7th June 2023, London
The Association of Average Adjusters has welcomed two new Fellows: Hung Yi (Jimmy) Chen of Overseas Adjusters & Surveyors, Taipei, and Christian Freuling of Richards Hogg Lindley (Hellas), Athens.
Fellowship status comes with achieving the highest qualifications in the Association’s rigorous exams.
Mr Chen admitted: “I’ve failed several times in Fellowship papers (except for the practical paper – passed in one take!) and just kept telling myself that failure doesn’t mean failure, it just means you haven’t succeeded yet!”
He joined Richards Hogg Lindley’s Taipei office in March 2010 as a trainee average adjuster and completed secondments to Charles Taylor group offices including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Liverpool, and London. He has made use of his knowledge of engineering to specialise in handling small to complex hull and machinery claims for various types of casualties. His current position with Overseas Adjusters & Surveyors, Taipei, is as assistant general manager.
Christian Freuling is an average adjuster in the Greek office of Richards Hogg Lindley. He has previous experience in RHL’s London office and regularly deals with complex general average matters as well as hull and loss of hire claims, with further expertise in collision recovery apportionments. He is a native German speaker, fluent in French and Spanish and has basic knowledge of Greek.
Candidates for Fellowship must display detailed knowledge of their subjects in four modules, and the pass mark is 75%. The first three papers each last three hours. Module F1 covers general average, salvage, and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. Module F2 ranges over hull and machinery, loss of hire, war risks, and cargo. Module F3 relates to collisions, recoveries, and freight. The practical adjustment paper F4 lasts up to seven hours when the candidates are required to show their adjusting skills.
The exams produced three new Senior Associates, all from Italy: Albana Bibaj and Tomaso Roncallo, both of Siat Assicurazioni; and Giorgio Cavallo of Studio Dott Giorgio Cavallo, Genoa.
Ms Bibaj has been working in Siat as a cargo claims adjuster since 2012 and in the last year became claims manager for marine cargo brokers, traders, and commodities.
Mr Roncallo started working in the insurance business in August 2015 for CR MAG (now CR International), the London office of Cambiaso Risso SpA, marine insurance brokers. He returned to Italy and joined Siat in November 2016. Since then, he worked in Siat’s hull and machinery claims department dealing with claims of all kinds from hull to ship repairer’s legal liability and yard covers. He has recently been appointed claims manager of the yacht and aviation sub-branch of his office while still handling claims and acting as internal consultant for the hull and machinery side.
Mr Cavallo achieved a bachelor’s degree in economics (maritime and transport) in 2016 and a masters in economics and shipping management in 2018 at the University of Genoa. He trained as an average adjuster at Richards Hogg Lindley in London for 18 months. He became an Associate of the Association of Average Adjusters in 2020 on passing the exams with distinction and winning the award for outstanding candidate. In July 2020 he joined Studio Dott Giorgio Cavallo (an office founded by his grandfather, after whom Giorgio is named), in Genoa where he works as an average adjuster. In 2023 he became a Senior Associate of the Association.
Associates who pass Fellowship Module F1 (general average, salvage, and Carriage of Goods by Sea Act) plus one other Fellowship Module are awarded Senior Associate status.
Since 2016, at the discretion of the examination committee, the Association has awarded a prize to an outstanding candidate in the previous 12 months’ Associateship examination. This year the award went to Thaminah Jackson of Richards Hogg Lindley, London.
Ms Jackson joined RHL as a trainee average adjuster in September 2021, a year after graduating from the University of Surrey, where she obtained a first-class Law LLB degree. “I had little knowledge of the marine industry, but I was keen to learn,” she said. “With the support of my colleagues and plenty of practical experience, I began to find the different and vast aspects of maritime law very interesting. I am now 19 months in the role, predominantly dealing with hull and machinery cases including general average, salvage, and loss of hire and so on, in which every week there’s a new or complex adjustment to tackle! “
During the last 12 months, 12 members qualified as Associates. All passed Module A1 (Marine Insurance Act, Insurance Act and related principles of insurance) and Module A2 (hull and cargo claims).
Note to editors: The Association of Average Adjusters promotes professional principles in the adjustment of marine claims, uniformity of adjusting practice, and the maintenance of high standards of professional conduct. Irrespective of the identity of the instructing party, the average adjuster is bound to act in an impartial and independent manner. The Association plays an important part in London insurance market committees and has strong relationships with international associations and insurance markets.
Please see www.average-adjusters.com
Distributed on behalf of Association of Average Adjusters by Portcare International www.portcare.com and Lysander PR www.lysanderpr.com
