Claims professionals navigate medical care, relationships, negotiation, and complex decisions, often simultaneously. It is work that demands judgment no platform can replicate. This report brings together four Gallagher Bassett leaders to examine what underpins a world-class claims operation: Charlie Lamberta, Irina Simpson, Joe Zinga, and Sean Willett discuss frontline feedback loops, the GB Navigator platform, continuous talent investment, and why insurance carriers increasingly point to talent as the most pressing challenge in the space.
Gallagher Bassett treats AI as a tool, not a substitute. Charlie Lamberta, EVP of claims operations, liability and property at Gallagher Bassett, draws a clear line: "We both look at AI and technology as a force multiplier, not as a replacement for good judgment, sound foundation, empathy, or good execution." Irina Simpson, EVP of workers' compensation at Gallagher Bassett, frames the complexity differently: "The claims process is a lot like chess, there are so many moving pieces." Automation handles the mechanical ones. De-escalating conflict, negotiating settlements, and building trust with an injured worker demand a person. No platform substitutes for that skill set. Technology changes how the work gets done. It does not change who must do the hardest parts.
The phrase sounds simple. The execution is not. Simpson explains that blocking and tackling is not about how often a claims professional documents a plan of action. "To me, blocking and tackling is being able to establish a deep rapport with the person on the other line of the phone that can help you identify various facts and be able to establish a proper strategy." Logistics carry equal weight. "Regardless of the line of business, you have to get the right claim to the right person at the right time. And how do you use these tools to resolve that quicker?" In her framing, the definition rests on a human foundation. A checklist alone cannot get there.
Continuous investment. That is Simpson's answer. "Our industry is moving so fast. Even if you put aside the technology, regulations and laws are changing too. Carriers are offering different types of policies and coverages; there are different types of risks emerging." Expecting talent to rely on training from 15 to 20 years ago is a losing strategy. At Gallagher Bassett, investment covers experienced external hires and internal development across technical leadership, customer service, and problem-solving. Joe Zinga, EVP of risk management at Gallagher Bassett, adds that the firm is focused on "attracting, retaining, and developing people to place them in a position to be successful." Talent development runs ahead of technology selection.
No. Zinga is direct on this point. In every client meeting, technology comes up. Yet technology does not answer the questions that matter most to clients: "How do you make sure someone returns my phone call? How do you ensure there's consistent communication and collaboration? How do you ensure my injured workers are recovering, back to health, and back to work?" Those outcomes require people. Technology supports the process. It does not own the result. Simpson agrees: AI is important, but it is not where the work starts. The firm's leaders say the "easy button" framing misreads what claims management is. People remain the primary instrument on every file that requires judgment.
GB Navigator consolidates and organizes all work items, tasks, and claims into a single platform. The practical gains are specific. One process change automated the approval-notification step for payment authority. A claims professional previously created a diary reminder, checked manually for approval, and chased it if it had not arrived. The redesigned flow sends a push notification instead. Lamberta estimates the saving at 10 to 20 seconds per transaction. Across 500,000 executions a year, that accumulates fast. A separate invoice-process overhaul, also driven by frontline feedback, "saves 100,000 emails a year between Gallagher Bassett employees, maybe more," Lamberta says, and cut claim duration on affected files by more than three days.
Lamberta traces the approach to his own experience as a trainee, when system changes arrived without any input from the people doing the work. "I promised myself that when I moved up the ranks, I'd listen to those on the frontline. They have to have a voice." The GB Navigator payment-authority notification came directly from that feedback loop: employees identified the friction, Gallagher Bassett got to work, and the fix went into the platform. Simpson connects this to the broader culture. "You have to be unapologetically focused on process improvement," she told Insurance Business. "That has got to be at the forefront if you're a people-first organization." Frontline input shapes the roadmap. You can find additional analysis across Insurance Business America's premium reports.
Talent is the issue carriers raise most. Sean Willett, SVP of carrier practice strategy and go-to-market at Gallagher Bassett, says conversations with chief claims officers, underwriting leaders, program administrators, and MGAs keep returning to the same problem. "Our people-first strategy resonates incredibly well in the market. Whether that's the talent development and investments in people that we're making, the scale of our organization, or the amazing work our claims team has done, a lot of carrier claims operations aspire to have that level of scale and specialization that we've built over the last couple of years." Claims sit at the center of carrier profitability. Having the right professionals handling them is not optional. It is the product.