CILA Claims Professionals’ Conference & Dinner 2026
NEW HORIZONS
Leadership across the claims landscape
Speakers
Date: Thursday, 24 September 2026
EVENT SPEAKERS
CILA
John Bissell
As Executive Director, John supports CILA’s Executive Committee. John also guides the CILA Council, which comprises Chartered Loss Adjusters and Council members elected to represent 18 focus areas and special interest groups.
John’s responsibilities include working with CILA’s leadership team to build upon the institute’s successes in qualifications, professional standards, and technical knowledge. He also drives forward its diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes alongside increasing industry engagement and awareness with key stakeholders, including government and policymakers.
GRACECHURCH CONSULTING
Ben Bolton
Ben is a leading research consultant who has specialised in professional and financial services for over 30 years. He founded Gracechurch in 2001 and has since built it into a business that is focused on helping to raise the performance bar in commercial insurance.
He has pioneered brand and service research in the sector setting up a range of independent benchmarking studies. Gracechurch works with over 25 insurance organisations many of whom use the independent Service Quality Marque accreditations to evidence excellent service performance.
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE
Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service is the UK’s independent body for resolving disputes between consumers and financial businesses. Established by Parliament, it provides a free and impartial service, handling hundreds of thousands of complaints each year across banking, insurance, investments, pensions, and consumer credit. With a focus on fairness and accessibility, the Ombudsman helps shape best practice across the financial services sector while ensuring individual consumers receive justice.
IFED
Nik Jethwa
Detective Chief Inspector Nik Jethwa is a highly experienced law enforcement leader with over 22 years of service. As Head of the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) at the City of London Police, he leads the UK’s policing response to insurance fraud, protecting individuals, industry stakeholders, and communities through innovative and effective approaches.
Throughout his career, Nik has led teams on a wide range of complex and sensitive investigations, including internal misconduct, counter-terrorism, and historic serious crime. He is known for his collaborative leadership style and commitment to delivering impactful outcomes. Nik works closely with partners across the public and private sectors, focusing on driving meaningful change, strengthening resilience, and enhancing protection for both the public and the insurance industry.
McLarens
Robin Ehrlich
Robin has worked in the insurance industry for more than 25 years, over 20 of those years have been in loss adjusting. Robin is now a Senior Executive Adjuster in Major Loss for McLarens, based in London. He has particular experience in extensive multi-million total loss fire damage as well as significant flood and escape of water claims in manufacturing, warehousing, hospitality retailing and real estate. Robin is a member of CILA’s Property Specialist Interest Group (SIG), whom he represents in the session today.
FUEDI-ELAE
Mark Simmons
Michael’s adjusting career began with McLarens in 1991 after two years in the claims department of Legal and General in Manchester.
In 2002, he moved to Ashworth Mairs, before joining Cunningham Lindsey in 2005, becoming part of the Complex and Major Loss Team in 2009. After a brief stint at Woodgate & Clark from 2014 to 2015, he then joined QuestGates where he headed up the commercial Major & Complex Loss team for eight years, before moving to McLarens in 2024, where he now works in the Major & Complex Loss team based in Manchester.
Michael also serves on the committee of the CILA Property Special Interest Group and is an examiner for CILA.
Zurich
Louis Foscolo
Starting his career as a graduate trainee, Paul has been handling customer’s losses for over 35 years.
Paul’s experience spans four major UK and Global Insurers, and he joined Zurich’s property Major Loss Team (MLT) from AIG in 2010. His current “hands on” role involves the management of large and complex property losses. He has previously led responses to major Cat events, including the 2005 Buncefield explosion.
He has overseen many high-profile losses both here & abroad, and in 2023 one of his claims won the highly coveted “Major Loss of the Year” at the UK British Insurance Awards (BIAs).
Paul has previously been the recipient of a “Customer Hero” prize – awarded by Zurich’s worldwide Chief Executive Mario Greco at a Group leadership event in Venice.
Paul is currently co-Deputy Chairman of the Property Special Interest Group at the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). He was recently presented with honorary life membership of CILA, in recognition of his longstanding commitment to the Institute, and the wider insurance industry.
A passionate believer that Zurich can be a voice for its customers, Paul is an active contributor on social media (LinkedIn) and regular speaker at industry events. He also assists with political lobbying on key issues impacting Zurich UK’s clients and contributes to the company’s external thought leadership on various risk topics.
