News - Marsh Celebrates 50 Years In Claims

June 14, 2024

Midland Claims Service, Inc. and Industrial Injury Claims® are pleased have hosted a celebration for employees, service providers and client representatives on June 14, 2024. The subject of the event, held at the prestigious Yellowstone Country Club, was the 50th Anniversary of our President and second generation leading MCSi Michael J. Marsh in the claims industry.

Mr. Marsh began his lifelong career in the claims industry June 15, 1974. At that time, Michael was assigned to doing underwriting inspections of homes...on his Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle, with a pencil, legal pad and a Brownie camera.

Michael worked his way through high school and then college at Montana State University - Bozeman working progressively challenging personal and commercial lines claims. He rose to the position of Vice President of Operations in the mid-1980's and oversaw the transition when his father sold his interest in the business and retired. After the transition, Michael moved to California. There, from 1986 to 1989, he worked his way up inside the insurance company world, achieving the position of Home Office Vice President of Claims for National American Insurance Company of California supervising claims in 35 states. In the mid-1990's, Mr. Marsh and his mentor Michael Galati moved to take over management of Western Pioneer Insurance Company in the Bay Area. Michael assumed the role of Executive Vice President and supervised the Claims, Underwriting, Operations and IT Departments.

After WPIC was acquired by an East coast insurance company, Michael worked as a consultant for a number of well known insurance organizations such as AAA of So Ca and Sullivan & Sullivan General. In 1999, Michael relocated with his family, including 2 young daughters, back to Montana. Through a variety of circumstances, Michael's mother and father had assumed the control of the operations of Midland Claims. Michael purchased the company from them in 1999, and after settling in became involved in the Montana workers' compensation claims world.

The company honored Michael on June 14, 2024 for his dedication to the profession and the many people that he has impacted. His daughter Lauren Marsh presented a bottle of Michael's favorite, Wild Turkey Reserve along with cards from many individuals. She gave the following short presentation (edited for brevity):

We are here to celebrate Michael's involvement in the claims industry. 50 years of doing almost anything is an achievement. 50 years of insurance and self-insured claims is almost unheard of. It takes a level of dedication and desire to achieve this milestone. In that time, Michael has dealt with over 2 billion dollars in incurred losses and brought to conclusion over 50,000 claims in nearly every state in the United States. Since getting into the workers' comp claims industry, the company has been responsible for more than 34, 500 claims in Montana, we think more than any other private TPA in state history. Michael, thank you for the impact you've had on so many lives. Thank you for the impact you've had on so many lives - I know I wouldn't be where I am today without your dedication and selfless 5 decades of service to our industry. Thank you!