History
WCMC’s story all began back when Dave Samuel, WCMC’s president and CEO, was employed by a large temporary-help company specializing in industrial labor with both daily and long-term assignments. He was in charge of all aspects of the company, but he had inherited a work comp mess with the company’s mod at a 1.89 and growing. The insurance program was in the assigned risk plan, aka the pool. He faced the same workers’ compensation struggles that other employers face. His experience consisted of injured employees who were capable of light duty but whose doctors refused to address light duty restrictions; skeptical claims where he felt more investigation should have been done; high reserves and medical expenses; and lost wages paid on claims that seemed to drag on forever. To top it off, there were employees with employment issues mingled within the work comp claims. Dave’s managerial experience in workers’ compensation for that company is where he began to hone his skills and knowledge on employment and work comp issues, especially as they relate to and impact the overall business management process. Dave took it upon himself to research attorney firms; he was told that if he wanted aggressive legal help concerning work comp claims, he should contact Larry Peterson. Together Dave and Larry brought the company’s modifier rate back in order.
Larry Peterson has been in the legal arena since 1983 – practicing law in the employer defense of workers’ compensation claims as well as other legal areas. He has specialized in Minnesota and Wisconsin workers’ compensation cases while maintaining his own private practice alongside several other equally qualified workers’ compensation attorneys. Mr. Peterson has taught workers compensation classes to law students at The William Mitchell College of Law. His private practice currently includes representing self-insured businesses, both large and small. Larry sold his shares back to WCMC in 2017 but is still active as one of the legal consultants.
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Founding WCMC
Dave saw that employers wanted and were in need of some direction and control over their workers’ compensation claims. So in 1995, he asked Larry Peterson and his close friend, Joe Mangin, CPA, to join him in founding WCMC. Together, they utilized their combined skills to reduce and control the costs of workers’ compensation, and they taught this effective formula to the rest of the WCMC risk management team.
WCMC’s humble beginning in Roseville, MN started with a small client base of 3 companies. Today, WCMC is owned by Dave Samuel and Annette Zeman and is located in Oakdale, Minnesota with an excess of 2,500 locations, in various industries nationwide.
Annette Zeman has been with the company from the beginning, so it is very fitting that she became a proud corporate owner in 2017 when Larry sold his shares back to the company. Her hard work and dedication towards WCMC have helped the company grow to what it is today. She takes customer service to a whole new level. She is seen as the face of WCMC; everyone knows her, and she knows all our customers by name. She has a unique skill set for interpreting the culture of a company and coming up with a strategy to get their work comp claims back in order.
Although there is plenty of demand for expansion, Dave and Annette maintain personal relationships with clients and believe that a job well done is more important than fast expansion of their company. They will only allow WCMC to grow as long as their high standards for customer services and claim management are fulfilled. Their ability to develop and find creative solutions to work comp and related employment issues is the driving force of the company. Dave and Annette take a “hands on” approach and are involved in the day to day activities on claims.