New Roles in Property & Casualty - Americas Focus on Quality, Performance

ATLANTA, March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To direct additional resources to quality and performance for clients, Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRDA; CRDB), the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions, is adding several key positions to its Property & Casualty – Americas operations.

"As the industry's leading provider of property and casualty claims solutions and with our growing business process outsourcing model, we are constantly seeking ways to improve the services we offer to our clients. We are committed to delivering the highest quality product that exceeds the expectations of our customers, differentiates us from our competition and helps our business grow," said Kevin B. Frawley, chief executive officer, Property & Casualty - Americas. "All of the individuals named below have demonstrated their expertise and consistently delivered an outstanding performance. We expect that their experience will serve our clients and our organization well in the critical roles they are assuming."

Performance Management

Thomas L. Carstens, CPCU,  currently vice president, U.S. Property and Global Technical Services, has been named to the new position of senior vice president of Performance Management, reporting to Frawley. In this role, Carstens will be responsible for ensuring that customers receive the highest quality of claim management. He will monitor performance, establish initiatives for continuous quality improvement and assist in new business development.

Carstens began his career in 1979 as a property and casualty adjuster and served in a number of supervisory and management capacities before assuming his current position in 2005. In that role, he has been responsible for the integration of service delivery for all property services within the United States.

Global Technical Services (GTS)

Bill Johnstone, senior vice president of GTS for the Americas, will assume direct responsibility for GTS services in the United States. Roland Paxton, assistant vice president – Global Marine Services for Canada, will assume direct responsibility for Marine Operations throughout the Americas, reporting to Johnstone.

Johnstone began his career in the insurance industry in 1987 and joined Crawford in 1989, becoming an executive general adjuster and vice president of GTS in Canada in 2005 and assuming his current position in 2009. Johnstone is a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Professionals, a fellow of the Insurance Institute of Ontario, a certified fire and explosion investigator and a licensed independent adjuster for all lines.

Paxton, a world-renowned naval architect and expert in his field, has nearly 35 years of experience and has been with Crawford for the past 10 years. His plans are maintained in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, which has designated him one of the most important designers in the history of the global marine industry. His consulting work has included pilotage, litigation, project management and ship design, and he has handled a wide variety of marine claims, including those involving damage and loss to goods, valuation of goods, and environmental and pollution-related losses.

Catastrophe (CAT) Services

Matthew Anderson, director of Crawford's Alabama service center and a branch manager at various locations since 2005, has been named to the new position of director of CAT operations. Anderson began his career in the insurance industry in 2002 at Crawford. As a CAT adjuster and supervisor, he handled a number of assignments during significant weather events, including hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jeanne in 2004, and also has experience managing environmental claims in the oil industry.

Anderson was a 2009 Circle of Excellence award winner, an honor given each year to managers of top-performing operations at Crawford. He is a member of several claims associations in Alabama and Georgia and served as president of the Middle Georgia Claims Association in 2007.

Ezra B. (Bud) Trice, leader of Crawford's CAT operations for many years, will focus on new business development for CAT Services, especially in the area of environmental claims. "CAT Services are an important differentiator for Crawford, and with his knowledge and familiarity with our operations, he is the best person to help us further spread that word into the market," Frawley said.

Trice, who has more than 30 years of experience in handling and directing catastrophe responses, is considered an industry expert on CAT and has spoken at many large industry conferences. He began his career with Crawford in 1976 as a CAT adjuster in Mobile, Ala., and has held many positions within CAT operations and business development.

About Crawford

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford & Company (www.crawfordandcompany.com) is the world's largest independent provider of claims management solutions to the risk management and insurance industry as well as self-insured entities, with a global network of more than 700 locations in 63 countries. The Crawford System of Claims Solutions(SM) offers comprehensive, integrated claims services, business process outsourcing and consulting services for major product lines including property and casualty claims management, workers compensation claims and medical management, and legal settlement administration. The Company's shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.

SOURCE Crawford & Company