Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. has appointed Kelly Stevens (pictured) as chief operating officer, effective immediately.
In the expanded role, Stevens has overall responsibility for Crawford Canada's loss adjusting, third-party administration, Contractor Connection and Network Solutions operations. The company said the change is intended to improve coordination, streamline decision-making and deliver more consistent service for clients and partners across the country.
Stevens has held senior roles within Crawford Canada and has experience leading teams through operational change.
Greg Smith, president, Canada, who oversees Crawford’s Canadian operations, said the appointment is an important step in how the organization is structured.
“This transition strengthens Crawford Canada’s ability to operate with greater consistency, alignment, and responsiveness across the country,” Smith said. “It positions us to streamline decision making, support our teams more effectively, and continue improving the experience we deliver to clients every day.”
Smith added that Stevens’ promotion is expected to support the company’s national footprint and service model.
Commenting on her new role, Stevens said her priority is on aligning business operations and strengthening collaboration.
"By connecting our capabilities and focusing on execution, we will continue to raise the bar for both our teams and our clients alike,” she said.
The creation of a single COO role for Canada comes at a time when claims organizations are under pressure from multiple directions: higher catastrophe activity, rising repair and replacement costs, increasing client expectations on speed and transparency, and heightened scrutiny from insurers and brokers on service quality.
Canada has seen several costly weather events in recent years that have tested loss adjusting capacity and surge management. A more unified operating structure across adjusting, TPA and contractor networks is aimed at giving carriers and brokers a clearer point of accountability on major events, as well as day-to-day claims.
Bringing Loss Adjusting, TPA, Contractor Connection and Network Solutions under one operational leader also reflects a broader trend towards integrated claims solutions. Many insurers are looking to consolidate vendor panels and work with partners that can handle everything from field adjusting and desk claims to managed repair and complex commercial losses, while providing consistent data and reporting for reserving and regulatory purposes.
For TPAs, the Canadian market continues to evolve as more carriers and corporates outsource segments of their claims handling, particularly in liability, commercial property and specialty lines. Aligning TPA and core adjusting operations under one COO is intended to support consistent processes and technology, which has become increasingly important as clients demand more comparable metrics across different programmes and lines of business.
Stevens’ remit across Contractor Connection and Network Solutions is also noteworthy given ongoing labour and supply chain challenges in the construction and restoration trades. Coordinating these networks more closely with front-end adjusting and TPA operations is expected to be a focus as the market looks to manage claim durations and indemnity spend amid inflationary pressures.
For insurers, brokers and large commercial clients using Crawford’s services, the move signals an emphasis on national consistency in how claims are handled across regions and product lines, and suggests further investment in operational alignment and service delivery in the Canadian market.
