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WillReturn Council ®

What is the WillReturn Council?

Assurant Employee Benefits' WillReturn Council was established in 1998 to recognize the efforts of disability claimants in returning to productive lives after disabling illnesses and injuries. At the same time, the Council also seeks to learn from these situations and use the acquired knowledge in the development of future Assurant Employee Benefits products and to enhance existing claims management initiatives to benefit policyholders and insured's. The Council is composed of several staff members from key areas within Assurant Employee Benefits and chaired by Steve Palermo, a former major league baseball umpire who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down in 1991 and is himself an Assurant Employee Benefits disability claimant. The WillReturn Council meets quarterly to review case summaries of disability claimants nominated for the Perseverance Award.

In reviewing nominations of individuals for its Perseverance Award, the WillReturn Council recognized that the attitudes and actions of employers frequently play a significant role in their disabled employees’ returns to work. As a result, in 1999 it established the WillReturn Council Partnership Award to honor disability insurance policyholders that have demonstrated actions and attitudes supporting the accommodation of employees with disabilities.

The WillReturn Council Pacesetter Award was established in 2002 to give recognition to those who constitute the third side of the triangle in the recovery process. The award is presented to health care facilities or individuals working in the health care field who demonstrate exceptional leadership, dedication, skill and commitment in their efforts to help disabled patients return to active, productive, healthy lifestyles.