About our Speakers

Phil Bird

In 2008 Phil was appointed to the position of Director of Claims at Groupama Insurances. Phil's key responsibilities include service delivery and customer-facing activities in the Groups' Claims centres.Phil started his career working for Guardian Royal Exchange in the London Market, focusing on the underwriting of property insurance. Joining Royal London in 1989, he developed a provincial broker operation for commercial lines business, managing their underwriting team. In 1996, Phil joined Guardian Direct as Household Underwriting Manager and, following the merger with AXA, he became Household Underwriting Manager for all distribution lines. Phil joined Groupama Insurances in 2004 as Director of Non-Motor and SME Underwriting, from the role of Head of Product Development at AXA. He became Director of Claims in October 2008 and heads a team of over 250 employees, across three claims centres and Groupama’s head office.
A graduate in Economics, Phil is also an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Allan Haile, Chair of Business and Economic Recovery Group, Cumbria County Council

Allan is responsible for the management of Cumbria County Council’s Economic Development Team. He has over 20 years of experience of working with partners in Cumbria to establish and deliver major regeneration and economic development programmes. Allan also has responsibility for the County Council owned Port of Workington and Invest in Cumbria the company established to assist with inward investment and business expansion. Allan has also been involved in economic recovery activity following the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001 and the major flooding incident in Carlisle in 2005. Allan is currently the chair of the Business and Economic Recovery Group established as a result of the Cumbria Floods in November 2009.

Tim Humphreys, Policy Advisor, ABI

Tim Humphreys is a policy adviser at the Association of British Insurers. Tim is currently leading the ABI’s work on Emergency preparedness and responding to major incidents such as the 2007 floods. He also works on security issues and Business Continuity and is developed the ABI’s policy on fire issues which was launched at a Parliamentary event in December 2009. Tim is also a Non-Executive Director of the Fire Protection Association, a member of the Cabinet Office Recovery Capability Board and the Business and Community Safety Forum.

Chris Wylde. Managing Director, CWMC

Managing Director of CWMC – an independent strategic claims and audit consultancy. Previously Claims Manager at AGF, and Director of claims for NHBC, where he set up the UK’S first indoor training centre containing full sized houses. Each house then damaged by Fire, Flood, burst pipes etc to examine effective and sustainable repair methods and facilitate training of claims staff. Drawing on decades of experience coupled with results from the thousands of audits undertaken at companies such as Aviva, LV, RBSI, RSA, Saga and Tesco, CWMC have been able to help many clients innovate, and develop exemplary claims.

Martin Townsend, Director BREEAM, BRE Global

Martin has a diverse professional background ranging from advising UK Ministers, as a Regulator in his time at the Environment agency, to working on many construction sites. Martin joined BRE (Global) as Director of BREEAM in 2008. Martin works closely with the construction industry bringing sustainability issues alive for companies' right across Social, Economic and Environmental agenda. Martin offers both a UK and an international perspective on construction. Martin has addressed and briefed Ministers of State and several other major fora on the environment and sustainable construction in particular.

Cathy Hawkins, partner, BLM

Cathy qualified as a solicitor in 1985, and has been a partner at BLM since 1990 when she founded a recovery team dedicated to the needs of property insurers.

She heads a team specialising in property damage claims for insurers; coverage, recovery and liability. Fire spread is a particular area of specialism for Cathy and she has been involved in several high profile cases, including the Primark fire in 2005 (acting for the building insurer) and the reported Kruger v Frank Gallier decision. Cathy has extensive experience in all types of large loss claims including fire, explosion, collapse, water damage, subsidence and business interruption.

She is also an expert on the technical issues concerning subrogation and policy disputes (involving issues of non disclosure, misrepresentation and fraud).

Sandra Jones, partner, BLM

Having qualified as a solicitor in 1993, Sandra joined BLM in March 2004, becoming a partner in October of the same year. Sandra is experienced in dealing with a wide range of commercial disputes with particular emphasis on commercial insurance with a focus on property, construction, engineering and product liability claims.

She has experience of a wide range of disputes, acting for insurers and contractors in relation to property-related claims including fire, flood, contractors’ liability, underground service damage claims, product liability, insurance recoveries, professional indemnity, policy wording and fraud.

Martin Ashfield, Head of Commercial Property Claims, Axa Insurance

Martin joined the insurance industry in 1986 and has worked in the claims arena since then, handling and managing all classes of non Marine claims over the years. Based in the Bolton Centre of Excellence, Martin is responsible for all aspects of Commercial Property and Motor Trade claims in the UK for AXA, including the operational delivery, together with the development and implementation of the strategic plan for the Property Supply Chain. Martin maintains a keen interest in all things sporting, but coaching and supporting are more the order of the day now rather than playing!

Ian Guest, Property Claims Supply Manager, Allianz

Ian started life in insurance as a graduate trainee Loss Adjuster with Ellis & Buckle, moving to Miller Fisher to work on the repairline initiative with Anglian Water. Roles with Rubicon Insurance Services followed, firstly managing the motor inspections booking team, and then motor and property suppliers as the supplier chain manager. A stint at Homeserve Contents in a similar role was followed by the appointment last year at Allianz as the Property Claims Supplier Manager.

Mark Forbes, Account Director/Technical Claims Consultant, Blufin

Mark Forbes has 30 years of experience within the Insurance Sector. He has undertaken a number of roles within a major Insurance Company (claims) Broker and Lloyds Market and developed major schemes for; therapists involved in Holistic Therapies Beauty and Massage, FA Medical Society – Sports Therapists and the Restaurant/Pub Sector. Over the past 12 years spent with Bluefin in his current role as Account Director/Technical Claims Consultant. The TCC role, part of a Group Resource, with 10 offices located in the South and South West has been able to refer technical/ complex losses and major underwriting issues to MF. Day to day role includes liaison with Insurance Company Claims Departments, Loss Adjusters/Assessors, Solicitors and Clients. Assist Group Compliance with standard operating procedures

Gary Lobb, head of operations (household and travel), Fortis Insurance

Gary Lobb joined Fortis in September 2009, taking on the position of Head of Operations - Household and Travel Claims. In this newly created role, Gary leads an award-winning household and travel claims team of over 200 staff, ensuring efficient and effective
management of the household and travel claims operation and dealing with over 250,000 claims per annum.
Previously Gary was a Senior Claims Manager for Allianz, responsible for operational delivery of five UK claims locations, including divisional budget control, performance management, training, customer relations and resource management. In a role with Capita Insurance
Services, Gary held the position of Claims Operations Manager, with responsibility for leading a property claims department of 40 staff, managing outsourced contracts for large UK insurers
and clients.

Jim Glockling, Technical Director, Fire Prevention Authority

Jim Glockling is Technical Director of the Fire Protection Association (FPA); the UK’s Nation Fire Protection Organisation. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, Harwell. Following post doctorate study for the Fire Research Station he worked as a lecturer in Chemical Engineering and Fire Safety Engineering, a forensic fire investigator, and ran fire research facilities at both the Loss Prevention Council and Building Research Establishment before taking up the post of Technical Director with the FPA in 2001. Jim’s principle areas of expertise are in suppression and detection technologies although the work of his 15 strong team is very much more diverse, addressing all areas of fire protection and prevention. His major sponsors are UK insurers, for whom he manages their annual research budget through RISCAuthority (formerly InFiReS), and the Ministry of Defence, with whom FPA hold an enabling contract for the provision of fire engineering support.