This Women in Subro blog series highlights powerhouse women in the industry while discussing leadership, management, and success in subrogation.
In our interview with Peggy Walsh, the longest tenured Recovery Supervisor at National Subrogation Services (NSS), we recognize her dedication to subrogation. NSS provides comprehensive subrogation and recovery services to insurer clients across the country. Peggy has been with NSS for over 15 years. At NSS, her primary responsibilities include directing and coordinating the activities of a specialized team of Recovery Analysts while ensuring superior delivery of claims services for all lines of business and working closely with cornerstone clients.
Before joining NSS, Peggy was a Major Case Unit Specialist at RSA, formerly known as Royal & SunAlliance, responsible for managing complex litigation claims. At RSA, Peggy gained extensive claims experience in liability, property, automobile, and workers compensation. After the acquisition of RSA, Peggy turned what was supposed to be a 6 month temp job for NSS into a lasting career.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to work in the insurance industry?
A: No, I fell into it. My father was in the business. He worked as an independent large loss general adjuster and he loved his job.
Q: When you were a child, what was your dream job?
A: A dancer. I took ballet and tap classes as a child.
Q: If you were not where you are today, what would you be doing?
A: While, I could have made different decisions and changed paths, it is this experience and these decisions which made me who I am today. I am content and happy in the job and role I am in now.
Q: Do you have a fun subro story to share?
A: The crazy cat and dog stories come to mind. In one case, a cat in the upstairs unit turned on the bathroom sink faucet and water drained for over a week. The unit owner was adamant that she didn’t leave the faucet on but blamed the cat, saying the cat was smart and knew how to turn faucet knobs on and off. We have seen this so many times. On this one, we recovered 100%.
Q: What is it about subro that catches your attention and keeps you interested?
A: Thousands of water and fire losses come in every day and each have their own story. No claims are alike. This creates a constant learning process.
Q: What is the hardest part of your job?
A: Time management; there is always so much to do and so little time. To help with time management, I like to set blocks of time aside and keep a to do list on the computer. It is very satisfying to delete each task item from the list as it gets completed.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
A: My team and my team’s success. I also enjoy building client relationships, as well as training and development. Watching new hires grow and excel in their roles is very gratifying. We like to acknowledge a team member’s success with kudos or shoutouts at the monthly team meetings.
Q: How have you had so much success and longevity in the industry?
A: I have been fortunate to have great mentors over my career. Hard work and dedication are also big factors.
Q: What is one of your greatest professional accomplishments?
A: Having made a positive impact on others. I believe I have done this through team building, being transparent and supportive, giving my team autonomy to make decisions, and being open to suggestions from the team. My team members are the ones in the trenches every day, so I am sure to listen to them. I am proud to have a passionate team who wants to learn and develop.
Q: What is your management style?
A: I make a point to get to know my team- from the day they are hired. Then I continue to be transparent and supportive for my team.
Q: How do you define success?
A: Having a positive impact on others, loyalty, and achieving goals.
Q: How do you use technology for subro cases?
A: NSS has a great tech tool called “SubroSpeed,” which utilizes predictive analytics. This helps streamline the workflow. Electronic feed is filtered, scored, and reviewed. Cases with subrogation potential are directly inputted into iVOS, our customized subrogation database, and immediately assigned to an analyst. We also have a bot to dig through a claims database to search for supplemental payments after a recovery. These tech tools are a great use for our teams.
We thank Peggy Walsh for this interview and for being a true leader in subrogation.
Stay tuned for the next post highlighting another prominent subro leader.
