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What have Neil Warden, Gerald Williams, Andy King and Harry Roberts got in common? They are all qualified accountants who have in the last ten years become presidents of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters.

Since there are only 31 qualified accountants who have CILA qualifications, the fact that so many have risen to the very top of this profession requires some explanation. There are around 1,500 qualified members of CILA.

One simple reason that this group of accountants is doing so well is that they are all in their prime. They all joined loss adjusting in the late 1970s and early 1980s, very soon after qualifying, when the profession was not only expanding, but also under pressure to become more professional. Rather than use outside professionals, loss adjusters had the confidence to recruit in-house specialists.

Reinsurers were no longer writing blank cheques and insurers were demanding higher levels of professionalism and expertise from loss adjusters who, at the time, handled most claims. There was a need to make underwriting profits, which led to the recruitment of accountants (for business interruption and profit loss), surveyors (for property and subsidence), engineers (for manufacturing claims) and lawyers (for liability and recovery work).

Typically, Andy King, now senior vice-president with broker Marsh’s risk consulting practice, says: ‘On qualifying with Coopers and Lybrand in l982, I had wanted to go into its investigation department, but there were no vacancies. Loss adjuster Thomas Howell (now Crawfords) offered me very similar work. Like most newly qualified accountants I was anxious to get away from audit work.’

The reason accountants have done well and developed such a high profile in not only the loss adjusting professional body, but their firms as well, is because they are involved in the major corporate claims that today always have a business interruption element.

The rise of accountants in loss adjusting has also coincided with the rise of companies buying business interruption cover. Accountants were therefore quickly at the top table of loss adjusting firms. The insurance market realised that certain individuals in loss adjusting firms were the key to successful claims resolution.

King says: ‘By the early 1980s, being a good old boy and fudging through complicated claims was no longer the way things could be done. Unsupported deals were no longer acceptable. Accountants coming into loss adjusting was all part of raising the game.’

Accountants are used to getting things done, they have a management training second to none. Having an eye for the bottom line has made them indispensable to not only their firms, but the CILA. The top accountants in loss adjusting are also invariably the top fee earners, which is one reason why so few have moved over to become chief executives.

There is also some debate as to why it’s accountants and not surveyors who have made such a mark on loss adjusting. Recently, when loss adjusting as a profession has been forced to retreat, many in the profession have looked to accountants as rainmakers who could help preserve the financial viability of the CILA.

Clive Haslock, who now runs his own forensic accounting and loss adjusting consultancy, and has been treasurer of CILA, says: ‘It is true that no accountant who has qualified as a loss adjuster has become CEO of a major loss adjusting firm and I think that this is part of the prejudice against beancounters.’

Harry Roberts is a former president of CILA and technical manager with Cunningham Lindsey, the largest loss adjuster. It was no coincidence that he chose to have his inaugural AGM as president at the Chartered Accountant's Hall. He says: ‘The large business interruption cases mean that not only accountants are involved with the high-profile, high-value cases, but that on a personal level they are talking to insurers at senior levels. This means they become part of the key relationship between loss adjusters and insurers. Leading the teams on large claims means they are in a position where authority comes easily. When it comes to CILA, I think one of the reasons that accountants have boxed above their weight is that we are used to setting standards and that is what we are interested in doing in our new profession.’

Sue Willmott is business interruption director at GAB Robins, one of the big three loss adjusting practices. She became a loss adjuster in 1984 for the everyday reason that, as a young mum having been a finance director, she was looking for a part-time way back into work and loss adjusting was the best offer.

‘Accountants are only brought into the profession to work on major and complex claims, which automatically gives them a different profile than other loss adjusters. Accountants are also trained in looking critically at businesses and are also involved in management. This leads naturally to getting involved and running CILA.’

One-time CILA president Gerald Williams, now director with FitzGerald Consulting, says: ‘In the 1970s, there were only a handful of business interruption cases a year, now there are dozens. Buncefield is a case in point. Money is just more important all round. Warden, King and I all worked for what was then Thomas Howell, where we were encouraged to get involved with CILA. I think we have a little more oomph than other professions.’