Hugh Kennaway
UK CILA President
Sedgwick UK
Refining / petrochemical / power with an update on the ME situation and how the battle lines are being drawn over policy response
Hugh leads Sedgwick's global downstream business and is a Chartered Insurer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, where he serves as President for 2025-2026. He has more than 35 years of adjusting experience, principally in the London market, the Middle Esat, North and West Africa, Europe and the Commonwealth of the Independent States, Canada, and the Russian Federation.
Throughout his career, Hugh has handled numerous high-profile claims under operational and construction policies with a regular focus on the power, downstream oil and gas, and petrochemical sectors as well as large industrial facilities, addressing both property damage and consequential loss.
Peter Temple
General Reinsurance
Leadership in a risk management landscape, at a time of extreme situational fluency “
Head of Segment: Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Caribbean (CUSAC)
Peter Temple is responsible for Gen Re's CUSAC Segment. He plays a critical role in linking the South African team to our international units, facilitating fast and close collaboration, access to the latest developments, and quick decision making on significant risks. He has a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Actuarial Science, is a Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa(ASSA), and a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries. He has previously held the position President of the Actuarial Society of South Africa. Peter was previously an independent non-executive of African Bank but stepped down on 31 March 2026 after serving for 10 years on the Board.
Dr Janet Cotton
One Eighty Materials Testing
The role of materials engineering root cause analysis, and the potential considerations for underwriters
Dr Janet Cotton Pr.Eng is a metallurgical and materials engineer and Managing Director of One Eighty Materials Testing, one of Africa’s largest SANAS ISO 17025 accredited materials laboratories. With over two decades of experience, she specializes in root cause failure investigations across engineering, manufacturing, and high-risk industrial environments.
Dr Cotton has worked extensively as an expert in complex loss and liability matters, supporting insurers, loss adjusters, and legal teams through detailed forensic analysis, expert witness testimony, and arbitration. Her work spans catastrophic equipment failures, fire investigations, structural and mechanical breakdowns, and contamination incidents across sectors including maritime, oil and gas, infrastructure, and manufacturing.
She has led numerous large-scale technical investigations and research programmes, combining deep materials science expertise with commercial and legal insight. As the founder of the RCA Africa Conference, she actively brings together insurers, engineers, legal professionals, and financiers to improve collaboration and understanding in failure and loss scenarios.
A regular speaker on metallurgy, failure analysis, and engineering risk, Dr Cotton is passionate about bridging the gap between technical root cause analysis and its implications for insurance, liability, and risk management.
Morris Mhishi
Munich Re
From Fire to Fire Wall
The Evolution of Business Risk
Morris Mhishi is a Claims Manager at Munich Re Africa. He has extensive expertise in managing Large and complex Property and Casualty claims and is a member of the Munich Re Global Claims Team responsible for natural catastrophe claims across Africa.
Before joining Munich Re, he held management roles at Bryte Insurance, Zurich Insurance Company Limited, and Lion of Africa Insurance. Morris is a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of South Africa (FIISA), holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, and has an academic background in Insurance from the University of South Africa.
Shané Ganswyk
Clyde & Co
From claims stage decisions to courtroom consequences: What Loss Adjusters need to know.
Shané is a Legal Director at Clyde & Co Johannesburg and has been part of the property / assets insurance practice team since September 2017. She advises major local insurers and international reinsurers in relation to coverage disputes / policy response and is involved in general insurance litigation.
Shané obtained both her BCom Law degree and LLB degree from the University of Pretoria and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2015.
Shané’s practice predominantly focuses on assets / property insurance which includes aspects of policy response, cause investigation, advising on and defending rejected claims, considering and pursuing subrogated recoveries and providing assistance with subrogated defences.
Shané has experience with, amongst other things, fire claims, mining claims, catastrophic losses, business interruption claims, review of policy wordings,employer’s liability, medical malpractice and third-party claims.
Ross Weedon
Associated Loss Adjusters
A day in the life of a loss adjuster
Ross holds a BA in Journalism and an Advanced Certificate in Short-Term Insurance, and is an Associate of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Southern Africa, the Insurance Institute of South Africa, and the International Federation of Adjusting Associations. He has also served as Chairman of the Southern Gauteng Region of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Southern Africa and as an Exco Member of its National Committee.
With over 20 years of experience in loss adjusting, Ross specialises in a wide range of classes, including crime, fidelity guarantee, film producers, prize indemnity, property damage, transit, contractors all risks, and liability.
Bryan Moyles
Independent Claims
A day in the life of a loss adjuster
Bryan originally practised as a Quantity Surveyor both Namibia and South Africa, before a career change to loss adjusting 25 years ago. He specialises in large and complex claims with a special interest in construction, engineering and professional indemnity matters. Bryan currently serves as President of the Institute of Loss Adjusters of Southern Africa (ILASA) and is the managing director of Independent Claims.
Jean Naudé
Independent Claims
The Ransomware Illusion: When ‘Payment’ Is the Least Expensive Part of the Loss – Coverage lessons from the Field
Jean holds a B. Proc degree from the University of Pretoria, where he also completed his practical legal training before embarking on a career on the complex claims side of casualty insurance at Specialised Risk Underwriters (Pty) Limited, which later became Stalker Hutchison Admiral (Pty) Limited (“SHA”).
In addition to Jean's legal degree, he has obtained a Certificate in Economic Crime Schemes (at NQF8 level), passed Level 1 of the regulatory examinations and travelled throughout Africa to investigate large and complex commercial crime-related cases.
Jean has been entrusted by his Principals with some of the insurance industry’s most complex and contentious claims, which included the listeriosis outbreak and consequent product recall plus class action, as well as the Steinhoff Directors and Officers investigations launched by local and London-based risk carriers. Jean has presented on a variety of topics at various forums and has authored several technical articles.
Melissa Cunningham
Marsh's Forensic Accounting and Claims Services
Melissa is a Senior Vice President in Marsh’s Forensic Accounting and Claims Services business, based in London. As a dual qualified Chartered Accountant and Chartered Loss Adjuster, she brings a perspective that covers both these aspects of insurance losses in property damage and business interruption (BI). An acknowledged expert specialising in cyber, business interruption, and casualty claims, she has led pre- and post-loss engagements across all industries worldwide, including some of the market’s most significant claims events.
Melissa has twenty years’ experience in forensic accounting, audit and insurance. She currently leads the UK Business Interruption Practice for Marsh, and has previously worked at some of the industry’s largest firms including Deloitte, Aon and MDD Forensic Accountants.
She has received two of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters’ prizes for best examination performance and is currently Deputy President of the Institute. Until 2026 she also chaired the Claimant Special Interest Group, supporting policyholder-facing adjusters and their interests. She has presented at CILA conferences, technical days and webinars on a variety of BI-related topics.
BI on refinery claims