Page 22 - Top Workplaces 2018

Operator: lwahowskidoell Desc: Time: 02-16-2018 13:16 Jobname:

MIDSIZE COMPANIES NO. 2
PENN TREATY NETWORK AMERICA

DOUGLAS KILPATRICK/SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL
Employees of Penn Treaty Network America join in a conference at the company’s corporate headquarters on Lehigh Street in Allentown.
Penn Treaty Network America says future is bright

Communication is key between management and employees.

By Daryl Nerl the third consecutive year the company assessed to other insurers, with Penn looking for is somewhere where they
Special to The Morning Call has made the Top Workplaces list. Treaty acting as a third party adminis- can take their LTC business, carve it
The company, which specializes in trator, guaranteeing the company’s 170 out, and have somebody else administer
long-term care insurance that helps pay jobs in the short term. it. We see that as our future.”
ne might expect that a com- for certain medical and personal ex- But according to company Chief It’s unique, Robinson acknowledged,
pany undergoing liquidation penses such as nursing-home care, was Executive Officer Robert L. Robinson, for a company in Penn Treaty’s position
would have an office full of ordered liquidated by Commonwealth third party administration is also going to be thinking about its future.
O stressed, unhappy employees, Court last March after a legal struggle to be Penn Treaty’s long-term future. “In a liquidation, normally you come
wary of where axes may start to fall. that lasted nearly a decade. With liquidation finally underway, in, downsize everything, shut out the
But at long-term care insurance pro- At the time of the liquidation, Penn Robinson, who was appointed by the lights and terminate employees, and
vider Penn Treaty Network America in Treaty had about 76,000 policyholders Insurance Commission to lead the com- here, the lights are bright, we’re seeing
Salisbury Township, a new business nationwide, with 9,000 in Pennsylvania. pany’s rehabilitation in 2009, is hoping a future where we can grow,” he said.
plan that addresses the company’s long- The company had $500 million in assets to reorganize Penn Treaty into a service Penn Treaty’s employees seem to be
term future combined with a culture of to cover long-term care claims projected provider for guaranty associations and buying into that vision. Company em-
communication and collaboration has to be $4.6 billion, according to the insurance providers who sell long-term ployees say one reason for that is that
employees feeling hopeful and happy. Pennsylvania Insurance Commission. care. they have cultivated a culture of com-
“The people here are what makes The company had been placed in “The company has had a vision since munication, where management lays out
Penn Treaty amazing,” said Bridgette “rehabilitation” by the court in 2009 2009, which was that we believed that its vision for Penn Treaty’s future and
Shambo, a business analyst who joined after regulators first concluded the com- our greatest strength was our ability to employees are encouraged to weigh in
the company a year ago. “The culture is pany didn’t have enough money and administer long-term care business,” with their input.
nothing short of positive. It’s just been other assets to pay customers what it Robinson said. “It’s a complex product. “There’s a lot of communication that
wonderful. had promised. There aren’t a whole lot of people out flows from Bob and [other executives],
“There’s something to be said about Penn Treaty can no longer sell new there doing it. keeping us informed,” said Karen
a struggling company that has people policies, but its employees continue to “We’re recognized as a leader in Babio, an attorney who has worked in
who are so tight together and working work at processing customer claims terms of our ability to administer the Penn Treaty’s legal department for 12
toward a common goal.” under the auspices of the Pennsylvania business,” he continued. “There are a lot years. “That’s a big reason why we all
Despite the court-ordered liquidation Life & Health Guaranty Association. of companies right now that are in this have such a great comfort level because
of the company, Penn Treaty was ran- The association is funding claims LTC space where they’re challenging they are such great communicators.
ked as the No. 2 midsized company in using premiums policyholders continue how long they want to stay in that
the 2018 Top Workplaces survey. This is to pay and money culled from fees space. So what these companies are
See Page 23

22 2018 ❘ TOP WORKPLACES