Narim awards scholarship to claims manager

The Dutch risk management association Narim has awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University to a young claims manager.

Yelani Rojas Morales, claims manager with energy company AkzoNobel, was the recipient of the Narim Young Risk Manager Scholarship Award, sponsored by Aon, which was presented at the annual Narim congress by previous winner Bonny Lepidis, a member of the insurance management team at construction team TBI Holdings.

“I am in charge of managing complex liability claims and I often have to make decisions under pressure,” Morales told Commercial Risk Europe. “They are often long-tail cases that can last many years. They are complex from a legal and scientific basis. We also have high quantum cases under litigation and across borders.”

Her claims portfolio is focused on captive claims. AkzoNobel operates the largest captive in the Netherlands, which is used for general liability claims. The company has recently decided to double the risk it retains via its captive, which is testament to the work of her team.

For Narim, it is the first time that the young risk manager award has gone to a claims manager.

Like previous winners, Rojas Morales will be using the scholarship to study risk management at one of the world’s oldest universities.

“I hope the time at Cambridge University will help me to understand and balance the different elements in a complex claim – legal, scientific and financial,” said Rojas Morales.

“I will be able to deepen my insight into the integration of risk consideration in the decision-making process and be able to combine these instruments in a unique framework, which will ultimately improve my approach to damage control,” she added.

Lepidis also spoke about her scholarship, which was used to study at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.

“During the three-day training course, we used the different model of risk management tools to learn how to implement them in daily business operations, but we were also asked to look creatively at new questions,” said Lepidis.

She also urged young risk management professions to apply for the 2025 scholarship. “Not only do you focus on knowledge that you can share outside the company, but you also learn from new people from all over the world,” said Lepidis.