Louise van der Valk

After completing my A-Levels at 18 I sought my “first proper job” in the City and successfully applied for a junior claims role at THB, a London Lloyd’s Broker.

Like most college leavers with no prior connection to insurance I believed Lloyd’s of London was a bank. It was within this role I learnt the basics of insurance and assisted in handling of our Binding Authority and Direct and Facultative (D&F) accounts in North America. As the business grew so did the opportunities to progress and in 2018 I was proud to be promoted to Claims Manager. As Claims Manager I am now responsible for overseeing the D&F losses emanating from the Worldwide Property division at THB.

Having truly fallen into insurance and learning the different opportunities now available to me, at the time I believed it was the best kept secret. I am a member of THB’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) committee and for me, an inclusive environment is one where everyone with the capability can be heard and succeed. I am currently working alongside others within the company ways to recruit more, promote more and retain more diverse employees and to strive for the secret to be out.

I have been involved in other London Market initiatives such as the U35 LMA LIIBA Claims Committee and was elected chair in 2018. As the name suggests, the U35 Claims Group is a networking forum for Lloyd’s Managing Agents and Lloyd’s Broker’s young claims professionals. The Committee is responsible for promoting education and interest in all aspects of insurance claims. There’s a real focus on educating our members on claims matters from all classes of business. In view of the electronic world we live in, we also work hard to facilitate networking opportunities for our members.