Cowbell has appointed Ellen Brookes as Claims Specialist in Australia, adding to the insurer's expansion in the market.
Based in Sydney, Brookes will support policyholders through the full cyber claims process in Australia. Her role includes working with brokers, insured clients and incident response partners during cyber incidents.
She will also work with Cowbell's claims, underwriting and distribution teams, strengthening its cyber insurance offering and providing local support from first notification of loss through to resolution.
Brookes joins with experience in cyber claims and incident response. Most recently, she spent three years at Canopius Group leading the Cyber Incident Management Team for Asia-Pacific and managing cyber incidents involving multinational organisations.
Her background includes cyber claims management, incident response strategy, privacy and regulatory issues, and cyber risk advisory work.
Australian growth
The appointment is the latest sign of Cowbell's push to build out its Australian presence, with investment in local claims support as it grows operations in the country.
For cyber insurers, claims staff with local market knowledge can play a central role in managing incidents that often involve business interruption, legal obligations, forensic investigations and communications with multiple external parties. Hiring a senior claims specialist suggests Cowbell is seeking to deepen that function as competition in cyber cover remains active.
Kirsten Maley, Director, Claims, Cowbell, commented: "Ellen's appointment reflects our continued investment in delivering exceptional claims experiences for our policyholders and broker partners in Australia. Her deep expertise in cyber claims and incident response, combined with her understanding of the Australian market, will further strengthen our ability to provide responsive, specialist support when our customers need it most."
Cowbell focuses on cyber and specialty insurance for small and medium-sized businesses and operates in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Its product set includes cyber insurance, technology errors and omissions cover, management liability and other specialty lines. The business also provides advisory and incident response services to policyholders through Cowbell Resiliency Services.
Claims focus
Cyber claims handling has become a more prominent issue for insurers as companies seek support not only for financial loss, but also for technical response, legal considerations and operational recovery. In that context, specialist claims staff can be important in linking policyholders with forensic investigators, legal advisers and other external experts during an incident.
Brookes will support organisations as they respond to and recover from cyber events. Her remit places her where underwriting, distribution and claims functions meet, which can influence both the customer experience and how insurers assess cyber risk over time.
Cowbell describes itself as an AI-native insurer that draws on a global risk pool of more than 55 million entities to assess risk and inform underwriting and claims decisions. It is backed by more than 25 global reinsurance and insurance partners.