Dave Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa Insurance, interviews OneofOne® employee, Workers' Compensation Claims Advocate, Jim Malone on his upbringing, personal life, and professional career.

Show Notes: Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter.

Director/Producer: Alyssa Burley

Host: Dave Garcia

Guest: Jim Malone

Editor: Lauren Stumpf

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence, "Elevators Need Rock Too" by Spence

Transcript

[Introduction Music]

Dave Garcia: Hi, this is Dave Garcia, president of Rancho Mesa, and thank you for joining me and listening to this week's "getting to know the Rancho Mesa family," brought to you by StudioOne™, our safety and risk management network.

Today's guest will be Jim Malone, the workers' compensation claims advocate at Rancho Mesa. Hi, Jim, welcome to the show.

Jim Malone: Hi, Dave. Thanks for having me.

DG: You bet. So, Jim, let's begin by finding out a little bit about yourself. So tell me, where did you grow up?

JM: Little town in southern Ohio, Portsmouth.

DG: So, does that make you an Ohio State Buckeye fan?

JM: Go bucks.

DG: Go bucks, okay. So, did you go to high school back there then?

JM: Yes.

DG: And during high school, did you participate in any activities while you were in school?

JM: Mostly sports, track, football.

DG: So, let's talk about track a little bit. What did you do in track?

JM: All the sprints. I had a 4:40 relay time with three other guys that had the school record for 20 years.

DG: Is that right?

JM: Yeah, we hit the state record one year, so we were pretty good.

DG: So, I don't know much about track as you're about to find out. So, the 4:40, is that like one time around the track?

JM: With the relay, each guy runs 100, or, it's when they switch from 100 yards to 210 meters.

DG: Okay, so it finally got broken?

JM: Oh, yeah, yeah. All records do. [Laughs]

DG: And so, I'm going to make an assumption here, so you must have been fast. So, in football, wide receiver? Or running back? Defensive back? What was your-

JM: I was running back.

DG: Okay.

JM: But ironically made All State as a defensive lineman that year.

DG: Oh, no kidding. Wow. So, Jim, what year did you come to California?

JM: In 84.

DG: You came out in 84, okay. And then outside of work, what do you like to do?

JM: Fish, golf, barbecue, game night with the family.

DG: How large is your family, Jim?

JM: Muy grande. [translation: “very big”] Five kids and three grandchildren so far.

DG: Whoa, well, congratulations.

JM: Thank you.

DG: And is it all boys? All girls?

JM: Three girls, two boys, and three granddaughters.

DG: Well, great.

JM: Sorry, I had to think for a second.

DG: Yeah. Oh, that's a that's a big number-

JM: Don't ask me all their dates of birth and all that stuff. [Laughs]

DG: Yeah. So you mentioned golf and fishing, so those would be your hobbies, and when you talk about fishing, is that more freshwater or saltwater? What do you like there?

JM: Anywhere I can get out on. Both are just as fun, but just as different.

DG: Have you caught anything worth talking about? Something of size?

JM: Well, we caught a halibut on the shores down across the waterway from North Island, fishing off the rocks, and I helped my brother pull in a halibut that was as big and as wide as he is.

DG: Wow.

JM: So, it was up to here to his chin.

DG: Yeah.

JM: And you couldn't see him behind it because it was so big.

DG: So, so [laughs] what do you think that thing weighed?

JM: Had to have been 200lbs.

DG: And you pulled that out of the bay?

JM: Yes, off the rocks.

DG: Wow, that's a great story right there. You have a picture of that?

JM: Oh, course not. [Laughs]

DG: Yeah. [Laughs]

JM: Yeah.

DG: The old fish story, got it. Okay, so when you get a chance to vacation away from the five kids and three grandchildren, is there any favorite spot that you like to go?

JM: We've liked Hawaii and Cancun. We've even gone to the rocky top mountains in Tennessee.

DG: Oh, okay.

JM: Yeah.

DG: Yeah. So, the two that you've mentioned, that's a lot of beach and sand kind of vacation. You enjoy that, relaxing?

JM: Yeah, yeah, totally relaxing.

DG: Yeah. Okay, I'm going to put you on the spot here a little bit, Jim. So, tell me something about yourself that most people don't know.

JM: I'm pretty meticulous with what I do when I set out to do something, and I kind of like to get detailed about it and can't rest until it's good.

