Rising Stars 2022 | Andrew Clark & Sam Fox

Awards for their own sake don’t mean much. But at Berkley Insurance Australia (BIA) we believe that industry awards are important for two reasons. First, they represent the recognition and acknowledgement of our peers. And second, they show our valued partners and clients that we can attract and train the highest quality individuals in the industry to help them with their most important business needs. 

That’s why we were thrilled to learn that we had two award winners in the Insurance Business Rising Stars 2022 Report.

The talented pair work for our facilities team and our claims team, and we thought it was a great chance to introduce you to Sam and Andrew and what their teams here at BIA do.

Sam Fox, Senior Underwriter, Facilities Team

Berkley Insurance Australia has been supporting Underwriting Agencies and Brokers in developing their niche schemes/books of business for 12 years and has a dedicated team of underwriters to support the growth of their portfolios. A large number of agencies and brokers have portfolios of business which can be classified as schemes where a specific industry or occupation has had a bespoke insurance product designed to meet the needs of that group of clients.

Our team is ready to assist you in growing your business.

Insurance is an unusual industry for many reasons. Partly because the lines of business can be niche and complex! Often people land in the insurance industry by accident and it can take a little while to fully understand where they fit best. In Sam’s own words: “I started out in underwriting and even though I had a lot of exposure to claims and saw how the broking side operated, I knew underwriting was where I belonged.

At BIA we also work hard to match our experienced professionals with those earlier in their careers. That in-person mentoring and guidance, even if it is just being able to observe how those with more experience work with their long-term clients is invaluable, and a big reason that our staff have high job satisfaction, which translates to great client service. Sam agrees noting that “General liability has always been a primary focus for me from early on and I was lucky enough to have some great mentors along the way.”

We also pride ourselves on the fact we are an employer of choice. We’re not the biggest player in the market, and that is perfectly fine by us. We judge ourselves on our relationships with our key stakeholders: our staff and our clients. It seems to work too. Sam added this when we asked him about that idea: “Berkley Insurance Australia is the company I believe every underwriter wants to end up at! The larger insurers continuously go through restructures and it is easy to lose focus with all that comes with those. Being at this company has motivated me to work towards a goal that everyone really does feel part of year after year.”

Andrew Clark, Senior Claims Adjuster, Claims Team

Claims is the key customer touchpoint for any insurance business. Our ethos of serving our insured customers is guided by four simple words: Play Fair, Pay Early. We think that captures what a customer expects from their insurer. We know from our long heritage in the industry that this is what results in long-term partnerships, not short term and transactional sales. 

We understand our customers expect us to have a team ready to serve them that is professional, well-informed and empathetic to their circumstances. That’s why we choose our people carefully, and invest significant time and effort into their professional development. When those things align, the results are industry recognition of people like Andrew and the level of service he brings to the insured.

Andrew also has a view on specialist insurers: “Like a lot of people I ‘fell into’ insurance. I started out with a major global insurer but I always gravitated towards a place with a more personal touch. When I started with Berkley back in 2011 the Australian office was quite small with around 10 people. It was exciting to be part of a company that had a genuine focus on its people.”

That focus on people and the claims philosophy that underlies how we serve our insured clients is also something that Andrew identifies with: “I find it incredibly rewarding to work for a company that genuinely values its insured customers and doing the right thing by them. Our claims philosophy ‘Play Fair, Pay Early’ is something that differentiates us in the market and is reflected in all aspects of the business.

Our People: Our Greatest Asset, Your Partner in Insurance

While our business is insurance, it would not be possible without our people.

Having people like Sam and Andrew working with us as part of talented and dedicated teams filled with similarly hardworking, diligent professionals makes us very proud to do what we do.

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