Her Story
About Tabitha
Tabitha Balderas is an insurance and underwriting professional specializing in workers’ compensation and Professional Employer Organization (PEO) program management. Based in Herriman, Utah, she currently serves as Manager of the PEO Group at WCF Insurance, where she acts as a technical underwriting specialist and subject matter expert for PEO clients. Her work focuses on structuring compliant, data-driven insurance programs while balancing risk management, regulatory requirements, and long-term client partnership strategies.
With more than a decade of progressive experience in underwriting, she has built a strong foundation in workers’ compensation risk analysis, rating bureau frameworks such as NCCI and WCIRB, and regulatory alignment under NAIC standards. She began her career in insurance in the early 2000s and advanced through roles including sales support, marketing services, and underwriting before transitioning into specialized PEO underwriting. Her leadership is defined by cross-functional collaboration with sales, risk, and operations teams to deliver tailored insurance solutions that support both business growth and program stability.
Tabitha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Phoenix and is currently pursuing an MBA at Utah Valley University to further strengthen her strategic and leadership capabilities. She also holds the CPCU designation and has completed advanced training in leadership and strategy execution. In addition to her professional responsibilities, she contributes to organizational culture and development through involvement in internal leadership and inclusion initiatives, reflecting a focus on both technical expertise and people-centered leadership in the insurance industry.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tabitha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to just a desire to keep learning. Going from not even knowing what a PEO is to building out a profitable program really came down to the fact that I love to learn. I love to find out what people need and be able to give that to them. Resilience has been key too. I've been knocked down a couple of times, and I'm just not one to give up.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to always assume positive intent. One of the things my mentors always remind me is to remember how far you've come, not where you think you should be. I think a lot of women do the 'well, at this point, I should be' or 'why am I not?' So thankfully, I have people who care about me that remind me, hey, hold on, look at how far you've come and the things that you are doing today. Don't worry about tomorrow.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
You don't have to play golf to get the business. Don't be afraid to take on those sales roles. In insurance, a lot of the client-facing positions are more men on the sales side, and women are typically account managers and claims adjusters. Certainly don't be afraid to build an agency or be your own boss. There's just so many things in insurance that you can do, and if you want it, do it. There are people out there that will support you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
For me, I think a lot of the challenges have been around confidence. It wasn't until I was in my forties that I really started to bet on myself, stand up, and really start asking for that help, knowing that it's okay to ask because I have somebody in my corner. I didn't really find support in my career until about 8 or 9 years ago when I got a new boss that really took the time to sit and talk to me and encourage me. Then with the Emerging Leaders Program, that just opened my eyes to so many things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I am a big believer in the golden rule. I'm very empathetic, so I just want to know that what I do helps people and that I'm someone people can really count on, no matter what the situation is, work or life. One thing that I do love about WCF is their model is 'people matter.' That's really me, if that makes sense.
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