In this episode, Nigel Cook, Chief Executive Officer, Sedgwick Singapore, and Head of Major Complex Loss, Asia, shares the engineering foundations, international experience and leadership principles that shape his work across the region.

Major complex loss in insurance is becoming faster, more cross-border and more dependent on communication. It demands far more than technical claim assessment.

Nigel Cook’s story begins in South Wales, where British Steel was the major industry and a trade was seen as something you could always fall back on. His apprenticeship gave him broad exposure to fitting, boiler making, welding, electrical and electronics work.

That practical engineering base became a powerful advantage later in his career, particularly when assessing complex engineering claims, construction losses and major commercial property damage.

The conversation then follows Nigel from the UK to Abu Dhabi, New Zealand and Singapore. Each move added another layer to his leadership journey: learning how to operate in unfamiliar cultures, build networks as an expat and adapt from hands-on engineering to a relationship-driven insurance environment.

For Nigel, the shift into loss adjusting was not a move away from engineering. It was a way to apply technical judgement to real-world commercial problems.

One of the strongest themes in the episode is the human pressure behind catastrophe claims.

Cook reflects on responding to events such as the Christchurch earthquakes and Cyclone Gabrielle flooding in New Zealand, where adjusters can spend long days meeting people who have lost almost everything.

In those moments, major complex loss in insurance becomes deeply personal. The work requires empathy, stamina and the ability to process difficult scenes while still helping claims move toward resolution.

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