CIO interview - Brenda Van Velkinburgh digitizes workers' comp insurance for Ascot Group

A thirty-year-old technology platform which was not suited to online transactions and business processes was going to be a major obstacle for the workers' compensation arm of Ascot. Brenda Van Velkinburgh, VP Information Technology for Workers’ Comp at Ascot Group, a specialty insurance organization, has led the development of new enterprise applications so the US business can grow. As a result, Ascot Group now has the ability to provide workers' compensation insurance online.

Ascot Group acquired AmFed in November 2021, as the London-based insurance firm looked to grow its international presence. AmFed was a workers' compensation insurance provider headquartered in Ridgeland, close to Jackson, Mississippi. In acquiring AmFed, Ascot Group gained a business that was already growing. Beginning in 2018, AmFed had taken its workers' compensation business from just a few states to 11 states.

In 2020 the modernization of its application estate to support online services opened up new ...