National Guardian Life Insurance Company launched its inaugural G.R.I.T. Awards during its December 2024 End of Year Celebration. The awards incorporate the company’s vision for the future – “Together for Tomorrow” – into its team members’ daily professional lives. Peer nominations recognize and celebrate colleagues for their outstanding achievements and performance. The awards highlight the winning mindsets that need to be demonstrated by every employee in order to deliver/accomplish NGLIC’s goals and vision. There are four G.R.I.T. Award categories:
• Growth and Personal Development Award: Oscar Hernandez Tinajero, technical support. The recipient sets clear professional- and personal-growth objectives. They hold themselves accountable for their own growth and NGLIC accountable for support. The individual also embraces courageous conversations and chooses to stay resilient through challenges.
“Oscar is driven to learn and advance his career at NGLIC by challenging himself,” shared one nominator. “He joined the IT customer service team from a business role, volunteered to join the implementation team for the Data Center move-out weekend and has now volunteered to assist a more technical team in order to challenge himself and further his career…”
• Resilience and Accountability Award: Jen Hatton, senior commissions administrator. This award recipient is resilient and perseveres. They believe in holding themselves and others accountable for actions and outcomes. Commitment to results and follow-through is a basis of their work ethic.
Said one who nominated Hatton: “She sets an amazing example of resilience and accountability on the commissions team. Jen’s continual commitment to finding solutions and generating new ideas, even in difficult situations, is a testament to her resilience and perseverance. She also leads by example by keeping herself accountable…”
• Initiative, Drive and Execution Award: Jessica Miller, assistant vice president of financial planning, payroll and disbursements. This award is for the team member who takes initiative with a bias for effective action. They ask for help when needed and look beyond daily tasks to effectively execute plans.
“Jessica has worked tirelessly to improve key processes,” said a nominator. “She drove the implementation of a new accounts payable software, which enabled better workflow, tracking and automation of disbursements coding. She overhauled the budget process and has worked collaboratively with every budget owner throughout NGLIC to help them understand their costs and plan accurately for the coming year. Jessica executes on every task she takes on and has a true drive for excellence…”
• Trust in Each Other Award: Lisa Warner, claims adjudicator. This award recognizes a person who has demonstrated trust in themself, their peers and their leaders. They empower others, are self-empowered, and delegate, as well as foster, open communication by giving and receiving constructive feedback. Collaboration within and across teams is paramount to their work.
According to one nominator, “Lisa is always available to help deal with complicated claims or to help train newer members on different types of claims. She has been the point person on several complicated claims this year, some of which have involved multiple beneficiaries who have unique needs and questions. She also has a wonderful personality and adds so much to the team.”
In other news, NGLIC has implemented a funeral home support phone line, a dedicated resource to help funeral directors and employees. “Our dedicated funeral home support team is here to assist funeral homes with filing claims, reporting, and answering general questions about in-force policies,” said Drew Prenli, assistant vice president of customer and distribution solutions. “Since launching this dedicated phone line in September 2024, our knowledgeable team has handled thousands of calls, resolved a wide variety of issues and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from funeral homes that have utilized this service.” nglic.com