Tokio Marine’s GCube draws trio of new talent for global claims expansion

Specialist renewable energy insurer  GCube, a part of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies, has expanded the capability and capacity of its global claims team with three new hires – bolstering its ranks in the face of an increasingly complex claims landscape.

Darren Askari joins  GCube’s Newport Beach office as North American claims manager. He is a licensed loss adjuster in the North American market with claims experience in roles with Gallagher Basset, Brown & Brown, and PERse. He will be joined in Newport Beach by former PERse colleague Adan Mendoza, who joins  GCube as senior claims manager and brings more than 20 years’ claims and renewables experience to the plate.

Askari and Mendoza will be supported in their roles by claims associate Sierra Lenz, a graduate of  GCube’s parent company Tokio Marine HCC’s Accelerate Programme, and one of three recent graduates to be recruited into  GCube’s ranks across the business. The company said these hires are a part of its mission to cultivate the best talent across the renewable insurance sector.

Additionally, James Papazis has taken up a more senior role as operations director and legal counsel. Whilst he will continue to have an oversight of the claims function, he’ll now take on further responsibilities within the organisation.

In increasing its global claims team to 14 people,  GCube claims it has established the largest dedicated claims team in the renewable energy marketplace, reinforcing its commitment to supporting and paying claims promptly and accurately for its clients. The moves enable GCube to enhance its support for the renewables sector at a tumultuous time, with loss trends on an unpredictable but upwards trajectory.

“2022’s claims trends thus far are largely dominated by extreme weather events like hail and convective storms that have hit some of our less prudent competitors hard,” said  GCube’s CEO Fraser McLachlan (pictured). “We’ve seen numerous losses exceeding the $400 million mark in the first half of the year alone, with one loss event surpassing $100m.  GCube’s prudent underwriting approach, knowledge and extensive experience in the market has enabled the company to avoid such large-scale losses during recent years.”

“These environmental conditions and emerging markets are exacerbated by global supply challenges – outlined in our latest market report Supply Another Day – with replacements for damaged materials, insufficient downtime coverage, and crucially the skills shortage creating difficulties across the whole sector.”

“Knowledge, skills, and leadership are more essential than ever to support clients with the difficulties they now face, and to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the renewables sector – we’re answering this call by shaping, training, and investing in our people in order to establish industry-leading teams capable of first-class client service.”

Roy Muñoz, global head of claims at  GCube, added: “We’re immensely pleased to be able to expand and bolster our claims offering for our clients, and warmly welcome Darren, Adan and Sierra to the team. Claims is central to everything we do at  GCube, and we pride ourselves on cultivating one of the strongest claims team in the renewable energy space. We’re looking forward to leveraging the expanded experience of our team and generating even more value for our clients.”

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