Crawford Australia has strengthened its capabilities in key loss adjusting sectors by appointing several experienced professionals.
The new hires come as part of the company’s efforts to enhance its services in:
Stephen Toomer has joined Crawford as the head of construction, power and energy.
With a career spanning over 34 years, Toomer brings a wealth of experience from multiple regions, including South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
His expertise covers a range of claims, including those related to power and engineering projects such as hydroelectric, coal, diesel, and petrochemical industries. He has also handled significant claims involving infrastructure projects and product recalls. His previous role includes serving as managing director of a large international adjusting firm’s Korean operations.
Toomer cited Crawford’s global reputation as a key factor in his decision to join the firm.
“Crawford is known for being very people focused, recruiting the best talent, and an unwavering commitment to ongoing development of that talent. As a leader of people, those things are really important to me, and it’s critical to know the company thinks in a like-minded way,” he said. “Our construction and power team is a talented group, and I’m keen to see us become even more connected because that’s how we can share market trends and build to understand the needs of our clients in an even deeper way.”
He emphasised the importance of aligning adjusters with claims based on expertise rather than geographic location to achieve optimal outcomes for clients.
“I’m also committed to ensuring that within our team we distribute work based on best fit, which factors in the value of claim and its complexity. Claims shouldn’t always be allocated based on geographical location of our adjusters. It’s about the right fit for the claim because that is what gets the most efficient and cost-effective result for our clients. Our clients should be central to how we operate internally,” he said.
Josephine Princi (pictured above) has been appointed as the New South Wales (NSW) team leader for Crawford’s forensic accounting division.
A chartered accountant with nearly 10 years of experience, she specialises in assessing business interruption and stock commercial losses across the Asia Pacific and UK regions. She previously worked at another major international loss adjusting firm, where she developed a passion for mentoring emerging talent.
Princi highlighted the Crawford forensic accounting team’s growth over the years.
“I have watched from the sidelines as Crawford’s forensic accounting team has gone from strength to strength, with a pipeline of really bright talent moving through, so it’s great to now be a part of that,” she said. “I am strongly committed to building the capabilities of the team, producing quality work, and providing exceptional service to our clients.”
Werner Gibson returns to Crawford as a senior adjuster within the Global Technical Services (GTS) team, which deals with large and complex property claims.
He has nearly 10 years of experience in loss adjusting across Australia and South Africa, with a background in law, focusing on prosecuting financial crimes.
“I can certainly say I’ve got a keen eye when things are not as they seem because I spent three years specialising in financial crimes, with a focus on the detection and prosecution of fraudulent claims instituted against government entities,” Gibson said.
Crawford, named one of the most diverse insurance companies in Australia and New Zealand this year, has also promoted Alastair Boyes and Theo Sapountzis to GTS general adjusters, and David Gibson to commercial adjuster in Melbourne.
