International claims management firm Crawford & Company has launched an Australian Global Technical Services (GTS) division specialising in the management of large and complex claims.

GTS claims are defined generally as those in excess of $350,000, but Crawford Australia CEO Andrew Bart says the focus is more on the complexity of a claim and whether it requires specialist adjusters due to its technical nature.

“We feel that it is important to focus specifically on claims which, while small in volume, account for a very significant proportion of underwriters’ indemnity spend,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “About 2% of losses account for in excess of 80% of indemnity spend for some insurers.

“We conservatively estimate that between 2004 and 2009 Crawford worldwide handled in excess of 8000 claims which had a combined reserve of in excess of $US40 billion.

“That highlights why there is an important need to handle these claims well.”

The formation of the new division, which has nearly 30 staff, follows the launch of Crawford’s first GTS division in London in November last year.