Bio

Craig Gottwals, Esq. - Professional Biography
Attorney at Law, CA State Bar #210114
Benefits Consultant, CA State Lic. #0E00936

Craig Gottwals is a distinguished healthcare policy attorney and benefits consultant who offers clients of McGriff a synergistic combination of legal acumen and benefits expertise. With a focus on employment law, Craig specializes in benefits cost containment and compliance, working closely with McGriff's financial auditing and HealthSmart Horizon™ divisions.

Adept at providing cost-effective benefits packages and solutions, Craig has considerable knowledge in areas such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California Family Rights Act (CFRA), Pregnancy Disability Leave, anti-harassment and discrimination practices, and paid family leave management.

Over the course of his career, Craig has advised more than 250 businesses on matters related to COBRA, HIPAA, health reform, employee manuals, leave laws, sexual harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other employment law issues. He has also successfully executed human resource director-level and finance officer recruiting assignments. Craig has negotiated numerous carrier rate concessions on behalf of his clients, resulting in over $2.5 million in premium reductions over the past two decades.

A member of both the California Bar Association and the American Bar Association, Craig has been affiliated with McGriff and its predecessors since 1993. He is a respected author and expert source on benefits, compliance, and health policy matters, having contributed to publications such as Employee Benefit Advisor, Employee Benefit News, BenefitsPro, the Sacramento Business Journal, the Auburn Journal, California Watchdog, Workspan Magazine, and the Armstrong & Getty Radio Show.

Craig's educational contributions include teaching at institutions such as UC Davis, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and Lorman's Education Series, covering a wide range of topics related to human resources, employment law, and benefit plan design and administration. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Managerial Economics from UC Davis and a Juris Doctorate from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law.

1-800-810-2363


Mission & Purpose To provide McGriff clients with the very best and most appropriately tailored benefit packages their budgets will permit by treating every single dollar as though it is the final dollar an employee can afford to pay for needed medical coverage. In providing this service, I will fully dedicate myself to supporting my contacts within the organization with the human resource consultation, compliance expertise, and corporate training that allows them to further their career and better their professional lives.


McGriff Insurance Services. provides its nationwide clients with the finest and most affordable employee benefit programs available. Operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of BB&T, McGriff Insurance Services (formerly Liberty Benefit Insurance  Services) distinguishes itself as the premier insurance brokerage for middle-market groups (100-5,000 employees) in the world.  

The combined entity employers more than 31,000 employees and has over 1800 branch locations representing $11 billion in revenue and $157 billion in assets. BB&T was originally founded in 1872 and is celebrating 140 years in business.  

A Fortune 500 company, BB&T is consistently recognized for outstanding client satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the U.S. Small Business Administration, Greenwich Associates, and others. 

McGriff's Auditing Division uses a complex myriad of proprietary financial models to re-underwrite an organization’s health and welfare premium payments. McGriff’s auditing team then works with the applicable insurance carriers to renegotiate the client’s insurance costs ensuring a greater level of actuarial accuracy.

Craig Gottwals delivers benefit, legal, and human resource consulting to McGriff clients throughout northern California and Nevada. Craig works primarily in McGriff's Sacramento division but also works in the San Francisco bay area and with clients nationwide.


For more information about McGriff Insurance, see McGriff Insurance Services.  

For the background on BB&T rebranding its insurance division as McGriff, see BB&T Insurance Services rebranded as McGriff.