Pen Underwriting appoints claims director

London firm Pen Underwriting has promoted Gareth Crosbie to the role of claims director, taking responsibility for all claims functions across the specialist underwriting business.

Crosbie, who joined Pen Underwriting in October 2014 from Fusion Insurance, most recently held the position of claims director for Pen’s commercial division. His promotion will see him lead the development and implementation of a robust, consistent claims strategy and best practice claims handling across the business as Pen continues to integrate its underlying businesses into a single entity.

Crosbie will report into Martin Hall, chief underwriting officer of Pen Underwriting.

“Promoting from within wherever possible is a key part of Pen’s talent management agenda and Gareth’s breadth and depth of experience — both from a technical and leadership perspective — made him a natural fit for this newly created strategic role,” said Hall.

“To deliver on Pen Underwriting’s ambition of becoming a true virtual insurer we need to apply just as much focus to the expertise, differentiation and ease of our claims offering as we do to our underwriting. The consistent application of best practice and prompt fair settlement are fundamental to our claims proposition for policyholders.”

Crosbie added: “I’m a passionate believer in combining strong technical skills with smooth and effective claims processes in order to deliver excellent customer service.

“Every specialist underwriter with delegated claims authority must be able to demonstrate the extra value they bring to the table.”