Basking Ridge-based Chubb has named Keith Higdon division president of ESIS, Inc., the company’s risk management solutions division, which provides a full range of sophisticated risk management services, including workers compensation and liability claims handling, in addition to integrated absence management services.
In this role, Higdon will be responsible for leading the management of ESIS, a core offering for Chubb’s North America large accounts business, including spearheading strategies around product development, customer service and relationships, sales and profit and loss (P&L) performance.
Higdon has more than two decades of insurance industry experience. Most recently he served as senior vice president, Partnership Services at ESIS, where he was responsible for the management and development of client partnerships across all ESIS lines of business. In addition, Higdon oversaw ESIS’s extensive network of field and regional offices throughout North America, new client implementations, ESIS University, and the company’s industry practices and global initiatives.
Higdon succeeds Joe Vasquez, who, as previously announced, will be assuming the role of senior vice president, Chubb Group, Global Accident & Health. Higdon will be based in Chicago and will report to Matthew Merna, division president, Chubb North America Major Accounts.
“Keith’s background and expertise in developing claims and risk management solutions for self-insured entities that allow them to achieve excellent claim outcomes while reducing their total cost and risk makes him a natural fit for this role,” said Merna. “This is yet another example of Chubb’s deep bench of talent, and I am confident that under his direction, ESIS will continue to grow through the creation of market-leading products and services.”
Higdon began his career as a consultant in 1996, where he was focused on auditing, program evaluation, and program design projects for workers compensation and integrated disability management programs for large employers and service providers. Throughout his career in the third-party administrator (TPA) space, he held a variety of leadership positions within information technology and client services, where he helped develop and deliver differentiated products and services to clients. Higdon joined ACE in 2014, and prior to ACE’s 2016 acquisition of Chubb, he spent a significant amount of time with ACE Group Claims, helping to develop an approach to utilizing predictive modeling and text mining in the claims management process.
Higdon holds two bachelor of science degrees in the social sciences from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in information technology and management from Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a board member and former Chairman for the Center for Employee Health Studies associated with the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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