Robert Fleckenstein, Vice President of GTS Operations at Crawford & Company, has spent close to 15 years working in London-market business and now leads the firm's effort to bring consistent, data-driven claims handling to insurers navigating the fragmented US regulatory environment. Crawford operates across more than 70 countries, employs more than 10,000 people, and manages over $20 billion in claims annually, giving it the scale to deliver what Fleckenstein calls a "one-market" experience regardless of which adjuster picks up a given file. In this profile, he explains how state-by-state regulation creates visibility gaps for Lloyd's underwriters, why the measure of a good claims outcome has shifted from result to process, and what tighter governance will demand of delegated authority and TPA programs in the years ahead.
London-market insurers struggle with US claims visibility because insurance regulation in the United States is set at the state level, not nationally, meaning a claim traveling between a Lloyd's underwriter in London and an adjuster in North Carolina, Louisiana, or Wyoming crosses regulatory terrain that changes at every state line. Timelines, requirements, and procedural rules differ by jurisdiction, making it difficult for London-based clients to understand why a claim is taking a particular course. Robert Fleckenstein says Crawford's answer is to walk clients through those state-by-state and venue-by-venue requirements before friction develops, rather than explaining divergences after decisions have already been made.
Crawford's one-market model is designed to deliver a consistent claims experience regardless of which adjuster handles a given file, across its operations in more than 70 countries. Robert Fleckenstein says success is no longer measured simply by whether a claim was resolved amicably, but by how it was resolved, whether handling was consistent, and whether it aligned with the specific program's requirements. Critically, agreement on where local regulation may force a departure from standard process should be reached before a loss occurs, not after adjusters are already mid-file and decisions have been made.
The standard has shifted from outcome to process. Robert Fleckenstein, who has worked in London-market business for close to 15 years, says carriers now want to see that handling was consistent and that the data generated by a claim is structured in a way that speaks to the program's requirements. "You could be the best adjuster in the nation, but if the way you are doing that job is not presented in the way that the data needs to speak to it, it's almost a moot point," he says. Technical skill alone is no longer sufficient if the file data cannot demonstrate that the work met the program's defined standards.
For captive and specialty programs, every claims file adds to a larger body of evidence about how losses are developing across a book. Historical data can surface recurring causes, geographic concentrations, or shifts in severity before they become acute. Robert Fleckenstein argues, however, that raw numbers must be paired with observations from local claims professionals who understand individual files and the jurisdictions where losses occurred. A recurring loss pattern may signal an underwriting issue, a weakness in risk controls, or a procedural problem that data alone can flag but cannot diagnose, making the combination of analytics and local expertise the key to earlier intervention.
Delegated authority and TPA programs will remain a core part of the market, but Robert Fleckenstein expects governance and oversight to grow significantly in importance. Carriers will want reliable data, a clear record of how claims authority was exercised, evidence that handling was consistent, and clear signals about what the data reveals across the wider program. Fleckenstein also believes claims partners should shift from a reactive posture to a proactive one, identifying developments worth raising with clients before they are asked. That shift changes what the delegated authority mandate effectively asks of an adjusting firm.
Risk managers should be requesting analytics that show what is happening across the program as a whole, not just individual claim outcomes. Robert Fleckenstein describes the claims function moving from retrospective reporting toward active management of information, using data to catch trends before they become losses. "The marrying of the data that's being captured to provide those analytics, as well as conversations and predictive insights from local experts, creates an environment where claims and underwriting operate in a unified practice toward the same outcomes," he says. Program-level trend data, paired with local expert insight, is the combination that moves claims from a cost center to a risk management tool.
Crawford & Company has more than 80 years of experience in loss adjusting, employs more than 10,000 people across more than 70 countries, and manages over $20 billion in claims annually, making it the largest publicly listed independent provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions globally. Women represent 58 percent of the company's global workforce. Minorities and women hold 40 percent of board seats, and Black and African-American employees account for 16.4 percent of US representation.
Robert Fleckenstein — Vice President of GTS Operations, Crawford & Company. Started as a staff adjuster for a small mutual company in Philadelphia in 2006; has worked in London-market business for close to 15 years, including time as an independent adjuster; spent almost 10 years as a union carpenter and general contractor before entering insurance; has been in his current role for four years and is leading a reorganization of delegated authority at Crawford.