Back to Claims School
Pete Brefczynski, CPCU, AAI, AAI-M, ACS, AIC, AIC-M, AIM, AINS, AIO, AIS, ARe, ARM, ARM-P, AU, AU-M, SCLA, SPPA, has built a career by following opportunities to learn how organizations work from different angles. He serves as Vice President of Claims for BerkleyNet, a Berkley Company, and brings experience spanning claims, operations, technology, tax, enterprise risk management, and corporate strategy. His career has included multinational responsibilities, enterprise initiatives, people leadership, and enough professional pivots to give him a broad view of what insurance professionals can build when they remain curious about the business around them.
Pete holds a Master of Science in Insurance Management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Science from the University of Wisconsin. His extensive list of professional designations reflects a longstanding commitment to continuous education, while his leadership roles show how he puts that knowledge into practice. He also serves as Treasurer and a Board Member for Kids’ Chance of Virginia, supporting educational opportunities for children whose families have been affected by workplace injuries.
At the CLM Claims College School of Workers’ Compensation, Pete encourages students to see claims as part of a much larger organizational system. A single claim decision may affect financial performance, operations, customer relationships, team dynamics, and company culture. Understanding those connections makes claims professionals stronger in their current roles and can open doors to careers across nearly every function of an insurance organization. Pete’s own career is proof that learning the fundamentals well can create opportunities you may never have imagined when you first entered the field.
What originally drew you to workers’ compensation?
I attended a career fair at the University of Wisconsin and first learned that careers in the insurance industry existed.
I took a chance on an entry-level claims role and discovered an industry with a tremendous amount to learn. My career eventually took me into several different areas and even outside insurance for a period of time.
Somehow, I found my way back to workers’ compensation claims.
Apparently, workers’ compensation had unfinished business with me.
What perspective do you bring to the School of Workers’ Compensation?
I bring experience leading multifaceted claims organizations and connecting the role of claims to the broader strategy of a company.
Claims does not operate independently from the rest of an organization. The work intersects with underwriting, finance, actuarial, operations, customer experience, sales, human resources, and many other functions.
Understanding those connections helps claims professionals see the broader consequences of their decisions.
It also helps them recognize the value they bring to the organization.
Why is that expertise important for today’s claims professionals?
People handling claims have a much larger role than making decisions on one individual file.
Claims decisions can have operational, financial, customer, team, and cultural impacts across an insurance company. Understanding that broader influence changes how professionals think about their work.
A claims professional who sees the bigger picture can make better decisions within the file while also understanding how those decisions support the organization’s overall strategy.
That perspective creates stronger professionals and stronger leaders.
What is one misconception you regularly observe within workers’ compensation?
A common misconception is that claims professionals cannot move into other parts of an insurance company.
I have helped team members transition into underwriting, actuarial, sales, operations, human resources, and just about every other function within the industry.
Claims develops a tremendous range of transferable skills. You learn how to analyze information, make decisions, communicate under pressure, manage relationships, understand financial consequences, and solve complicated problems.
Those abilities can take you in many different directions.
What has professional experience taught you that a textbook never could?
Textbooks cannot teach the emotional element of claims handling.
Claims professionals have difficult conversations and make difficult decisions every day. The people who become comfortable navigating those moments develop an important part of the skill set required for long-term success.
Technical expertise will help you understand what needs to happen.
Professional maturity helps you communicate the decision, manage the conversation, and continue moving forward when the situation becomes uncomfortable.
What do you hope students gain from learning with you at Claims College?
I hope students enjoy the classes and leave with a couple of meaningful ideas they can use.
I am a strong proponent of continuous education and believe good learning introduces concepts that professionals can take back to their daily roles and apply.
You do not need to leave a class remembering every word.
If you leave thinking differently about one part of your work and that idea helps you make a stronger decision later, the learning accomplished something valuable.
Complete this sentence: “Excellent claims professionals understand that…”
Every claim is unique.
Experience gives us patterns, frameworks, and lessons that help us evaluate what we see.
The professional still has to understand the facts, people, circumstances, and objectives within the individual claim before deciding what comes next.
What advice would you give someone building a career in workers’ compensation?
Take advantage of every learning opportunity, especially the ones outside your own department.
Master the fundamentals first and then start learning how the rest of the organization works.
Ask questions about underwriting. Learn what actuarial does. Understand operations, technology, finance, and the customer experience.
Master the fundamentals and then build for tomorrow.
You may be surprised by how many directions your claims experience can take you.
What might Claims College students enjoy knowing about you?
I took a five-year detour from both claims and insurance to work at NIKE, where I helped build an enterprise risk management program.
I traded claims for shoes.
I regularly saw professional athletes and even got paid to run during the workday, which sounds like a pretty good arrangement for someone who loves running.
And somehow, I still found my way back to insurance.
Apparently, even NIKE could not keep me away from claims forever.
Ready to Head Back to Claims School?
The strongest claims professionals never stop learning. Join the workers’ compensation community in Baltimore from September 9–11, 2026, for the CLM Claims College and three days of practical education, meaningful discussion, and professional connection. The School of Workers’ Compensation gives students the opportunity to strengthen technical knowledge, sharpen professional judgment, and learn directly from experienced industry leaders. Each class is designed to help professionals return to their organizations with greater confidence and new ideas they can apply to their work. Explore the School of Workers’ Compensation and reserve your seat at Claims College today.
The CLM Claims College School of Workers’ Compensation is powered by Paradigm. WorkersCompensation.com proudly sponsors the School’s study halls.