KENNEDYS
Caitlin Gallagher
Caitlin Gallagher is a legal director who started her career at Kennedys in
2018, specialising in property, energy and construction disputes. Caitlin has
a proven record of success in litigation, adjudication and arbitration both
nationally and internationally. She is highly skilled at dispute resolution in
construction and insurance matters. Caitlin is experienced in advising on
all standard form contracts and on construction insurance policies. Caitlin
returned to Kennedys in 2024 following 18 months working as Legal Counsel
at tier one international contractor ISG.
Caitlin has significant experience advising on policy coverage in construction
projects, delay in start-up, professional negligence and recovery actions
for insurers. She assisted international insurers in drafting new suites of
construction policy documents and undertook a client secondment to
Zurich’s construction department. Caitlin was involved in the Sky & Mace v
Insurers case.
McLARENS
Alex Wakefield
Alex has more than twenty years of experience in loss adjusting, most of which has been focused on resolving complex, large and high-profile claims in the High Net Worth and Ultra High Net Worth areas.
As a senior member of the McLarens Private Clients & Estates team, Alex’s work takes in a wide variety of buildings, contents and collections losses, often involving unusual subject matter, conservation, or VIP clients.
A regular speaker at educational events and conferences, Alex chairs the CILA High Net Worth & Specie SIG and is FCILA qualified.
GATELEY SMITHERS PURSLOW
Mike Boast
Mike holds more than 17 years’ experience as a chartered building surveyor, specialising in the delivery of complex commercial and residential reinstatement projects for insurance, public and private sector clients.
In his role as commercial director at Gateley Smithers Purslow (GSP), Mike is responsible for developing and implementing commercial strategies to drive growth and raise awareness of GSP’s services for the insurance industry. He is also the chairman of the Pyramus & Thisbe Party Wall Society and an approved RICS APC assessor.
Gateley Smithers Purslow is the multi-disciplinary surveying, engineering and architecture practice arm of professional services group, Gateley.
HAWKINS
Lucy Pinkard
After completing her degree in Forensic Science from the University of South Wales, Lucy worked as an Analytical Scientist in the pharmaceutical sector, specialising in spectroscopic techniques. She then joined Avon and Somerset Constabulary as a Crime Scene Investigator, where she was involved in the forensic investigation of volume, serious and major crime scenes for nearly 15 years. During her career with the Police she also worked as a DNA Laboratory Analyst, examining items for the presence of blood and DNA. Lucy advanced to the position of Crime Scene Manager, managing the forensic response to major incidents. This included working with the Major Crime Investigation Team during the forensic investigation of many high profile cases. During her time within the Police, Lucy has delivered evidence in both Crown and Magistrates Courts and received a Police commendation for her commitment and dedication. She was also a Forensic Fire Investigator, involved in the investigation of crimes involving arson, endangerment of life and murder.
Lucy completed her Masters in Forensic Investigation of Explosives and Explosions with the University of Cranfield Forensic Institute in January 2025, completing her thesis in the subject area of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries. She now lectures at Cranfield University in Fire Investigation and Crime Scene Investigation related studies. She also trains Crime Scene Investigators in fire investigation and works with University College London, inspiring the forensic scientists of the future.
Since January 2024 Lucy moved to the civil sector where she has been primarily involved in the investigation of fires at a domestic and commercial level. This has included white goods related fires, arson, plant and electrical incidents. Lucy joined Hawkins in 2025
EDWIN COE
Nicola Maher
Nicola is a Partner in Edwin Coe’s Insurance Disputes team. She is known for her strategic and pragmatic approach to resolving complex insurance disputes. Nicola is passionate about advocating for policyholders and ensuring they receive fair treatment and maximum recoveries. Her work is driven by a commitment to clarity, efficiency, and client-focused outcomes.
Nicola leads on insurance and professional indemnity disputes representing international and domestic corporate entities, SME, and high-net-worth clients across a wide range of sectors.
Beyond her legal practice, Nicola is committed to nurturing the next generation of lawyers. As a Training Principal, she is actively involved in graduate recruitment and training, ensuring that trainees receive a solid and supportive foundation to their legal career.
