Insurance claims appointments: Crawford & Company, ThingCo, Allianz, Autoglass

Crawford promotes Emma Parr, ThingCo appoints head of business development, Allianz Insurance creates new claims role, and Autoglass names national sales manager—read about all the latest appointments in the insurance claims sector

Crawford & Company has promoted Emma Parr to chief client officer for the UK and Ireland.

Parr joins the UK leadership team, reporting to Lisa Bartlett, president for the UK and Ireland. She will also work closely with Benedict Burke, chief client officer for global client development, in respect of Crawford’s global clients.

Parr joined Crawford in January 2020 from AXA and was previously head of key clients at Crawford. In her new role, she will lead all employees involved in UK sales and account management functions. 

She will be responsible for providing clients with the full spectrum of Crawford’s innovative capabilities and comprehensive solutions. Her promotion is with immediate effect.

Bartlett said: “Emma has played an important role in the past 12 months as we navigated the many challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis. Her strong focus on our client relationships during this difficult time has fostered trust and compelled clients to choose us.”

“Her commitment to building empowered teams gives us the reach and agility to meet the changing needs of the industry. Emma has the expertise to build effective, cohesive teams for our clients while delivering on our purpose to restore and enhance lives, businesses and communities.”

ThingCo has appointed James Bashford as head of business development. The appointment has been made as the business undergoes rapid expansion in response to broker and insurer demand for Theo, its self-fit, solar-powered telematics device. 

Bashford brings more than a decade of experience in the insurance market. He joins ThingCo from Octo where he led the team responsible for working with insurers and brokers to develop their telematics propositions. Prior to this, he spent seven years with esure, culminating in his appointment as corporate strategy manager.

He will work alongside Martin Williams, chief operating officer, as part of his business development team as ThingCo continues to develop new broker and insurer relationships.

Williams said: “It is fantastic to have James on board and part of our fast growing team. Our first broker partner went live last summer and we have not looked back. Each day is another record sales day for ThingCo.”

Allianz Insurance has promoted Emily Mills to the newly created position of operations manager for claims. The role will bolster Allianz’s ongoing investment in digitalisation and continuous improvement of customer service delivery.

Mills will lead on data and automation projects designed to enhance claims experience and support customers. She will be reporting to operations manager Ben Truseler.

In her previous role as broker partner manager, based in Bristol, Mills led a team of underwriters and created a central hub servicing brokers, delivering both excellent customer ratings and employee engagement. She took part in the Allianz UK Pathway Leadership Programme and in the most recent Allianz global transformation programme, in which she supported the sales workstream lead.

Mills started her career with Cornhill Direct in 1998 and held various positions at Petplan and Allianz, whose commercial division she joined in 2009 as a sales controller. She then became a contact centre manager, before being appointed as broker partner manager in 2014.

Allianz’s chief claims officer, Graham Gibson, commented: “Emily has a fantastic track record in developing innovative solutions and leading transformation projects. She will be a great asset to the claims team as we strive to deliver a personalised claims experience for our customers, bolstered by market-leading digital technology and quality data.”

“Emily has a solid insurance background and a strong focus on delivering results for customers. I am proud that our internal talent pool includes people like her, who are testament to Allianz’s investment in learning and development and their own determination to gain futureproof skills.”

Autoglass has appointed Chris Abbotson as national sales manager to lead the company’s commercial team.

Abbotson has been part of the senior leadership team at Autoglass for more than 13 years and steps into this new role having previously worked as commercial manager and senior business manager for the company.

As national sales manager, he will lead the commercial sales team across fleet, insurance, leasing, rental and trade. A key focus will be on maintaining strong relationships with clients and driving account development, as well as generating new business opportunities across all parts of the business. 

He has nearly 25 years of experience in sales and sales management across the insurance and automotive sectors, having previously held roles at Aon, Allianz and Shell. In his previous roles at Autoglass, Abbotson managed clients in both the insurance and leasing sectors and was responsible for the delivery of a commercial strategy across all market segments.

Abbotson said: “I feel privileged to have spent more than a decade working for a fantastic company that puts the customer at the heart of everything we do, and I can’t wait to get started in this new role. I intend to focus on continuing to offer our market-leading service and working closely with our valued clients to deliver the support and service that they need.”

“I look forward to exploring opportunities to work with potential clients across all markets segments to demonstrate the fantastic service Autoglass can offer to help solve their problems with real care. Our accredited technicians, high quality products and tooling suppliers mean we are the trusted experts and I hope to continue expanding our service to assist more drivers in the future.”

Mark Dugdale