Claims Department News

BIMCO’s Director of Contracts & Support, Stinne Taiger Ivø, has been appointed Deputy Secretary General at BIMCO from January 1, 2024.Ivø joined BIMCO in early 2022 to lead the Contracts & Support department. Prior to working at BIMCO, Ivø headed the claims department of marine insurer Skuld (Copenhagen), worked at Danish Shipping (formerly known as the Danish Shipowners’ Association) and as a lawyer at Gorrissen Federspiel’s department for Shipping/Offshore/Transportation. She holds a PhD in international company law and a Master of Laws…

Global marine insurer provider North P&I Club has further strengthened its underwriting team with the appointment of a new U.K. based underwriter combined with some operational changes to a number of senior underwriting roles.Tom McLoughlin joined the team as an Underwriter last week, bringing with him a range of marine experience from his former roles with insurance brokers Marsh in London, and a significant tanker management company in Athens. Initially McLoughlin will work across all of the regional teams as he settles into his new role with the Club.Earlier in the year, Simon Main was recruited into the role of Technical Director…

Britannia Maritime Consultants has announced two senior appointments as part of its expansion into the marine casualty response market.Mike Hammond will head up a new claims and insurance department while Stephan Dimke will provide technical support for digital navigation issues.Mike brings a formidable track record and experience to Britannia, having worked in marine claims both for shipping companies, and more recently as the claims manager for an International Group P&I club with a focus on the Asia Pacific region.Mike’s skills are already in demand, particularly from companies with limited in – house capability, but also hull/P&I…

The UK Club informs that Jan Kohzer has been selected as this year’s Robin Travis Scholar. From 1st September 2014, Jan will spend three months based in Thomas Miller’s London office. The Robin Travis scholarship is a flexible programme tailored to provide a breadth of knowledge and understanding and build on the Scholar’s current commercial experience. Jan currently works in the Claims Department of Oldendorff Carriers, a German shipowner based in Luebeck, where he manages insurance claims, whilst furthering his study of marine insurance and operations. His role at Oldendorff Carriers together with his participation in the 2012 Insight Course provided by Thomas Miller has led to Jan seizing the opportunity to gain a more indepth understanding of P&I insurance matters.

The job’s not over until the paperwork is done. Done correctly. When an accident occurs on one of your vessels, an accident investigation is necessary. As safety is our primary concern, it is important to determine what happened, how it happened and how we can prevent it from happening in the future. Although determining how to prevent a future accident is important, it is also important to be responsible while generating documents as the process unfolds. These investigative documents will also be used by the injured employee’s legal team to prove liability for the injured worker.

The Water Quality Insurance Syndicate said that Ryan Puttick joined the team as Assistant Vice President of Claims. He brings almost a decade of extensive marine insurance claims knowledge and experience to this industry pioneer. “We are extremely excited to have Ryan join us,” says WQIS President & CEO Richard Hobbie. Ryan Puttick came to WQIS from Charles Taylor P&I Management, Inc. Standard P&I Club where he was the Claims Director for the past 9 years. Puttick received his Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 2004 and was admitted to the Bar in the States of New York and New Jersey that same year. He graduated in 2000 from the United States Merchant Marine Academy with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Transportation.

The Water Quality Insurance Syndicate welcomed new Senior Vice President, John Ryszetnyk to the team. A graduate of Kings Point, The United States Merchant Marine Academy, Ryszetnyk holds a USCG 3rd Mate Unlimited Tonnage License and is a former U.S. Naval Officer. This will be Ryszetnyk’s second term at WQIS, having previously served as an Underwriter from 1999 to 2003. Along with Ryszetnyk, two more team members are also joining the WQIS ranks: Angela Konetzni and James Q. Stevens. Konetzni, previously an Assistant Claims Manager at WQIS, has returned after a short hiatus and will be working as a consultant in the claims department. Stevens is the former head of marine insurance for Scottsdale Insurance Company and is bringing his 40+ years of experience to WQIS.

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Fidelis Group Holdings LLC and Continental Underwriters, Ltd. For those in the marine insurance and underwriting communities, H. Elder Brown, Jr. needs no introduction. That’s because over the course of the past 27 years, Brown has taken Continental Underwriters Ltd. (CUL) from a small family business to one of the largest brown water marine underwriters in the United States. More recently, Brown returned CUL to private ownership by purchasing CUL back from Houston Casualty Company in 2009.

SkiSafe Insurance has been working extensively to assist affected boaters in the region. SkiSafe has extended its operational and online facilities to allow for fast reporting of any storm claims and to provide any support its policyholders may require. As the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions cope with the fallout from Superstorm Sandy, SkiSafe Insurance, a national leader in boat insurance, has been working extensively to assist affected boaters in the region. SkiSafe is encouraging all policyholders to visit online or call 1-800-225-6560 to report any claims resulting from the storm, so that adjusters may immediately begin handling their claims.

North of England P&I Association appointed two new members to its management team led by managing director Rodney Eccleston. Senior claims executive Iain Beange and underwriter Stephen Rebair have both been promoted to managers of the 'A' rated 65 million GT club's wholly owned management company, North Insurance Management Limited. Beange, 45, joined North of England in 1995 after 16 years at sea, predominantly on dry bulk tonnage, followed by two years with London maritime law firm Clyde and Co. He holds a British Master Mariners' Certificate and an LLB Honors degree from the University of Northumbria. From 2000 to 2004 Beange worked in the Association's Hong Kong office, working closely with the growing Far East membership.