Sedgwick Claims Management Services expects to hire 240 full-time employees when it opens a new office in New Albany in January.

The company plans to open a call center at 7400 W. Campus Road in the Central College business campus. Aetna already is based in the building.

Jennifer Chrysler, New Albany's community development director, said the call center will occupy 34,500 square feet and will handle disability claims for Walmart.

"This is a new project that is a result of a contract with Walmart, which gives them exclusive management of the company's disability programs worldwide," she said.

Attorney Adam Garn of McDonald Hopkins of Columbus told New Albany City Council that Sedgwick handles third-party claims and administration. The Memphis-based company specializes in claims related to workers' compensation, short- and long-term disability, Family and Medical Leave Act and general, automobile and professional liability, he said.

City Council on Aug. 7 voted 4-0 to approve a five-year, 20-percent job-creation income-tax credit for the company. Council members Colleen Briscoe, Chip Fellows and Chris Wolfe were absent.

The company must remain at 7400 W. Campus Road for seven years. If it does not, Chrysler said, Sedgwick must repay two years of income-tax credits equal to $72,800.

Sedgwick is expected to move in by Jan. 1. Chrysler said the company is projected to have a $9.1 million annual payroll within three years, which will generate $145,600 annually in income-tax collections for the city.

Part of the income-tax revenue generated -- $14,500 -- will be used to repay debt incurred by the New Albany Community Authority, which helped build infrastructure for the Central College business campus.

The city will share $63,700 with the New Albany-Plain Local School District in 2013 through a revenue-sharing agreement. The school district will receive 100 percent of property taxes from the facility when the tax abatement on the property expires Dec. 31, 2013.

The building is in a Community Reinvestment Area, which allows companies to receive a tax abatement proportionate to the company's "usable square footage," which is equal to a 75-cent income-tax credit per usable square foot.

Sedgwick has 150 offices in the U.S. and Canada. It currently has eight in Ohio, in Dublin, Hilliard, Worthington, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Solon and Toledo, according to the company's website.