs; maintain related datasets and documentation. 

• Support economic scenario design for ERM/ORSA stress testing; run analyses to estimate impacts on underwriting results, capital, liquidity, and reinsurance needs under guidance. 

• Prepare clear summaries and draft materials for leadership briefings on economic risks/opportunities, pricing cycle conditions, and strategic considerations; create concise executive reports and presentations with direction from senior staff. 

• Support and partner with Actuarial Services by providing data pulls, analyses, and documentation for indications, trend selection, and rate filings; assist with methodologies and supporting exhibits for regulators and rating agencies. 

• Provide analytical support to reinsurance purchasing and capital planning by compiling market-cycle insights, cat/loss inflation views, and correlation/volatility analyses under supervision. 

• Track competitive and industry dynamics (AM Best, industry loss ratios, market capacity, ceded reinsurance costs) and summarize findings to help the team anticipate cycle turns and pricing power shifts. 

• Maintain and regularly update early-warning indicators and dashboards (pricing adequacy, new business/retention, claim severity/frequency, exposure growth, rate vs. trend, ALAE), ensuring data quality and timely refreshes. 

• Contribute to research notes and support external communications; may participate in client, broker, regulator, media, or industry interactions with guidance. • Help evaluate data sources and support vendor assessments; follow data governance practices and assist with reproducibility and model risk documentation. • Collaborate closely with teammates and learn from senior economists/analysts; contribute to a collaborative culture and scalable analytics by sharing code, documentation, and best practices. 

• Assist in producing periodic Economic Outlooks and topical briefs to support product strategy, geographic expansion, and distribution planning.

Qualifications

Education: 

Minimum: 

Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Applied Economics, Finance, Statistics, Data Science, or a related field; Master’s degree is a plus.

Experience:

Minimum: 

• 7+ years of economics analyst experience in P&C insurance or related financial services organization, insurance brokerage or insurance consulting

Preferred: 

• 7+ years experience in an economist lead role within a P&C carrier

Knowledge and Skills:

Minimum: 

• Working knowledge of econometrics and time-series analysis (e.g., ARIMA/VAR, state-space models, panel data, causal inference) and interest in learning scenario design. 

• Hands-on experience with Python or R and data tools (e.g., SQL; visualization in Tableau/Power BI); ability to produce clean, reproducible analyses and documentation. 

• Experience preparing analyses and presentations for leadership and cross-functional audiences. 

• Familiarity with P&C lines, loss drivers, social inflation, reinsurance markets, and regulatory contexts (e.g., NAIC ORSA, rate filings), with a willingness to deepen expertise. 

• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical work to non-technical audiences. 

• Collaborative, curious, and detail-oriented, with a growth mindset.

 Preferred: 

• Exposure to capital planning, ERM stress testing, or reinsurance purchasing support. 

• Awareness of RBC, AM Best/BCAR perspectives, and investment/ALM considerations in insurance portfolios, with interest in building deeper knowledge. 

• Interest in contributing to research or thought leadership and supporting external representation. 

• Familiarity with catastrophe risk economics and climate-related trend impacts on property, auto, and specialty lines. 

• Experience or coursework integrating external data (BLS, BEA, Federal Reserve, industry sources) into forecasting workflows.

About the Company

Why choose a career at Mercury?

At Mercury, we have been guided by our purpose to help people reduce risk and overcome unexpected events for more than 60 years. We are one team with a common goal to help others. Everyone needs insurance and we can’t imagine a world without it.

Our team will encourage you to grow, make time to have fun, and work together to make great things happen. We embrace the strengths and values of each team member. We believe in having diverse perspectives where everyone is included, to serve customers from all walks of life.

We care about our people, and we mean it. We reward our talented professionals with a competitive salary, bonus potential, and a variety of benefits to help our team members reach their health, retirement, and professional goals.

Learn more about us here: https://www.mercuryinsurance.com/about/careers

Perks and Benefits

We offer many great benefits, including:

• Competitive compensation
• Flexibility to work from anywhere in the United States for most positions
• Paid time off (vacation time, sick time, 9 paid Company holidays, volunteer hours)
• Incentive bonus programs (potential for holiday bonus, referral bonus, and performance-based bonus)
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and pet insurance
• 401 (k) retirement savings plan with company match
• Engaging work environment
• Promotional opportunities
• Education assistance
• Professional and personal development opportunities
• Company recognition program
• Health and wellbeing resources, including free mental wellbeing therapy/coaching sessions, child and eldercare resources, and more

Mercury Insurance is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Pay Range

USD $126,294.00 - USD $246,043.00 /Yr.

Compensation: 126294 to 246043 (USD)