In-house is definitely the way to go but it’s hard to find open positions. My goal is to either go in-house or government (DOD/non-law) once I gain some more experience. I’m looking at another year or two at a minimum. But working directly for a company would be awesome. In house for one of our biggest client barely litigates and is more like a claim evaluator and determines whether the adjuster should handle settlement or if they should refer to outside defense counsel. It’s pretty cushy 8-5 with holidays, weekends and vacation.
IANAL but I've worked for multiple insurance companies. The lawyers tend to be in a few different places.
1. Compliance/internal audit. Monitor state laws and interpret them in light of company practice and advise/opine on the legality of current processes. Most of these folks have never litigated, and most have business backgrounds in addition to legal.
2. Corporate law. This is more corporate compliance: Sarbanes Oxley, SEC filings etc. Also, contract negotiation, corporate structure, dealing with legal entities (mutual holding companies, stock companies etc.)
3. Claims. The companies where I've worked the defense litigation is typically outsourced, but is managed by an internal lawyer that monitors the cases. They are also there when things go very badly wrong. These tend to be serious travel jobs, with travel 40-60% of the time.
To get these jobs, start connecting with people that work in insurance companies, get to know the lawyers there, and start expressing your interest. I'm always happy to introduce people, but in your case I'm in the Midwest so doubt you'd like to talk to folks that far from home. Anyway, not a lot of jobs get posted for long, so if you want an in-house job, you need to get to know the people that hire in-house lawyers.