Claims People: Crawford & Co., Goldberg Segalla, Carl Warren and GCS

Crawford & Co., a global claims administrator based in Atlanta, appointed Awais Farooq as senior vice president, strategy and transformation, loss adjusting North America.

Farooq will report to Pat Van Bakel, president, loss adjusting, North America, the company said in a press release. He will be tasked with developing a strategic roadmap for the company to deliver complex technology solutions and inspire employees on key initiatives.

Farooq has worked previously for State Farm, Chubb and Berkshire Hathaway Guard insurance companies, Crawford said. Most recently, he served as the head of insurance practice at ActiveOps, where he was responsible for leading the insurance practice for North America.

“His strong work ethic and combination of a people-first leadership style, entrepreneurial mindset and technology background will allow him to achieve success and lasting impact with clients and colleagues,” Van Bakel said in a statement.

Venbrook Group, an independent insurance services, employee benefits and claims administration provider, appointed Louis Pippin as chief claims officer and announced several other executive appointments.

Pippin has 30 years experience in multi-line property and casualty liability case management, cost control, compliance standards, and related service delivery of claims and claims handling, the Los Angeles-based company said in a press release. He most recently was employed by McLaren’s, where he spent five years developing the commercial property claims program. Pippin also held positions at State Insurance Fund and Midlands Claims Administrators, Venbrook said.

Venbrook also announced the appointments of:

• Sarah Novakovich as chief operating officer for Venbrook Claims Services.
• Angelique King as executive vice president of Venbrook subsidiary Carl Warren & Co., a third-party administator.
• Marc Pittinaro as executive vice president for Venbrook Claims Services.
• Suzie Spencer as vice president, business development for Carl Warren & Co.

Spencer is responsible for existing third-party administration clients and expanding business partnerships, Venbrook said. She has 15 years of client relationship management in the insurance industry. She previously worked for worked Gallagher Bassett, Broadspire, Zurich North America, Innovative Claims Solutions, Claims Management Inc., and George Hills & Co.

Goldberg Segalla, a national law firm, has hired attorney Bruce M. Engel for its Global Insurance Services group in Chicago.

Engel’s practice focuses on complex insurance litigation, arbitrations and coverage analysis. He had more than 35 years of experience representing insurers and reinsurers worldwide and served as lead counsel for coal ash, lead paint, asbestos, pharmaceutical and professional liability cases, the law firm said.

Engel was previously a partner with Freeborn & Peters LLP and with Tressler LLP, according to his LinkedIn page. Both are Chicago-based law firms.

Engel earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Global Claims Services, a technology company that provides appraisal tools and temporary housing services to insurers, appointed Brian Matthews as chief executive officer.

Matthews will replace CEO Bob Logan, who is retiring but will serve in an advisory role during the transition, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company said in a press release.

GTCR, a private equity firm, acquired GCS in August 2021. Aaron Cohen, a managing director for the parent company, said Matthews was selected because of his experience driving growth at technology and data businesses.

Matthews most recently served as president of Appriss Insights, a data analytics platform that conducts background screening for legal, government, health care and commercial clients. Before that, he served in leadership roles at technology firms eOriginal, Verint and Vubiquity, the company said.

GCS, founded in 1993, serves all of the top 100 property and casualty insurers in the US and the top 30 carriers in Canada, the company said.