EDWIN COE
Lauren Murphy
Lauren is an Associate in Edwin Coe’s Insurance Disputes team. She is detail-driven and collaborative, and takes pride in resolving complex issues with precision and care.
Lauren acts exclusively for policyholders in a wide range of complex insurance disputes. Over the past few years, Lauren has built up a particular expertise in Covid-19 Business Interruption claims and has been involved in much of the high-profile litigation on the matter. Part of Lauren’s practice also involves pursuing professional negligence claims against insurance brokers and other professionals.
Lauren joined the firm in September 2019 and qualified into the Insurance Disputes team in September 2021.
MARSH
Melissa Cunningham
Melissa Cunningham FCA, ACILA is a Senior Vice President in Marsh Claims Solutions in London. She manages and performs pre-loss business interruption reviews, and quantifying claims for Insured clients in the UK and overseas. As a dual qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Loss Adjuster, she brings a perspective that covers both these aspects of insurance losses in property damage and business interruption. She has received two of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters’ prizes for best examination performance.
Melissa is Chair of the Claimant Special Interest Group and is CILA Deputy President 2025/26.
BURGOYNES
James May
James completed his Engineering Doctorate, focusing on superalloy materials used in jet aero-engines, in 2011. He then worked at Rolls-Royce investigating in-service events on aero jet engines for 2 years before joining Burgoynes in 2012.
Since joining Burgoynes, James has investigated numerous cases involving engineering component failures and fracture analysis. Investigations to date include domestic and commercial water escapes, fuel oil escapes, thermally induced failures, defective manufacture, structural collapse and environmental assisted cracking of polymers.
BURGOYNES
Matthew Suddards
After completing his undergraduate degree, Matthew spent 2 years working as a software design engineer in the telecommunications industry before returning to Nottingham to obtain his Master’s degree and PhD in Physics. He then worked as a Research Fellow in the semi-conductor and nanoscience group at the University of Nottingham. His research focused on the development of new microscopy techniques to study semi-conductor materials at the nanometre length scale. Results of this work were presented at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Matthew joined Burgoynes in 2009 and has investigated over 400 fires and explosions within domestic and industrial premises. These include a gas explosion involving an escape of portable gas as well as fires involving domestic appliances, electrical supply and distribution equipment, agricultural machinery, heat producing appliances, and materials susceptible to self-heating.
Matthew has prepared reports for loss adjusters, insurers and solicitors in anticipation of civil and criminal litigation. He has prepared written evidence in accordance with part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules and has presented expert evidence in High Court in the UK.
CRAWFORD & COMPANY
Nathan Holt
Nathan commenced his career in loss adjusting in 2014, and has handled claims across the globe ranging from Wembley Stadium to the Australia outback.
His current position sees him handling a variety of domestic and commercial major losses in London and the South-East.
HYPERION ADJUSTERS
Shaun Coyne
Shaun Coyne commenced his career as a Property Adjuster with McLaren Dick (the forerunner to McLarens) before joining Graham Miller & Co. He then transferred to the US and spent a total of 5 years working in New York and Los Angeles where he dealt with claims in the Film, Event and Music industries. Following a return to London he continued Adjusting in these specialist areas, handling claims for the last eight Bond movies, the Harry Potter franchise and The Game of Thrones series. In the sports world he was involved in the 2001 Ryder Cup postponement following 9/11, Rugby World Cup claims due the 2011 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand and the 2019 event in Japan due to a typhoon. In 2020/2021 Shaun dealt with the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games which is the most significant Contingency claim to have occurred.
e2e TOTAL LOSS CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
Eddie Longworth
Prior to his current role, Eddie was an award-winning consultant in the claims sector for insurers and suppliers. Founder of the movement to establish an ethical code of conduct for the use of AI in claims he has worked across 3 different continents and hundreds of projects during the last 27 years.
Most often contracted to develop new solutions in strategic, operational, and internal development, Eddie is a prolific writer, speaker, and commentator on current trends in claims and a fierce critic of what he sometimes perceives to be shortcomings in genuine customer focus. Always an interesting contributor and never shy of being controversial he has a passion for all-things claims that has seen him work for the largest insurers to the smallest of suppliers in a mission to never stop seeking a better way to design and deliver services.