2026 Holiday Dinner Gala

The New York Claims Association (NYCA) is pleased to announce Mona Barnes, Global Chief Claims Officer at Aon, as the recipient of the 2026 NYCA Claims Executive of the Year Award, and Gary Arabian, Vice President of Business Development at Sedgwick, as the recipient of the 2026 NYCA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mona Barnes

Global Chief Claims Officer, AON

Mona oversees Aon’s 1800-strong Commercial Risk Claims teams across all geographies and business lines. She is passionate about delivering exceptional claims service and outcomes to clients and driving change to this end.

Mona brings a wealth of experience with her background in the legal, insurance & reinsurance sectors and deep subject-matter expertise. She has extensive experience dealing with large-scale insurance disputes involving FTSE 100 / S&P 500 companies in worldwide jurisdictions.

Having previously worked as Swiss Re’s Head of Key Case & Large Loss Management, she was responsible globally for oversight of the firm’s largest losses across all non-life & health lines of business including worldwide events such as Covid-19 (business interruption / property), Ukraine war, US Mass Torts and various Nat Cat events.

Prior to Swiss Re, she worked in various international claims leadership roles at Chubb across different classes of business.

She is a qualified lawyer and specialised in insurance dispute resolution.

Gary Arabian

Vice President of Business Development, Sedgwick

Gary Arabian is a Vice President of Business Development at Sedgwick, where he brings more than 30 years of experience in the claims services industry. In his current role, Gary works across a broad range of industry segments, developing and maintaining client relationships, identifying new business opportunities, and building strategic internal and external partnerships. He also plays an integral role in developing and implementing service programs designed to meet the specific needs of clients and their organizations.

Gary joined Sedgwick in 2002 as Vice President of Claims Operations in the company’s NYC office and was responsible for opening new offices throughout the northeast.  Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions spanning business development and claims operations, including serving as Vice President of Claims Operations at York Risk Services Group, which was acquired by Sedgwick in 2014.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Gary has been actively involved in the claims industry and the New York claims community. He previously served as President and Treasurer of the New York Claim Association and currently serves on the organization’s Executive Board of Directors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of AmCOMP.

Gary’s extensive industry experience and involvement in professional organizations reflect his longstanding commitment to the claims profession and to fostering relationships within the industry. He is a licensed general adjuster and licensed hearing representative in New York.

Gary earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Hofstra University.