Insurance law firm HBA Legal has appointed Courtney Steel as a partner as part of its talent acquisition and growth plan following its integration with Crawford & Company.
Steele joins HBA Legal after 13 years with Ashurst and brings Solicitor Kaila Leendertz with her.
Commenting on the appointment, HBA legal director Nathan Hepple said: “As part of Crawford, we can now offer clients a compelling solution: the ability to handle the entire claim lifecycle under one roof.
“As a business, Crawford in Australia now has every piece to the claim puzzle from first notification of loss through to litigation and recoveries, plus risk management. That means we have economies of scale, and we are able to offer a broad range of expertise, excellent service, and cost-effective solutions.”
He emphasised that having different service providers involved in the claims process creates the risk of service providers going over the same ground in validating claims.
“So whether the client is a big insurer or a self-insured corporate, by working with Crawford, they are assured that critical evidence is housed in the one place, there is efficiency because we are one organisation, and they can have comfort that the legal eye is built into the process from the beginning,” he said.
“It's this integrated model with loss adjusters, forensic accountants, TPA claims managers, building experts, and lawyers, working side by side, that helps save clients' money because we are able to help reduce the duration of claims.”
Steele said she was excited to start her new role as legal landscape changes and client expectations evolve.
“Clients, for a long time now, have wanted their legal providers to work with them on their ‘more for less’ challenge. Our clients have commercial realities, and as a true business partner, we owe it to them to innovate and deliver in that regard,” she continued.
“The One Crawford connected claims solution is unmatched in the market today, and I'm thrilled to be joining early in HBA's journey with Crawford. I am energised to start talking to clients about how we can do more for them.”
