People News: Brit Ltd, Travelers, FM Global

Brit Ltd. named Christopher Ballantyne to the newly created role of vice president of Delegated Claim Authority. He will report to Mike Barry, head of Short Tail Claims.

Ballantyne will be responsible for the day to day oversight and performance management of Brit’s North American claims service providers, as well as supporting Brit’s leading claims team based in London.

He joins Brit with a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leading improved claim performance at both the regional and national level in his previous roles. He has 20 years of experience within the insurance industry, most recently as vice president for Liability & Property Claims at Crum & Forster. Prior to this, Ballantyne held a number of senior claims roles at The Hartford.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. announced that Bruce Gifford has been appointed to the newly created role of enterprise chief data and analytics officer. This will further strengthen the company’s industry-leading data and analytics capabilities and advance its innovation agenda. Gifford previously served as senior vice president and chief actuary for the company’s Bond & Specialty Insurance segment while also leading the Enterprise Business Intelligence & Analytics function.

In his new role, Gifford will be responsible for accelerating the transformation of data into insights through the use of existing and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence tools and techniques. He will report to Michael Klein, executive vice president and president, Personal Insurance, and head of Enterprise Business Intelligence & Analytics, and to Madelyn Lankton, executive vice president and chief information officer, Enterprise Operations and eBusiness.

Creating this position and appointing Gifford to oversee the practice will bring a heightened focus to the company’s innovation priorities, which include: extending the company’s lead in risk expertise; enhancing the experience for its customers, agents and brokers; and improving productivity and efficiency.

Gifford has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. He joined Travelers in 2009, serving as vice president and chief actuary for Select Accounts until 2012. He is the chair of the company’s Analytics Management Committee and is a member of the company’s Operating Committee. Gifford is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

FM Global, a global commercial and industrial property insurer, announced the appointment of Darren J. Benson to senior vice president, manager of claims. Previously, he served as vice president and manager of the company’s Chemical operations. Benson succeeds Gerry L. Alonso, who has been appointed senior vice president, operations manager of FM Global’s Boston, Mass., USA, operations.

In his new role, Benson will be responsible for the oversight and management of the company’s claims staff and activity worldwide.

Since joining FM Global in 1987 as a loss prevention engineer, Benson has held a variety of management positions within the organization.