Newsletter

Primary and Excess Liability Claims Transfers to Athens Administrators

The new year brought a significant change to the primary and excess liability programs. The Authority has had a long and successful relationship with Carl Warren & Company as our third-party claims administrator for both programs. After careful consideration, we made the strategic decision to transition the liability claims handling account to Athens Administrators, effective January 1, 2026. Athens Administrators currently serves as the Authority’s workers’ compensation third-party administrator.

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Our first priority in making this decision was to maintain high-quality liability claims handling and litigation management for our membership. We are pleased to advise that our claims team remains unchanged, ensuring uninterrupted service to you as a member. All the adjusters, supervisors, and our account manager—previously at Carl Warren—have accepted those same positions at Athens. As of January 1, 2026, they have all transitioned to Athens employees and continue to use the JW Filehandler claims system just as they did at Carl Warren. Their file assignments have remained unchanged.

The entire claims team transferred to Athens and is operating at the same exceptional levels. For over a decade, they have achieved scores exceeding 90 percent on the annual independent audit conducted by Independent Consulting and Risk Management Services (ICRMS). 2025 was no different, with a score of 94 percent. The ICRMS auditors conduct claim and program audits nationwide and advised that our liability claims team is annually one of the top teams they evaluate.

Several factors contributed to the switch from Carl Warren & Company to Athens Administrators, as outlined below.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

We have consolidated our liability and workers’ compensation claims administration teams under a single ownership group, providing a central location for contract negotiations and a common set of practices.

A Proven Partner

We have had the opportunity to work closely with Athens over the last few years on the workers’ compensation program and have been impressed with several things:

• A high level of service quality
• A consistent owner who is very engaged and easy to work with
• A culture that closely matches that of the Authority (positive, innovative, professional, collaborative, and focused on member satisfaction)

Improved Long-Term Sustainability

Athens was founded in 1976 and is a thriving company with more than 500 employees. It is growing, yet still provides personalized service to its clients and has a long-term vision to be an industry leader that values investing in its employees over achieving short-term profit

For all these reasons, the transition has been a win/win for the claims team employees, the Authority, and our members, with no disruption in service.

Reporting Liability Claims

Relative to reporting new liability claims, as of January 1, 2026, members shall submit new claims to this email address. Please disregard any claim submittal email addresses used before January 1, 2026.

Regarding claimant inquiries, while the examiners and supervisors have gradually been advising third parties of their new email addresses, we have created an email address that will be monitored by staff to connect claimants and others with their handling examiner or supervisor.

If you have any questions or concerns about the transition, you can call or email our Liability Program Manager, Chris Kustra or call (562) 467-8742. You may also contact Chief Operating Officer, Paul Zeglovitch via email or at (562) 467-8787.

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