Dear friends of the
Buffalo Claims Association:
My name is Melanie Diegelman, and I am excited for this opportunity to serve as the President of the Buffalo Claims Association for 2026. I am looking forward to a successful year for the Association.
I am an attorney with the Law Office of Melissa Day, and our practice is focused solely on the defense of New York State Workers’ Compensation claims, and I have been practicing law there since January 2020. Previously I worked as a background investigator for 10 years, investigating applicants seeking national security clearances. My investigative nature and experience have come in handy while reviewing claims for self-insured employers and carriers, especially when scoping out those fraudsters!
I attended law school at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL; and while this winter has made me question why I would have moved from the sunshine state back to western New York (where I grew up), I am thankful to be a part of this Buffalo-based office and I am excited for what 2026 has in store. I appreciate all the people in the insurance industry that I have met along the way and I look forward to meeting more this year!
I work with my husband, Neil Diegelman, who is a Senior Attorney with Melissa Day’s office, and we live on Grand Island with our six children, to include two sets of twins! We are always busy, but we are grateful and humble, even on the most chaotic days.
I am excited about the events that the BCA Board has started planning for this year to help us support our charity. The charity I have picked for 2026 is Furever Friends Dog Rescue of WNY. The founding member had originally made frequent trips to Ohio to rescue adult breeder dogs from puppy mills, with no funding, covering all costs on her own. From there, a group of four friends banded together to raise funds for trips to Ohio where they ultimately rescued 32 dogs. In May of 2011, these four friends recruited more of their friends, leading to the formation of this organization, Furever Friends Dog Rescue. To date, this group has given new lives to more than 2000 dogs, and they continue to work toward their goal, “until all the cages are empty”.
This organization has always been and remains special to me as it is where we adopted our dog, Buddy, and he has been in our family for four years now. My hope for 2026 is to help Furever Friends Dog Rescue continue their mission to find homes for dogs that need and deserve a wonderful life full of love. I look forward to the events this year and we appreciate the contributions of the claim professionals involved with the Buffalo Claims Association!
