Suzanne Byrne is the Club’s Group Head of Claims. She joined the West of England in 1993 after qualifying as a barrister in 1991 and practising criminal law. Suzanne worked in the European/Eastern European syndicate for both P&I and FD&D claims, and in 1997 she transferred to the North/South American syndicate, where she also handled US Jones Act and cruise/passenger claims. In 2007 Suzanne left the Club to be in-house Counsel/Risk Manager at a shipowner where she was responsible for all insurances and claims matters, including management of a Class 2 Captive, sale and purchase of vessels, and drafting and reviewing commercial contracts. 

Suzanne re-joined the Club in 2015 and in addition to having overall responsibility for claims worldwide, she also sits on the BIMCO Documentary Committee and the IG committee for Salvage.