FOIL—Jennette Newman

Jennette Newman, partner at Clyde & Co, has been elected as the new President of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), and will lead the organisation into a new era and operating environment ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jennette replaces Anthony Baker, partner at Plexus Law, who has steered FOIL through a year of significant change as the insurance industry has been forced to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, Stuart Hardy, partner at BLM, has been elected as FOIL’s new vice-president and will support Jennette through the next year.

Jennette has over 20 years’ legal experience in UK and international casualty claims including coverage and monitoring advice and defence litigation and mediation. For a long time, Jennette has played a crucial role in the organisation having previously been President of London FOIL, the arm of the organisation supporting the Lloyds of London and (Re)Insurance markets. Jennette plays an active role within the industry and is currently chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Professional Standards Committee.

Commenting on her appointment, Jennette said: ‘I am delighted to be appointed President of FOIL at a pivotal moment for the industry as the need for resilience in the face of change is more important than ever.

‘Over the next year, customer focus is going to be key. The industry needs to embrace better communication and more efficient distribution by making smarter use of technology. Advanced tech will play an important role in helping build better relationships and alignments with customers’ needs. For this reason, improved protection of customer data needs to be a key industry priority.

‘As lawyers, this means we need to stand ready to support closer and more transparent interaction in the form of clearer wordings, better product descriptions and improved efficiency in claims processing in order to support the reputation of the industry and its role in the UK economy.

‘Now more than ever, we need the right people in the insurance and legal professions to manage the challenges we face. Given the unprecedented level of challenge and change 2021 is sure to bring, we need to attract people from other industries into the market—people who can bring experience and fresh perspectives. FOIL will also be looking into how best to support this.’