Thomas Strachan Email & Phone Number

Gateshead, England, United Kingdom

Darlington, United Kingdom

The responsibilities of this role involve the planning and placing of the insurance program both for the UK and Eire operations, ensuring they meet the continual requirements of an evolving business. This requires liaising with internal stakeholders such as Company Secretary, Operations Director, Sales Director, UK Finance Director and working closely with Internal Audit and Health & Safety as well as the branch network, undertaking visits, providing training and meeting with risk surveyors. The role also requires strong relationships with insurance brokers, insurers, loss adjusters, solicitors, police and other official bodies, including the MIB.Other responsibilities involve running a broker tender resulting in premium savings of £750k and wider cover, undertaking audits of external service providers, such as insurer claim files, claim reserves and ULR providers as well as monitoring our own "Grey Fleet" requirements for UK and Eire. Where necessary ensuring that subrogation rights are being followed through by insurers, or alternatively pursuing these in-house.Data gathering and analysis of claims and near misses as well as general business practices allows for the development and implementation of Enterprise Risk Management and risk reduction process and procedures throughout the business. This also allows for continual review of the insurance program, ensuring risk retention levels are accurate and the program is fit for purpose. It also allows for the insurer funded Risk Management bursary to be allocated more efficiently.The analysis

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Following the takeover of HSBC Insurance Brokers Ltd by Marsh, my position became concentrated on claims MI analysis to assist clients in improving their risks and reducing loss ratios.The role required claims analysis across multiple classes of business: motor, liability, and property being the prominent classes. Trends in respect of causation, dates of loss, serial claimants and locations were identified with a view to implementing controls and risk management - such as claims defensibility, better training and supporting documentation, together with potential areas of leakage.I reviewed insurer reserves on a quarterly basis to improve the claims experience, particularly when approaching renewal. The analysis and reserve reviews were presented to clients at senior management level, these clients range across many disciplines: a global oil company, pan european logistics, educational establishments and local authorities. The role required me to negotiate claims with insurers and solicitors on behalf of clients, challenging decisions when insurers refuse to provide indemnity and undertake both internal & external audit functions as well as contracts with third party service providers.MI reports were done in “real time” and used to assess key risk areas and issues for development following analysis of claims patterns. I also reviewed Health and Safety reports for our major clients, highlighting trends, and making recommendations as appropriate.Through these reviews I was able to assist a self-insured client reduce their liability reserves from £1.5m to £800k. Also through the implementation of FNOL other client’s saw considerable savings on their fleet policies. I also successfully negotiated settlement of a travel claim, whereby the policy wording was ambiguous and as such insurers conceded to meeting the claim. Directing clients in respect of the new MoJ Reforms and benefits of utilising the claims portal provides another opportunity for containing costs.

Glasgow

I started with HSBC as a Claims Co-ordinator; my duties involved spanned Insurance Claims and involved Risk Management. I was promoted to Head of Claims and managed the Scotland & Northern Ireland team. Responsibilities involved retaining a facility providing “cradle to grave” liability claim handling for a self-funding client within the oil industry, decisions regarding liability attaching to the client rested with me for the UK. The service had not been provided satisfactorily was under threat. A process was established, and SLAs and KPIs set - we retained the account. We also undertook recoveries for property damage across the client portfolio, recoveries over 5 years totalled £3m, incorporating loss of profit. Other responsibilities involved helping improve the claims offering at HSBC.Upon promotion to Head of Claims the role included the development, influencing and management of my team, ensuring career aspirations and development needs were met, negotiating contracts, avoiding leakage, improving reporting techniques, identifying patterns within claims data, driving down cost of risk, strategic claims analysis, and risk management. This responsibility extended to ensure compliance with FSA requirements for both internal and external audit reviews involving a worldwide mobile telecommunications company and a fully self-funding liability programme for a major oil company.One client in particular experienced a 75% reduction in claims after following advice regarding risk implementations - and the majority of the remaining claims were successfully defended. I was part of the National Claims Review Committee within HSBC, establishing a level of “best practice” standard in the claims service. We established KPIs and SLAs with both our internal and external service providers. This best practice was audit compliant and enabled HSBC to audit service providers. Having met the business requirements, this Committee was dissolved following the Marsh takeover

Glasgow

My key role with Zurich Insurance was to assess third party property damage and personal injury claims following road traffic accidents by means of injury / police reports and documented evidence. It was my responsibility to follow each claim through from intimation to settlement, estimating appropriate reserves and settlements of up to £20k, while negotiating regularly with lawyers and insurers.

Saudi Arabia

During my time in Saudi Arabia I maintained a high profile for the company with many of our clients by visiting their sites and offices, presenting the advantages of risk management to major clients, such as Saudi Telecom and Shrif Furnishings, focusing on physical control of risk, alternatives in relation to risk transfer and the use of Fault Trees and Flow Charts.

Glasgow

During my time at ScottishPower, as well as handling motor claims I studied claims patterns for motor, liability and property losses and delivered reports in respect of my analysis. I was involved in discussions with line management re methods for improvements within the Group Insurance Program.

Ba, Risk Management

Activities and Societies: Swimming Coaching for the University Work published in respect of Risk Transfer

Education record