Lindsay Thatcher

• Help to lead the UK Insurance Claims Team.
• Manage claims decision making process and Team.
• Ensure claims process meets desired service levels, good customer outcomes and regulatory requirements.
• Own and maintain oversight of operational risks associated with claims management.
• Drive forward initiatives to ensure customer needs are met.
• Continual assessment and implementation of opportunities for claims process & decision making improvements to mitigate risk.
• Demonstrate leadership through personal drive, tenacity and resilience in complex governance managed business.
• Drive momentum for delivery of strategy and improvements.
• Working with internal and external stakeholders initiating and maintaining trusted relationships across the full product journey.
• Input into product enhancement, product design, proposition, marketing and distribution.

Currently working on a contract basis for the Group Claims Team at AIG Life assisting with the assessment of Group Income Protection claims.

• Technical lead for Income Protection Claims.
• Instrumental in preparing claims team for launch of the Income Protection product.
• Delivered in-team and company wide training on features of Income Protection.
• Developed a successful Income Protection claims philosophy, alongside our Reinsurance partner.
• Made a significant contribution to the development of early intervention claims strategy.
• Sourced third party service providers and organised the successful onboarding of partners.
• Wrote and produced all customer facing claims correspondence relating to Income Protection claims.
• Developed and maintained Standard Operating Procedures for Income Protection processes.
• Contributed to system development of Income Protection claims management system and carried out user testing and feedback.
• Delivered regular presentations to internal and external stakeholders on our claims proposition.

• Successfully managed portfolio of income protection claims.
• Oversight of a large team of Income Protection claim assessors.
• Managerial responsibility for Claims Technical Manager.
• Significantly increased portfolio profitability. From loss making business at onset of appointment to over £5m profit in first year.
• Expertly managed performance of client schemes through regular reviews of data and analysis of trends.
• Regular collaboration with Actuarial Team to ensure performance of schemes were in line with expectations.
• Applied health claims knowledge to ensure claims were assessed and managed in line with policy terms and conditions and internal claims philosophy.
• Senior escalation point for contentious claims and claim decisions above autonomy.
• Chair of internal 'claims panel' meetings.
• Responsibility for high value claims.
• Responsible for delivery of monthly team meetings with claims assessors and in house Rehabilitation team.
• Implemented a successful claims philosophy/strategy for Group Income Protection Claims team. Regular review of philosophy.
• Significant contributor to the retention of business through effective customer relationship management.
• Secured feedback from customers and brokers and fed into proposition team to drive improvements.
• Regular support of distribution colleagues by presenting claims proposition to potential new customers.
• Significant contributor to the growth of the Income Protection portfolio.
• P62 and GR1 qualified. Distinction achieved in P62.

• Responsible for gathering medical and other relevant data to assess and determine validity of Critical Illness claims.
• Substantiate legitimate claims and deny unjustified claims, including those which were fraudulent and those where misrepresentation had been identified.
• Correctly apply policy terms and conditions to ensure fair and consistent treatment of all claimants.
• Understand and apply ABI code of practice when assessing claims.
• Promote case ownership and champion use of telephone to ensure effective relationships with clients.
• Liaise with Consultant Medical Officers to improve knowledge and understanding of medical conditions and discuss challenging claims.
• Liaise with Re-insurance partner where appropriate to agree claim assessment strategy and reach mutual agreement on claims.
• Identify and correctly categorise misrepresentation in line with ABI guidance resulting in significant savings.
• Responsible for the thorough medical investigation of Death Claims.
• Lead point of contact for technical queries.
• Training of claims team members on assessment of Critical Illness claims.
• Responsible for timely resolution of all complaints and appeals relating to Critical Illness and Death claims with success rate of over 90% at Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Evaluate all evidence with ultimate goal of creating positive outcomes for client's claims.

• Responsible for successful resolution of all appeals and complaints relating to Income Protection, Critical Illness, Waiver of Payment and Permanent Total Disability claims.
• Sound knowledge of all claim disciplines.
• Senior point of escalation for technical queries from assessment team.
• Responsible for claims referred to Financial Ombudsman Service, including Presenting and defending company cases.
• Excellent working relationship with regulator enjoying success rate above industry average.
• Ownership of board complaints on behalf of senior management, investigating concerns, evaluating action required and proposing solutions.
• Handling cases in conjunction with Legal Department ensuring all relevant information is taken into account and understanding decision making process when dealing with litigious cases.
• Gathering Root Cause Analysis Data on complaints and implementing improvements where necessary.
• Reduced volumes of complaints and increased service standards through sharing knowledge, insights and experience.