Profile
“Westfield Specialty and I have been trying to make sure we are opportunistic in the marketplace and that has allowed us to grow profitably and create a broader and more diversified portfolio”
Jack Kuhn
Westfield Specialty
Claire Burke is a technical strata insurance specialist with more than 10 years of industry experience and is an associate member of ANZIIF.
She was introduced to strata and underwriting in 2011 when she joined CHU and has since held a number of roles in the underwriting department. Having developed a deep understanding of the complex nature of strata-titled properties with defects and combustible cladding, she has carved a niche for specialty risk underwriting within CHU and the broader strata insurance industry.
Burke has a focus on providing education and guidance to CHU’s broker and strata manager client base and has presented two webinars on building defects in strata with over 2,300 people in attendance.
Her dedication to education also extends within the business, sharing her knowledge with the CHU underwriting team providing guidance and training material, and is a key referral point for the most complex risks at CHU.
Burke is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion and played a key role in CHU’s winning submission for Excellence in Workplace Diversity & Inclusion at the 2019 ANZIIF Awards. She was a member of the SCA (ACT) board from 2020 to 2022. She was also a panellist at the 2023 ANZIIF Diversity & Inclusion Seminar, received the 2023 ANZIIF Making a Difference Award in the Underwriting Category, named on the 2024 Insurance Business list of Elite Women in Insurance and won the inaugural Woman of Distinction Award at the 2024 Insurance Business Awards.
Level 33, 101 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060
1300 361 263
info@chu.com.au
linkedin.com/in/claire-burke-266b33140
chu.com.au
Claire Burke
Senior Specialty Risk Underwriter
CHU Underwriting Agencies
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Milestones
“The biggest challenge is getting everyone comfortable with the pace that I’m looking for to drive our buildout and growth. How I deal with it is by being open and transparent, and responsive to questions or concerns”
Jack Kuhn
Westfield Specialty
2011
2013–2015
2018
2020–2021
2022–2024
Commenced as Customer Service Consultant at CHU in the NSW/ACT branch
2011
Became an Underwriter in 2013 and promoted to Underwriting Team Leader in 2015
2013–
2015
Promoted to Underwriting Account Manager, NSW/ACT (a newly created hybrid BDM/Underwriter role) and named in the 2018 Insurance Business Young Guns List
2018
Won the Excellence Award in the 2020 Insurance Business Awards for Underwriting Agency BDM of the Year
Promoted to Underwriting Manager NSW/ACT, CHU’s largest underwriting business unit in 2021
2020–
2021
Promoted to newly created role of Manager, National Specialty Risk Team, managing CHU’s most complex risks in 2022
Panellist at the 2023 ANZIIF Diversity & Inclusion Seminar
Won the 2023 ANZIIF Making a Difference Award: Underwriting category
Named in the 2024 Insurance Business Elite Women in Insurance
Won the inaugural Woman of Distinction Award at the 2024 Insurance Business Awards
Finalist in the 2024 ANZIIF Allianz Donna Walker Award: Inspiring Leadership
In 2024, moved to a Senior Specialty Risk Underwriter position to dedicate more time to her passion for learning and development for internal and external stakeholders
2022–
2024
Assistant Vice President and Senior Broker at MJ Hall & Company since 2018
Present
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Kuhn says, “I would say my career has been one of more of chance and opportunities than a set plan. And it’s interesting how one decision has a ripple effect on putting you on a different path than maybe where you thought you would be.”
He highlights his spell at Endurance as his biggest professional achievement to date.
“It took some time, but we took them from really being viewed as a reinsurance company to being viewed as a global insurance company.”
It’s this type of innovative attitude that is powering Westfield Specialty forward so successfully.
Kuhn explains, “Westfield Specialty and I have been trying to make sure we are opportunistic in the marketplace and that has allowed us to grow profitably and create a broader and more diversified portfolio.”
Part of this has seen the firm acquire the existing Lloyd’s of London Syndicate 1200 in February 2023. It is also Kuhn’s ingenuity that has allowed Westfield Specialty to outperform expectations in challenging market conditions.
“I would say it’s been the understanding that there is a limited window of time. We're in this unique market, we need to be fast and decisive to take advantage of market opportunities before the market begins to move away,” he comments. “Additionally, I'd like to say we move with a lot of speed, but we do it in a thoughtful and methodical approach, not just to be the first.”
However, it has been an intricate process to ensure his team are onboard with his vision. Kuhn places importance of explaining his targets and the blueprint to achieve them.
He adds, “The biggest challenge is getting everyone comfortable with the pace that I’m looking for to drive our buildout and growth. How I deal with it is by being open and transparent, and responsive to questions or concerns. This way, everything gets thoroughly discussed and resolved.”
With almost four decades in the industry, Kuhn has developed methods that have consistently delivered. It is why he has been tasked with so many leadership roles and he intends to maintain his focus on creating more success at Westfield Specialty.
“I think I am and have always tried to be methodical. I look at the big picture yet stay focused on executing the different opportunities or plans that I have in front of me. I don’t get emotional or make emotional decisions.”
Chief underwriting officer of executive risk at Chubb
President of financial insurance solutions at Kemper
Chief underwriting officer at Axis Capital
CEO of global Insurance at Endurance
CEO of global Insurance at Sompo International
Kuhn joined Westfield Specialty in the firm’s first year (2021) and has established the company’s presence in the specialty market. By the end of 2023, the firm is expected to surpass $1.3 billion in GWP after writing $300 million in 2021.
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