Verisk, a strategic data analytics and technology partner to the global insurance industry, has announced the establishment of Verisk General Insurance UK & Ireland, a new business unit that unifies its offerings across underwriting, claims, and policy administration solutions.
The unit aims to support more informed, data-driven decision-making across the insurance market.
The business brings together International Underwriting, Property and Risk (IUPR), Claims UK, and Ignite, with the realignment designed to strengthen connectivity across the insurance industry and deepen collaboration with insurers.
Chris Sawford has been appointed Managing Director of Verisk General Insurance UK & Ireland, where he will oversee the business.
He has spent nearly eight years at Verisk, most recently leading the company’s Claims UK business, working closely with insurers to address operational challenges and support industry-wide efforts to advance claims practices and decision making.
Sawford also co-founded Validus-IVC, a provider of claims management solutions in the UK, which Verisk acquired in 2018.
“Insurers today are balancing rising risk complexity with increasing expectations for speed, accuracy, and resilience,” said Sawford. “This realignment enhances our capability to enable insurers to make more confident, insight-led decisions across the insurance lifecycle—helping them price risk more effectively, manage claims more efficiently, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for policyholders in a rapidly changing market.”
Tim Rayner, CEO of general insurance for UK & Ireland and specialty business solutions, Verisk, said, “With Chris leading this integrated organisation, we’re positioned to strengthen collaboration across the market and accelerate innovation with the aim of helping insurers adapt to emerging risks while improving trust, protection, and value for policyholders.”
Verisk General Insurance UK & Ireland will include connected claims capabilities that help insurers manage operational complexity, strengthen fraud detection, and drive more consistent outcomes across the claims lifecycle. IUPR helps insurers assess property, motor, and commercial risks using enriched data, peril insights, and location‑based risk indicators to support more informed risk selection.
The business also includes policy administration and lifecycle management capabilities (Ignite), supporting insurers in managing policies efficiently across the end-to-end insurance lifecycle, streamlining workflows, and improving operational consistency.
