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History

The History of Wilber...from a completely biased perspective.

From Ken Wilber's viewpoint, Wilber began in 1991 when he joined forces with his father to create The Wilber Law Firm. The firm handled many types of law, including taxes, probate, and real estate. Ken worked for a tax attorney while in law school in anticipation of spending a long and boring career in that field. Fortunately for Ken, that attorney owned several dozen run-down apartments with bad tenants, and Ken's primary responsibilities were evictions and collections. One of Wilber's earliest collection clients was a local apartment management company and the match was perfect. Ken found a loophole in the law that granted nearly immediate possession of delinquent rental property, and soon he had every landlord in Central Illinois asking him to handle their work. Wilber also handled GTE (now known as Verizon) collection accounts, and the experience taught him early on how to deal with volume. The collection aspect continued to grow rapidly, and in 1994 Wilber received its first subrogation file. The file was collected quickly and fully, and led Wilber to pursue that venue of collections. As the subrogation side of the business grew, the decision was made to focus on subrogation and by 2000, subrogation made up 90% of incoming volume (cases).

In 2004, Don and Ken Wilber divided the rapidly growing firm into two entities, each representing different clients and pursuing slightly different avenues. Wilber and Associates was created as the umbrella business that would handle subrogation and litigation, as well as provide TPA (Third Party Administrator) services to handle risk and recovery for fleets, self-insured, and governmental entities. The entities, collectively known as Wilber, handle claims from the beginning with first notice of loss, through the repair process, and all the way to successful recovery against responsible parties.

Ken Wilber was once the youngest person in the firm, but he is now one of the "seasoned" guys. He is quick to point out that even after 20 years with the firm, he hasn't been there the longest. Turn-over is nearly nonexistent, and each year Wilber personnel add another year of experience to the mix. Each employee is one of the best in their particular field, and each is encouraged to pursue continuing education and certifications. Because of quality people and incredible clients, Wilber has become a nationally renowned Subrogation recovery firm and TPA. Best of all, It appears the best part of Wilber's history is still coming.

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