Beyond the Claim

As a broker, you place a mind-boggling breadth of coverage in a lot of different industries. It’s a vast universe perfectly suited to a lifelong learner who wants to shape the future of brokerage.

Hear our conversation with Donna MacConnell, SVP, Managing Director, Claims at IMA Financial Group, Inc.:
Donna’s nonlinear career trajectory from psychology to SVP
The emerging theme of specialization in insurance
Respect for expertise and a call for DEI in the field

More information about Donna and today’s topics:
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-macconnell-bab9967/
Company Website: https://imacorp.com/

Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

Once, it was medicine that saw high volumes of claims, being seen as deep pockets.
Now, it’s trucking.
But like any other claim, with the proper preparation and mitigation, you can avoid the high payouts.
So says today’s guest, Tom McLaughlin, Senior Dirertor of Risk Management and Claims at TFI International, who joins the show to cover the fast-paced world of trucking claims.
Join us as we discuss:
Why payouts are reaching record highs in the trucking industry
Why transparency is the key to handling overzealous plaintiffs
The future of trucking and risk in the industry 


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

A career can take you to many new and unexpected places.
With a field as diverse as claims management, moving from one area to another can be daunting.
But if you’re thinking of exploring other facets of the industry, it helps to know what other veteran adjusters have learned along their storied — though not necessarily linear — career paths.
And today’s guest, Jaclyn Chapman, Senior Global Claims Manager at Primo Water Corporation and former med student, knows a little something about career transitions. She joined the show to share the insights she’s picked up along the way.
Join us as we discuss:
TPA vs corporate claims
How the pandemic has affected workers’ comp
Why the great resignation is forcing businesses to innovate their claim management    


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

Handling claims in retail throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge undertaking. But when you add cultural differences and differing laws into the mix, it can become very challenging very quickly.
We speak with Jenny Novoa, Sr. Director of Risk Management & Safety, about how retail has changed — partly shifting online, the status of diversity in the workplace, and what to expect in 2022.
Join us as we discuss:
How responsibilities of risk managers have changed throughout the pandemic
Understanding the dramatic decrease in claims & what to expect in 2022
the importance of diversity & inclusion in companies  


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

When someone has an illness or an injury, we tend to tell them to take all the time they need… except when it’s a work-related injury.
Then, most companies rush to get a modified work program in place — and this inconsistency can be a costly mistake.
In today’s show, guest Darren Cartwright, Claims Consulting Practice Leader at Woodruff Sawyer, explains how companies can avoid this costly — and even illegal — mistake.
Join us as we discuss:
Why treating various disabilities differently is a huge error
How companies can improve their leave-of-absence policies
How to remove the silos between disability and workers’ compensation  


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

When it comes to a career in claims, you need to be a translator.
You need to clearly articulate complex topics to people who may be unfamiliar — often during stressful times.
And the only way that's possible is when you start with listening.
For today’s guest, Simon Camaj, LAD and Voluntary Benefits National Practice Leader at Mercer, that comes naturally. Simon’s non-traditional career journey to claims has taught him the universal value of making sure one’s mission — no matter what the role — is never lost in translation.
Join us as we discuss:
The universal lessons Simon has learned across his storied career
The power of empathy and communication in claims
Why alignment is more important than technology   


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

It’s a cliché at this point to note the silver linings of COVID-19…
But if you’re in the claims management space, there is one upside that is hard to deny:
Employers are finally understanding why mental health matters — both for their bottom line and their concern for employee well-being.
Today’s guest, Terry Smith, First Vice President at American Benefits Consulting, is one of the pioneers of the Modified Duty and Return-to-Work movements. He joins the show to discuss the evolution of employer attitudes towards mental health.
In this episode, we discuss:
The history of return-to-work programs
How to approach modified duty with empathy and understanding
The difficulties faced by employees when it comes to behavioral health treatment 


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

Would you rather have somebody working for you who is really skilled in one area or acceptable in a number of different areas? Beyond that, what are the long-term benefits, both from a cost perspective, but also in terms of customer retention and team culture, of having specialists and generalists on your team?
On this episode of Beyond the Claim, we talk with Pat Hildt. Pat, the Regional Claim Manager for the US, Canada, & Global Operations of Uber, had a lot to say about how she’s building her team to stay competitive, nimble, and efficient, and the role that specialists and generalists play in that hiring.
We talked all about:
Why she thinks talent is an innate capability in someone, and how to nurture and grow that talent
Why COVID has set the talent pool up for failure, and what you can do about it
Why you should look for middle ground, rather than embrace extremes
Why employees are burning out, and how you can slow that rate of burnout 


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

It can be scary and overwhelming for an injured person going through workers’ compensation for the first time. And, while the adversarial relationship that can be inherent in the insurance process has steered the industry as a whole away from the humanitarian piece, our guest is here to remind us just how important advocacy is.
We speak with Trecia Sigle, VP Enterprise TPA and Multinational Claim at CNA, about demystifying insurance, advocating for injured parties, and advocacy ideas for the future.
In this episode, we discuss:
Defining advocacy & demystifying the insurance process
The limits of employer control for advocacy programs
The future of injured individual advocacy & the COVID-19 pandemic impact 


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.

Have you ever wondered how cities get insured?
Or maybe you’ve dealt with writing some public entities, but you want to expand?
Well, if you want answers, today’s guest has got you covered.
In this episode, Carson Saville, Vice President at Saville Public Entity, offers expertise in this area to agents across the country.
We discuss:
What falls under the category of “public entity”
How public entities get insured — and how his organization helps agents do it
The changes he’s seeing and his predictions for the future of public entity underwriting
The best path for those who want to get started with public entities 


Need more claims strategy in your life? Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Beyond the Claim on your favorite podcast player.