As part of its long-term growth strategy for Ireland as a whole Crawford expanded into the Republic of Ireland in January 2023, opening new offices in Dublin’s Fitzwilliam Square and appointing Simon Powell as head of Ireland.
His brief was to bridge the gap between technical excellence and practical, customer-focused outcomes to provide best-in-class service to current and future clients across real estate, cyber, marine, liability and corporate third-party administration (TPA). His main focus, however, was to be on major and complex loss (MCL) and specialty lines of business.
From a background in the built environment and as an Associate of both the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Building Engineers, Simon brought with him a wealth of local knowledge as well as real breadth-and-depth experience gained in leading property and MCL teams in large domestic, commercial property and business interruption claims.
Simon explains: “In the lead up to establishing the new office, the number of clients looking for claims handling support with a combined UK London Market and Ireland offering had been increasing, so we’d been facing the prospect of losing out on valuable business in both regions.”
One of the main challenges facing Simon when addressing this demand was the recruitment of experts who not only met Crawford’s technical standards but also aligned with its client-first ethos. On top of this, Simon wanted the kind of team that would allow Crawford to deliver a more personal, approachable and flexible service which offered a very real alternative to the longer-established local providers.
“I enjoy the people aspect of claims and surveying,”
adds Simon.
“For me, that means making sure that I have the right people around me who will work hard to deliver the best outcomes for our clients and their customers as well as to strengthen our relationships with the influential broker community.”
Building a team capable of blending market-leading technical expertise with first-class customer service skills required a careful and deliberate approach by Simon. The result, however, has been worth the effort.
“Back in early 2023, I pretty much started with me and a blank canvas,” says Simon. “As of now, we’ve just taken on new talent with a background in real estate claims and third-party administration and I’ve got ambitions to grow the team further.”
As you would expect, these new additions are made possible by an impressive upturn in business for Simon and his team. “My ability to expand the team is underpinned by steady month-on-month growth.”
And there’s yet more support that Simon can draw on. “The business as a whole has a ‘One Crawford’ ethos,” adds Simon. “Standing behind me is not only my neighbouring team in Crawford Northern Ireland, but the entire international Crawford business. Above and beyond the experience that sits with my own team, I can call on a wide range of specialist technical skills and services should my clients need specific support or even scale my team at speed should there be an unprecedented or catastrophic event.”
With a solid foundation provided by Crawford’s global reach, a growing team and a clear strategic direction, Crawford Ireland is well-positioned to continue its upward trajectory by driving value, reducing risk and setting the industry benchmark for customer service across the region.
