Since moving to Dubai and working across the Middle East for Crawford, Ollie Waterman has been able to broaden his work horizons in a very different loss environment.
Crawford is a truly global company. Our vast international network, spanning hundreds of offices and service centers, enables us to provide claims-management services across six continents and means we’re everywhere our clients need us to be.
For employees, our global presence also provides a fantastic opportunity to work in different countries, experience diverse cultures and industries, and to grow personally as well as professionally.
Ollie Waterman is one of those to have seized the opportunity. Having started with the major loss team in London in April 2021, Ollie learned of an open position in Dubai via the Crawford intranet about a year later. Having successfully applied for the job, he relocated to the Middle East with his wife in September 2022.
As senior chartered loss adjuster, Global Technical Services, Crawford Dubai, Ollie has undergone a dramatic broadening of his horizons — not only in terms of the culture, language and environment, but also in the nature of his work.
“The type of losses I work on are very different,” Ollie said. “In London, there are very few major manufacturing or processing facilities, so most of the losses I was involved in related to apartments, offices and restaurants. Here, I’m dealing with heavy industries — oil & gas, processing and manufacturing. I have loved having the opportunity to work on a broader spectrum of losses and getting a deeper understanding of these sectors.”
Making the move
Ollie’s move to a starkly different environment involved some complex logistics, strong support from colleagues and a transitional phase to give him time to learn the essentials. He credits Victor Noble, regional director for the Middle East and executive general adjuster at Crawford Dubai, and Davina Wilson, executive assistant to chief executive officer, International Operations, for overseeing a smooth process.
“Overall, the transition was seamless,” Ollie said. “There’s a lot of paperwork. In Dubai they have a government representative who does the Arabic translations of personal documents and qualifications and arranges all the visa appointments. I was also given great advice regarding accommodation and initially opted for a temporary contract on a property while I found my feet. Crawford were also fully supportive in securing this for me.”
During a settling-in period of a few weeks, Ollie observed the work of his colleagues, dealing with types of losses that were new to him. Working within a highly technical and experienced team of adjusters in Dubai has enabled him to learn quickly.
“We have specialist knowledge throughout the team — civil engineers, forensic accountants electrical engineers and adjusters all in one workspace. It’s a close-knit office where teamwork is paramount. Great support from the team has helped me get myself up to speed quickly on any particular type of loss.”
A regional exchange
While English is the region’s language of business, it’s often not the first language of clients. Crawford’s multilingual team in Dubai includes Arabic, Hindi and Urdu speakers, which helps to overcome language barriers. Ollie has found face-to-face meetings to be far more effective for communicating clearly than email or videoconferencing in an environment that elevates the importance of personal relationships.
“When a client says they don't understand, you have to be able to break it down to make it understandable,” Ollie said. “That has helped me hone how I report to clients and how I discuss different aspects of the claims-management process.”
Ollie’s 11 years of London market experience is also proving an attribute to the Dubai team, underlining the value of Crawford’s global network. “Here we report to the local insurers, but the London based reinsurers sometimes send through queries about the loss and I’ve been able to navigate those situations,” Ollie said. “I feel I bring a lot to the table in terms of understanding how the London based reinsurers think and I’ve been able to facilitate some relationship-building in meetings between clients and their reinsurers.”
He has also been taking the opportunity to bolster his leadership capabilities while in Dubai, participating in Crawford’s rigorous and immersive Emerging Leaders Program. “I spent a week in October meeting emerging leaders from Crawford offices around the world,” he explains, “and participating in various training, development and networking exercises which culminated in presenting a project to the company board.”
A move in the right direction
Outside of the work environment, the warm weather and the ease of travel to remarkable nearby destinations have proved two outstanding benefits of the relocation to Dubai for Ollie and his wife, who love to travel. “You can go to India for the weekend — it’s only a couple of hours away!” Ollie said.
Regional travel has also been a feature of his work. Ollie has visited countries including Egypt, Kuwait and Oman, dealing with losses connected to fire, a shopping mall and a chicken farm, in addition to heavy industry.
Ollie summarized:
“Overall, the exposure to different types of losses and policies, different cultures and countries, definitely makes you a more well-rounded and capable adjuster.”