DG: [Laughs] Okay. So let's talk about your role within Rancho Mesa. So, as the workers’ compensation claims advocate here at Rancho Mesa, what are some of your responsibilities?

JM: My main one is to monitor the progression of the claims and the reserving of the claims for our clients, our insureds.

DG: So Jim, how long have you been in the workers’ compensation claims arena?

JM: Coming up on 35 years?

DG: And how did you happen to stumble into that as a line of work?

JM: I stumbled into that. [Laughs] I had my own work injury, went through the process, couldn't go back to the job I was injured at and was given the VOC rehab benefit. And in the process of that, an insurance company who specialized in California workers’ comp hired me to explain work comp benefits to other injured workers.

DG: So, there can't be too many work comp claim advocates with that background. So, that probably gave you a lot of good perspective that you can use now because you know what it feels like to be the injured worker, to be trying to get the benefits, and not understanding how it works. So over those 35 years, you probably have helped quite a few people manage their selves through their claim process.

JM: I would like to think so. When I went through my own claim, I didn't even know the questions to ask. So, I know some employers may not know what to ask for or what to expect, and certainly their injured workers may not know what's going on with their own claim.

DG: So, talk to us a little bit about one or two areas of your role here that you really enjoy.

JM: The biggest thing I enjoy is when an insured looks at me and says, I've given you a condition or a problem or an issue, and I know when I give it to you, I can relax and then go back and focus on running my business.

DG: That must make you feel really good.

JM: Yeah, because that's, I think, my biggest objective.

DG: Mm-Hmm.

JM: So take that worry off their plate and let them focus on running their business.

DG: How do you find kind of working for the client but maintaining a good relationship with the carrier's claims examiners? Is that a fine line that you have to walk on, or is that something you've been able to master over the 35 years you've been doing it?

JM: It is a fine line. I later became a claims adjuster after that insurance company hired me, so I know what they're facing every day. They do a lot of work very fast and its difficult work, so I try not to bother them. I try to help them communicate with our clients. So, I try to get as much information out of them while trying to help them as much as I can.

DG: Yeah, that sounds like you really try to make this a win-win, positive-positive experience for both the injured worker, the client, the customer, and the claims examiner as well. So, that's to be commended for when you can accomplish those types of things.

JM: Thank you.

DG: So, Jim, this is a question I like to ask all the employees here at Rancho Mesa just to get it, get their perspective. So, let's say you're out fishing and you happen to meet a stranger who walks up to you and you guys get to chatting and he finds out, you work for Rancho Mesa. How would you describe Rancho Mesa to that person?

JM: Well, from the outside, it looks like maybe a standard agency, but knowing what I know is it's an awesome company, it's a very strong company, and we're proud of being able to do a really good job for our clients, day in and day out.

DG: As sad as that sounds, my next question was going to ask you something, what do you think is unique about Rancho Mesa, but trying to keep client-centric focused while here we maybe don't feel that’s unique, maybe that is what's unique is that we still put the client first.

JM: Yeah, and to, almost like, wow them every day with what we do every day.

DG: And that's a good way to look at it. Is there anything else about Rancho Mesa that you'd like to share with the audience that comes to mind?

JM: Everybody's so professional and they're so good at what they do, and if they don't know something, they will certainly find out, go above and beyond just to help the client every day that we work with them.

DG: Yeah. So, Jim, let's put your future eyeglasses on here, and how do you see Rancho Mesa down the road? Where do you see where the company's going?

JM: Bigger, I'm sure we'll grow as we continue to grow since I've been here, but it's a controlled growth where we can still manage the increased numbers while still maintaining our focus on the type of service that we provide.

DG: So, Jim, before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share with the audience today that maybe I haven't asked?

JM: Rancho Mesa is just, I don't think it's a normal company. They're driven, they like to be considered excellent at what they do, and they take great pride in their work.

DG: Great. Well, Jim, I want to thank you for all that you do for Rancho Mesa, but also for joining me today and for letting us get to know a little bit more about you and your role within Rancho Mesa. So, Jim, thanks for joining us today.

JM: Thank you, Dave. Appreciate it.

DG: So that'll do it for today. Thank you for joining me and getting to know your Rancho Mesa family and for tuning in to StudioOne™, our safety and risk management network. Until next time, stay well.

[Closing Music]

Alyssa Burley: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.