Crawford & Company : Everything you need to know

Crawford & Company: Everything you need to know

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company is a global firm focused on solving claims-handling challenges for businesses around the world.  Its services include loss adjusting, third party administration, managed repair, medical management, on-demand services, and catastrophe response.

In 2021, the firm announced a new business line organizational structure, aligning the company to three macro businesses, namely loss adjusting, third-party administration (TPA), and platform solutions.

Crawford & Company in the news

1957: Crawford opens an office in London, kicking off its international expansion
1998: Crawford acquires Adjusters Canada, becoming the largest loss adjusting firm in Canada
2014: Crawford’s second-largest acquisition, of GAB Robins, increases Crawford's claims handling business and bolsters its global specialty claims services
2015: Crawford establishes its Global Business Service Centre (GBSC) in Manila, Philippines
2016: Crawford acquires a majority interest in WeGoLook, an on-demand field services company combining technology with the gig economy to gather and validate information
April 2019: Crawford & Company introduces industry’s first smart water-detection product
June 2019: Global relationship heads move to Crawford & Company
July 2019: Crawford & Company swoops for Belgium-based firm
August 2019: Crawford & Company names new country head for Brazil
September 2019: Crawford & Company gets new president for UK and Ireland
February 2020: Crawford & Company confirms launch of diversity office
April 2020: Crawford & Company reveals new CEO and president
March 2021: Crawford company Broadspire brings in new executive team
September 2021: Crawford & Company names first corporate sustainability manager in the UK
October 2021: Crawford & Company announces two acquisitions
March 2022: Crawford installs international CEO
April 2022: Crawford & Company creates environmental consultancy unit in the UK

Key people

Rohit Verma – chief executive officer

Rohit Verma was named chief executive officer of Crawford & Company in April 2020. He also serves as a member of the board of directors. Verma boasts more than 20 years of international strategic expertise and a proven track record of creating momentum and growth. As CEO, he is focused on company strategy and growth, business operations, investor relations, and client relationships, with an emphasis on technology and innovation.

Prior to his role at Crawford, Verma served as the regional executive for the south region of Zurich North America. During his decade-long tenure at Zurich, he also served in several executive management roles across underwriting, distribution, finance, strategy, and general management. Verma also served as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company before his stint at Zurich.

Joseph Blanco – president

Joseph Blanco was named president of Crawford & Company in April 2020. In his role, he oversees the firm’s shared services functions and leads its centres of excellence. Blanco also serves on the company’s board of directors. Before being appointed to his current position, Blanco was Crawford’s executive vice-president and general counsel tasked with overseeing the legal, internal audit, and global ethics and compliance aspects of the business. He also previously served as the managing partner in Dentons’ Atlanta office.

Culture

Diversity is front and centre at Crawford & Company. A few years ago, Heather Matthews, then senior vice-president, National Claims Management Centre, Crawford & Company (Canada), set up a women’s leadership lab at Crawford & Co, with the goal of providing female employees with a mentorship platform and support network. The results, she told Insurance Business, have been “astounding.”

“The lab has attracted a very diverse group of women as far as ages and where they are in their stages of life and their careers,” said Matthews, who now serves as the firm’s chief client officer. “The feedback we’ve had from the group is that they love having a forum where they can get together, share their experiences, and help each other out. After three years, I’m still astounded at how personal it gets and how willing people are to open up, share their struggles and help each other.

“We’ve covered a lot of different topics. One session that comes to mind is called ‘Sit up at the table.’ This is all about encouraging women to be vocal and to make their voices heard. We need to have opinions on things and not be afraid to share those opinions. We need to eliminate self-doubt, put our hands up and be vocal. We’ve also done sessions on negotiating skills, time management, and how to strike the best work/life balance.”