Westfield Specialty Names Head of Cyber/PL Claims, Signaling Expansion and Investment in E&O/Professional Liability
WESTFIELD CENTER, Ohio (Aug. 18, 2022) — With a successful first year in the market, WestfieldPro of Westfield Specialty is expanding its errors and omissions (E&O) and cyber liability offering and planning to enter the primary space.
The Pro team of 20 is led by industry veterans, including executive vice president and head of professional lines Dan Wadley; executive vice president Jeff Kulikowski; vice presidents Dennis O’Connell, Brian McCall, Christine Dickenson and John Castoro; and assistant vice president Alex Whipple. Deep understanding of industry and product coupled with leading underwriting expertise form the foundation of Pro’s approach to the business. WestfieldPro offers E&O coverage for miscellaneous professional liability (MPL), multimedia liability, technology, insurance agents and brokers, as well as cyber liability, with most classes considered. Additionally, Pro offers highly specialized coverage tailored to the unique needs of law and accounting firms.
Westfield Specialty recently named Sara Trokan as senior vice president, specialty claims. Her responsibilities include the overall growth, strategic direction and oversight of the cyber, E&O and professional liability claim teams. With more than 17 years of financial and professional lines claims experience at Chubb, Trokan is recognized in the industry as an expert in the management of cyber claims and cyber-cat events.
“We are thrilled to add Sara to the Westfield Specialty team,” says Dan Wadley, EVP WestfieldPro. “With her background and experience, we have confidence that Sara will build out the claims team as well as the vendor support needed to provide superior claim service to our clients and broker partners.”
“Sara has managed and organized claim handling and data collection across thousands of cyber and ransomware claims,” says Krista Glenn, Westfield Specialty’s chief claims officer. “Sara has an outstanding reputation as a collaborator who sees the big picture and stays ahead of trends in this evolving line. Sara has led award-winning claims teams, and I am confident she will build and lead a best-in-class team at Westfield Specialty. Sara will also have influence over the development of the entire department as part of Westfield Specialty Claims’ senior leadership team.”
In addition, Westfield Specialty has added underwriters in New York, Alpharetta and Chicago over the past few months and is expanding to the West Coast to support growing demand for their products and underwriting approach.
Westfield Specialty launched in July 2021 as part of Ohio-based super-regional carrier Westfield, and is led by former Sompo International CUO and global insurance CEO Jack Kuhn. Westfield Specialty is currently underwriting in five lines of business: E&S property, E&S excess casualty, financial institutions, commercial management liability, and Westfield Pro ― which includes cyber and professional liability. In its first year in the market, Westfield Specialty has bound $120 million in gross written premium and is targeting $250 million for 2022, its first full year of underwriting, as it looks to add several new lines of business.