Tell us about your role and how you got to where you are today?

I began my career in the military, and after 9 years of service, where I learned valuable life lessons and skills, I transitioned to working on highways. While this was a significant career change for me, I enjoyed it and eventually rose to the position of Supervisor after several years. It was around that point that I was approached by Core Claims (the business acquired by Davies in 2016) to come on board and review what is known as ‘Crown property damage’ claims.

I joined the company around 7 or 8 years ago, and since then my focus has been primarily on these Crown claims.

I’ve acquired excellent insights into the workings of this industry, having started out there in my younger days, and this helps to generate great savings for the clients, as well as also keeping me very busy.

What type of losses do you evaluate?

I specialise in crown property damage claims, which is anything related to the highways network controlled by publicly owned organisations across the UK. All the major trunk routes and motorways come under the banner of Crown.

It could be damage to a single signpost or a major fire on the motorway with resurfacing and fencing repairs. The size and number of motorways and major roads across the UK is increasing, and the number of vehicles on the roads has gone through the roof too, so these incidents are going to continue to increase.

What do you find most interesting about your role?

This is possibly quite sad, but I do enjoy when the paperwork comes in. It’s interesting and quite exciting because what’s on the paper doesn’t always match up to the actual costs. We can then use our knowledge and previous experience to work out what the costs should be. It’s a little like being a detective, and I really enjoy putting my knowledge and understanding to good use.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for your industry across the UK and Ireland in the next year?

For me, the biggest challenge in the year ahead is something very specific to what I do.

Contractors are putting claims into the market and are increasingly relying on solicitors, who’re happy to take claims to the courts. But once a claim is in the hands of the court, additional costs are often added – making it challenging for us to maximise savings for our client. We feel we can add so much value here in making savings within our division of Davies.

What are three key things you’ve learned in your career? What’s your best piece of advice to someone starting out?

1. Always review the paperwork in detail – When a claim comes in, there can be 100+ pages of information (particularly with Crown claims), and everything is important, so review it thoroughly, take your time.
2. Ask plenty of questions – After you’ve reviewed the claim, make sure you have answers to all your questions. It’s vital that you truly understand the claim from cradle to grave.
3. Practice your negotiation – A strong negotiator is essential for achieving the best possible results for our client. While we do have some tough negotiations and conversations, facts do not lie, and being strong with everyone in my role allows for better outcomes for our clients.

From my point of view, the best advice I can give is to get to know the field you’re working in as much as possible. My experience and knowledge of the claims I’m looking at gives me an advantage; I can usually figure out the costs from my first glance at the paperwork. But, whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it., I certainly do….

If you would like to find out how our Impact Solutions experts can save your business money, get in contact with Casualty Growth Director, James Harris on james.harris@davies-group.com.