Change is afoot inside Crawford Australia’s third party administration (TPA) business, with highly-regarded claims executive Milia Xystros joining the team recently.
Xystros has been appointed head of Crawford TPA, bringing with her more than 25 years’ experience across the insurance industry. Holding a law degree, Xystros is experienced across claims handling, litigation management, dispute resolution, vendor management, operational support functions, risk and compliance, continuous improvement and quality assurance.
Her career has included a decade in private practice law firms focusing on public liability, CTP, self insureds and property claims, followed by 11 years with IAG, and most recently managing Lloyd's Syndicate and local underwritten, casualty, financial lines and property claims for a competitor TPA business.
Crawford TPA (formerly Broadspire) has been in operation in Australia for over a decade, supporting insurers, corporates and brokers with full end-to-end claims management solutions. It takes carriage of claims from initial notification, to final resolution including managing all inputs along the way and feeding back all learnings for clients’ continual improvement in risk management.
Australia President Jonathan Hubbard said Crawford’s TPA business in Australia was a strategic area of growth.
“There is a misconception in the market that Crawford TPA is simply an extension of our loss adjusting business for which, admittedly, we are most well-known for within Australia. In reality, Crawford TPA is an entirely different model – it’s a different team, who have different skill sets to loss adjusters. Our TPA is run as a totally separate business.
“We see significant growth potential for TPA, particularly as brokers with delegated authority enter the market but don’t have the appetite for the risks associated with claims handling themselves.
“I am very confident Milia will take our TPA business to a new level of client satisfaction; she has outstanding credentials and a proven track record of operational excellence,” Hubbard said.
Xystros concurred with Hubbard’s observations regarding the confusion in the market about Crawford TPA and said she was ready to pivot that perception.
“As the market shifts and evolves, a strong third party administration model is something that is going to become increasingly important for the success of insurers, brokers and corporates. But, I want to ensure that we are not seen simply as a service supplier, but rather an extension of the insurer or corporate that we may be working with. When we can align the claims management strategy, cultures and processes with our client, we can better support delivery of their strategic outcomes, while ensuring regulatory compliance and solid customer outcomes.”
Xystros commented that when the opportunity arose to join Crawford, it was a straightforward decision.
“Crawford has been a supplier to various organisations for which I’ve worked. I have come to know Crawford to be a strategically led organisation, that values its people and is totally focused on supporting its clients to deliver best possible outcomes.”
Hubbard noted Xystros’ stellar reputation for being a humanistic, considered and collaborative people leader.
“Milia has worked in all levels of claims, and she therefore understands the challenges at the front-line, as well as the internal and external pressures that can impact performance. I know that she will be hands on if needed, while at the same time look for opportunities to deliver efficiencies to ensure that our service delivery is effective, compliant and meets client expectations,” he concluded.
Crawford TPA is Lloyd’s accredited and delivers claims management services across most lines of insurance including public liability, property, motor, director & officer, and professional indemnity.
