Insurance claims appointments: Cobalt Solutions, IMS, Thompsons Solicitors

Steve Molloy has joined Cobalt Solutions, IMS has appointed Paul Stacy and Thompsons Solicitors has brought in a new senior manager—read about all the latest appointments in the insurance claims sector

Steve Molloy has joined Cobalt Solutions as head of insurer services. He has been working with Cobalt as a consultant since August 2020, and joined on a permanent basis as the start of 2021.

Molloy has worked in outsourced motor claims management and replacement vehicle services for nearly 20 years, in sales, senior account management and senior operational management roles.

As head of insurer services at Cobalt, Molloy will take the lead on client relationships, supply chain partnerships, and support the operational team in the development and delivery of the services required by the market.

On his appointment at Cobalt, Molloy said: “It’s great to join on a permanent basis, and to be able to guide the business to become a force in motor claims.”

“The service standards that already exist within the business are really high, driven by the way in which our sister company Coplus handles its broker claims. That is a fantastic starting point for me. The business is already ‘best in class’ when it comes to FNOL, regardless of whether in or out of hours; liability decision making on the first notification; and the ability to ensure a claim is placed on the right track. Not many companies can do this right first time, and provide the customer with certainty of the next steps. Combining the use of technology and people is really key to Cobalt’s decision making.”

“We have  a number of insurers using Cobalt’s services, and this will increase as we engage further with the market to better understand how we can reduce indemnity spend; reduce claims touches and other frictional costs; and ultimately exceed customer expectations.”

Paul Stacy, founder of Wunelli and serial telematics technology entrepreneur, has joined IMS from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, where he held the roles of research and development director and director of automotive development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

He takes on the new role of global business development director at IMS, reporting to chief executive officer Nick Corrie. 

Stacy’s arrival at IMS marks the latest in a string of senior hires over the last 18 months, including ex-Octo North America chief executive officer Nino Tarantino in the US, and ex-JLR executive Leon Hurst in the UK.

The company also added chief operating officer Christoph Burtscher (ex-dunnhumby) and chief technology officer Nik Southworth to its executive team. The business took on a minority growth capital investment from Three Hills Capital Partners in 2019.

Commenting on his role, Stacy said his immediate focus would be exploring opportunities in new markets where IMS doesn’t currently have a presence.

“We want to go beyond our core markets in Europe and North America, leveraging our assets and IP to become a global leader in connected vehicle data.  This includes China and Australasia, where there are a number of exciting opportunities on our radar to enter these new geographies, including partnerships.” 

He said: “I will be working alongside Nick and the executive team to help IMS leverage value as a global vehicle and driving data insights business, supplementing after-market sensor and app data with data directly from the connected car.” 

IMS recently launched Vehicle Data Exchange, which provides live, real-time access to vehicle insights and mobility data from OEM-embedded hardware, any aftermarket device or smartphone application.

Stacy added: “IMS’s strength is that it can do all of this today and being able to serve both the existing vehicle parc and the future connected parc makes us a great partner for insurers, governments and mobility companies around the world. And we don’t just aggregate this data—we enrich it and make it actionable across an incredibly broad spectrum of use-cases.”

Thompsons Solicitors has brought in a new senior manager with 14 years of experience in the personal injury sector, to bolster the firm’s legal support for those who have been unfairly injured or mistreated across the East Midlands.

Becky Hill has joined national social justice law firm Thompsons Solicitors to manage the 43-strong team at its Nottingham office, supporting specialists dealing with claims for personal injury and employment issues.

Hill worked at NatWest in customer service while training to be a lawyer. She was called to the Bar in 2005, after which she took on litigation roles in a number of law firms.

In 2010, she moved to the National Accident Helpline (NAH) and over 11 years worked her way up to operations director, a position she held from 2019.

As well as managing NAH, she was instrumental in setting up National Accident Law, which saw NAH managing its own personal injury cases rather than relying on outside law firms.

Commenting on her appointment, Hill said: “My parents instilled in me the importance of good values, and from my first job at NatWest to today, my motto has been ‘do the right thing’—so working with colleagues to develop the next generation of talent has been my driver.”

Hill, who has several accreditations in people management and coaching, added: “Given that every legal role I have worked in has been focused on improving access to legal support for those who need it, Thompsons Solicitors’s ethos of standing up for the mistreated is a natural fit.”

Clare Mellor, chief executive of Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Becky’s experience and qualifications in people management are both extensive and impressive and it is clear already that her values match those of Thompsons.”

“2021 is Thompsons’s century year and, throughout that time, we have only ever acted for claimants and employees, never insurance companies or employers—achieving significant legal victories for working people.”

“Despite this, the challenges keep coming. We look forward to the next 100 years of safeguarding and enhancing people’s legal rights, more important than ever in the context of Brexit and Covid-19, and Becky will be playing a key role in our meeting those challenges.”

Mark Dugdale