R&Q has named Hillary Jarvis as its new chief claims officer for North America.
The firm said that Jarvis will report to Andrew Pinkes, global chief executive officer for legacy insurance. Her last position before joining R&Q was at Markel, where she was managing director for claims – compliance and strategy.
Prior to this, Jarvis was general counsellor and second vice president to the Travelers’ largest claims centre.
Pinkes said: “I’m pleased to welcome Hillary to our Legacy leadership team. Creating a more efficient and specialised claims function is an important part of our objective to deliver best-in-class outcomes and become a more data focused and scalable Legacy solutions provider. Hillary’s strong technical claims and legal expertise, along with her extensive experience in leading initiatives that harness the power of data, will be a valuable addition for R&Q and our customers.”
This new comes after R&Q’s recent tumultuous weeks. Its shareholders are currently divided into factions over whether executive chair and director William Spiegel should step down from his position and be replaced by Ken Randall. Phoenix has led the charge against Spiegel, with R&Q confirming in a statement at the end of last month that that resolution was shared by Brickell, 777 Partners, 777 Asset Management, plus others.
A vote is set to be held on Spiegel’s future on 13 September.
The tumult began in the middle of August when Phoenix Asset Management Partners, which has around 12% of the firm’s share capital, said in an open letter that it wished for Spiegel to be removed with Randall to take his role.
However, other firms holding shares in R&Q have come to Spiegel’s defence.
Thomas Moore, senior investment director for UK and European equities at abrdn, said: “abrdn PLC manages funds owning approximately 6.2% of the outstanding shares of R&Q Insurance Holdings Ltd. We support the current Executive Chairman, William Spiegel, and believe that the strategy outlined is appropriate to realise the full shareholder value inherent in the Legacy and Program Management divisions.”
He added: “We have not seen a valid argument to justify the distraction which would arise from a change in management, and believe the stability of Spiegel’s leadership is especially important after a year of change.”
The Scottish firm was not the only one coming out in support of Spiegel. Investment firm Vida Capital, which manages 9.07% of the firm’s outstanding shares, expressed its support for the current leadership and strategy of the company.
