Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle-market businesses, has announced the appointment of Kirsten Maley “as Director of Claims, UK; a newly created role underscoring Cowbell’s commitment to scaling its presence in a growing UK market.”
With more than a decade of insurance industry experience, including over six years specialising in cyber, Maley brings “expertise in complex claims management, incident response coordination, and regulatory knowledge across multiple jurisdictions.”
She joins Cowbell from CFC Underwriting, where, “as Senior Claims Adjuster, she managed a broad portfolio of cyber claims, including corporate breaches and complex data breach class actions.”
Most recently, she led initiatives in “internal training, operational development, and process improvement for CFC’s Lloyd’s syndicate, expanding her knowledge across multiple business lines.”
In her new role, Maley will oversee Cowbell’s UK claims operations, working closely with “internal stakeholders, external parties, and regulatory bodies to drive the company’s claims process and deliver market-leading customer service to clients, brokers, and insureds.”
Reporting to Mamta Birla, Interim Head of Claims, she will “lead a growing team of cyber claims professionals dedicated to helping UK SMEs and mid-market organisations respond to cyber incidents in an increasingly complex threat environment.”
Simon Hughes, Senior VP of Global Distribution at Cowbell said:
“This is a pivotal hire at a pivotal time. We’re seeing cyberattacks among UK businesses continue to escalate – in both frequency and severity – while demand within the cybersecurity sector is also growing in response. With this in mind, Kirsten’s extensive experience in cyber claims handling and her leadership in building operational resilience will play a critical role as we look to scale our claims services for the increasingly busy UK market.”
According to a recent report from Vodafone Business, UK SMEs are incurring annual losses amounting to “£3.4 billion due to inadequate cybersecurity measures, while cyberattacks have surged, with more than a third (35%) experiencing a cyber incident in 2024 alone.”
At the same time, the UK’s cybersecurity sector is growing, “with 2025 UK Government statistics showing it has generated revenue of £13.2 billion, up 12% since last year; figures signalling that demand is rising for robust, technology-forward solutions like Cowbell’s.”
Maley added:
“I’m thrilled to be joining Cowbell at such an exciting moment of growth and technological innovation; both within the company and the cyber insurance industry as a whole. Having spent my career navigating the complex world of cyber claims and helping organisations respond to incidents in real-time, I’ve become passionate about advancing how the industry handles cyber risk. For me, Cowbell’s data-driven, adaptive approach is exactly what the market needs right now, especially here in the UK, where risk is growing, but so is the appetite for better solutions.”
