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/ Our Senior Management Team

Toplis and Harding has assembled regional teams of experienced and qualified loss adjusters, claim managers and marine cargo surveyors with varied backgrounds in engineering, marine/shipping, financial accounting, IT and chartered insurance practitioners. We deploy a number of sub agents as well independent local consultants to service the comprehensive needs of our clients in each territory where we operate.
 
To address at a local and international level the challenges presented by the multi-faceted and complex claims facing Insurers today, Toplis and Harding provides technical services in various domains including Loss Adjusting/Claims Handling, Cargo Surveys of all kinds, Risk Management/Risk Improvement, as well as consultancy services for Loss Prevention and Recoveries.

Naren N. Nathwani

Chairman

Toplis and Harding was founded in East Africa by Mr. Naren Nathwani, who is a veteran with over 50 years of experience and wide-ranging international exposure.

He is a former Director of the Central Bank of Tanzania, past Chairman of National Insurance Corporation in Tanzania, and has played key roles in offering fiscal advice to governments and international institutions in East Africa including a founding position he held to initiate the Capital Market & Stock Exchange in Dar es Salaam.

Under his leadership, Toplis and Harding has held the prestigious Lloyds Agency appointment for Tanzania since 1987.

Prahlad N. Nathwani

Managing Director

Upon completion of his studies in England, Prahlad joined the family business and has been serving as Managing Director since the year 2006.

With five generations of his family firmly rooted and brought up in Africa, Prahlad represents a truly unique combination of international know-how and a deep understanding of how things work in Africa.

Having garnered over two decades of insurance experience, Prahlad is a seasoned industry-leader and heads the company with a firm insistence on meeting global service standards with efficacy and integrity.

Under his stewardship, Toplis and Harding has grown regional representation of several international networks and associations, including most prominently, Lloyds Agencies in Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and Malawi. 

Prahlad is an avid golfer, an occasional deep-sea diver and he is fluent in English, Kiswahili, Gujarati and Hindi.

Sailesh Shah

General Manger

With an educational background in chemical engineering, Sailesh Shah is a seasoned professional with vast experience in international insurance. Prior to his entry into insurance, Sailesh spent the first 10 years of his career in a variety of functions such as project management, sales and marketing, finance and auditing.

He is an Associate member of Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (AIISLA). He has worked in the Tanzanian industry for more than 6 years in a senior position as General Manager, responsible for technical input and professional execution of claims assigned to the company.

Anuj Jethwa

Director of Operations

Head of Marine Cargo Claims

Upon completion of his studies in England, Anuj joined the company in 2003 focusing his professional development primarily on the marine side of the business. Anuj has been serving as Operations Director since the year 2010 with a team of marine cargo surveyors and tally clerks based in Tanzania as well as neighbouring territories where we operate. Anuj is a key member of our staff when it comes to overseeing the logistics of attendance, coordinating surveys and prepping surveyors with instructions and specific survey conditions/considerations. Finally, Anuj ensures quality and integrity in our reporting once survey data has been collated and a report is prepared by junior surveyors.

Having been born and brought up in Tanzania with formal education and experience from England, Anuj’s contribution to Toplis and Harding is a nexus between the reality on the ground on the African continent and the standard of reporting demanded by international marine insurance markets.

Peter Kapalata

Director of Finance
& Senior Loss Adjuster

Educated and trained in the United Kingdom, Peter is an accountant by training and a vastly experienced, senior Loss Adjuster. Peter is currently Group Claims Auditor for Toplis and Harding. He specializes in corporate financial risks, business interruption, evaluation of contract works and forensic accountancy where his financial skills prove invaluable back up to our team of loss adjusters.  His insurance background was gained over many years with National Insurance Corporation of Tanzania Limited where he rose to become Director of Internal Control responsible for internal audit, inspection and investigation.

Krupa Vithlani

Director of Marketing
& Claims Handling

Krupa was born and raised in Tanzania and she attained her tertiary education and initial work experience in the United States of America. Upon returning to her home continent, Krupa worked in the field of corporate and investment banking after which she transitioned into the insurance industry. She received training and gained relevant work experience under a senior Chartered Loss Adjuster at Toplis and Harding. She continues on the path of learning and professional development by pursuing formal qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII) in the UK.

Lawrence Chovenye

Senior Loss Adjuster & Marketing Manager

Lawrence was born, raised and educated in Tanzania where he became inspired to join the insurance industry through an uncle who was his mentor. Lawrence’s early career blossomed at the National Insurance Company of Tanzania where he worked in various departments ranging from Life to Reinsurance. In 2010, he switched gears and turned Marine Cargo Surveyor/Loss Adjuster upon joining Toplis and Harding. Lawrence has experience in dealing with both marine and non-marine losses – his forte is GIT, CAR, fire and port claims. Lawrence’s background in and connections with the national insurance scene are particularly advantageous in handling matters at the port. When Lawrence is not on the road for attendance of claims, he is found schooling young members of staff in the principles of insurance and practical applications thereof.

Lawrence Sajilo

Marine Cargo Claims Manager

Lawrence hails from the world of shipping where he rose to managerial positions with various government and private organizations. He is well versed with Tanzanian ports and has vast experience in the shipping industry especially in handling both import and export documentation, handling vessel operations and husbandry. With his experience and seniority, Lawrence is a key member of the Toplis and Harding team who is tasked with the duty to assist in arranging survey logistics and ensuring smooth operations in all our territories.

Abdul Nurudini

Risk & Claims Manager

Abdul is young and determined member of the Toplis and Harding team. He is ambitious and keen to learn more from the application of insurance principles in everyday scenarios that we come across in our work. Abdul attended a Lloyds training in Ghana in 2019 where he took the Technical Cargo Surveying Marine Insurance Exam of Lloyds and was awarded a certificate.