Carpenters Group appoints new Head of Public Affairs

Carpenters Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Andy Thornley, formerly of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), to the newly-formed role of Head of Public Affairs. In this new role, Andy will further strengthen  the Group’s existing profile with the Ministry of Justice, policymakers and the media at a time of rapid change for the insurance and legal claims sector. Working closely across with the insurance sector as an associate member of the Association of British Industry (ABI) and the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), Andy’s appointment will further strengthen the Group’s profile in the sector.

At BIBA Andy was Head of Corporate Affairs  with responsibility for government relations on behalf of the insurance broking sector. He has previously worked in the communications team for the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), has been a  writer/ journalist and a radio presenter. Most recently he produced a position paper for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) on Sustainable Finance which will be published this Autumn.

Donna Richards, CEO at Carpenters Group, said: “We’re very pleased to be welcoming Andy to the Carpenters team. As a leading provider of insurance and legal services working closely with all corners of the insurance sector, it is fantastic to be joined by someone with Andy’s experience and knowledge of the sector from his time with BIBA and MIB. Our services have once again expanded and diversified in 2020, with growing interest in our TPA proposition and also new customer growth from a retail banking partner. Our market offer is constantly evolving, most notably our White Labelled FNOL process which now handles calls for around 10% of the G.I. motor market.”

Andy said: “I’m genuinely delighted to be joining Carpenters. I’ve known the team here for some time through my work in the industry and they have a great reputation for being pragmatic, constructive and professional in their approach. I’m looking forward to bringing my experience to the role and getting stuck in.”

He has a Bachelor of Science degree, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (MCIPR) and holds the Certificate in Insurance qualification from the Chartered Insurance Institute (Cert CII).