“Every year more than 15,000 Sedgwick colleagues take care of the needs of more than 2.6 million people who had something unexpected happen. Whether they have a workplace injury, need time away for the birth of a child, experience a medical situation that will lead to time off, are in an auto accident, or suffer property damage, we are here to let them know that it’s going to be ok," said Sedgwick Group President, Bob Peterson.

"Our decision optimization platform allows us to offer industry perspective and guidance, prescribe and automate the next steps to be taken on a claim, and direct resources appropriately to provide exceptional care and service. Sedgwick is pleased to accept the Trailblazer Award and we are grateful to be a part of the ACE conference. We sincerely appreciate this honor and recognition.”

Michelle Bjarnson of Generali Global Assistance's travel insurance division, previously CSA Travel Protection, was recognized with the ACE/Claims Magazine Customer Champion Award, honoring a claims professional who has gone above and beyond to serve their customers and provide a seamless, supportive experience. Bjarnson created a new role for the claims and customer service departments known as the Voice of the Customer. She is the company’s preeminent customer champion and works with the claims team and supervisors to ensure that the company has exhausted every avenue possible to resolve any issues or complaints.

“I’m honored to win this prestigious award and proud to be called the Voice of the Customer,” said Bjarnson, Voice of the Customer and senior technical specialist. “I love advocating for our business partners and consumers in the travel protection industry. Customer advocacy is such an important role that every company needs because you can see the rewards of your contributions at every level. That’s more impactful and positive than I ever could have imagined possible.”

Pictured left to right: Patti Harman, editor-in-chief of Claims magazine; Frank Cesario, director, auto claims vertical solutions insurance for LexisNexis Risk Solutions; Bob Peterson, group president, Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.; Brandon Kay, claims supervisor, Generali Global Assistance's travel insurance division, previously CSA Travel Protection; Jon Levin, group events director, ALM. (Photo: Daniel Gray Photography)

The ACE/Claims Magazine Claims Luminary of the Year is Brandon Kay, who is also with Generali Global Assistance's travel division. Kay is a claims supervisor who has spent the past two years onboarding claims new hires while successfully leading several teams to meet and exceed their business goals.

He also implemented auto-adjudication for the claims department, allowing more than 15,000 claims to be resolved within an average span of 48 hours, reducing customer wait time for resolution and payment. Kay was also instrumental in leading a pilot program within the company that focused on giving more authority and autonomy to claims handlers.

“I’m extremely grateful to have won this esteemed award. Seizing every opportunity and finding the best ways to help customers is a wonderful thing,” shared Kay. “I can’t thank the claims team at Generali enough for all of its hard work and dedication to improving the customer experience. This was definitely a team effort, and I look forward to continuing to improve our customer relationships and their experience working with Generali.”

The innovations implemented by each of these companies and their staffs have had a major impact on how insurance claims are handled throughout the industry, improving the processes and level of service for policyholders industrywide.