Thomas Upton

Tom Upton joined Markel in July 2015 as a Senior Claims Adjuster in our Marine & Energy team. He began his career on the Lloyd’s Claims Graduate Scheme, before joining Hiscox as a Claims Underwriter in their Marine and Energy team. After moving to Markel in 2015, he was promoted to Manager of Energy, Cargo, Specie and Terrorism in 2016 before transitioning to Energy, Liability and Terrorism in 2017. In 2022 he was promoted to Head of Claims Performance for Marine and Energy and then Head of Claim for Marine, Energy and Casualty in 2025. Tom has global responsibility for all Marine, Energy and Casualty claims. He is also responsible for the performance of the respective claims teams and ensuring we are market leading in our claims approach. He sits on the Claims Leadership team and champions projects both internally and externally.

Tom holds an BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology from Newcastle University, is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Law. He lives in London with his partner and their cockapoo. In his spare time he enjoys skiing, sailing and scuba diving (he used to be an instructor). His favourite book at the moment is ‘Blood River’ by Tim Butcher, although he does enjoy a good John Grisham novel.

“I joined Markel as it was building its profile to become a true market lead in Energy. Having known and respected the claims team for some time it was an easy decision and an even easier integration once I joined due to the inclusivity of the team and people around the company.”