As with many of the skilled loss adjusters at Crawford & Company, Gemma Boustead has carved out a specialism based on doing what you love and loving what you do.
Gemma joined Crawford’s team of agriculture experts in December 2019 having previously worked as an equine loss adjuster, but her in-depth understanding of agricultural and equine claims runs much deeper due to her lifelong passion for horses and 23 years of equine experience.
Currently, owner to three, two of which are homebred, outside of adjusting Gemma is a competitive showjumper, trains horses and even owns and manages an equine transport business with her partner. However, her first taste of working in insurance claims came as a team manager in a motor claims department.
“This inspired me to pursue a career in the equine insurance industry. I kept my eye out for adjusting roles, specifically at Crawford given their excellent market reputation,” Gemma explains.
Now, Gemma is able to draw on her passion and experience with horses when adjusting a variety of rural sector claims for leading agricultural insurers, from property damage claims to complex livestock and equine claims.
“I love being able to include my interest in horses in my career whilst assisting people in their time of need,” Gemma says.
“It’s very rewarding helping restore people’s lives when the worst has happened. I also enjoy the variety of the role as no two days are the same.”
Gemma’s years of first-hand experience also puts her in an excellent position to determine which claims are genuine and which are potentially suspicious.
“A claim was transferred to me with the view to progressing it quickly as the placing broker was applying considerable pressure to finalise matters. On review of the claim, I had a number of concerns and subsequently referred on to our claims validation team,” Gemma explains.
“Following further investigations and requests for more information from the insured, we received no further response, making a saving for insurers on a potentially fraudulent claim.”
During her time at Crawford, Gemma has dealt with a variety of equine claims across the globe, including equine valuation claims and equine mortality claims. She also recently assisted Crawford Legal Services as an equine expert for a complex liability claim.
“I enjoy being part of the Crawford family and interacting with different business areas,” she says. “There is a vast amount of knowledge across the business that I’m keen to absorb to assist my career.”
And Gemma still has plenty of ambition outside of loss adjusting too – her latest goal being to train the three horses she currently owns into future showjumpers.
