Head of Claims Assurance, Controls and Governance

at  Beazley Management Limited

General:
Job Title: Head of Claims Assurance, Controls and Governance
Division: Group Claims
Reports To: As per Beazley’s organisation chart
Key Relationships:
Claims Business Management teams, 2nd line functions (Risk, Compliance and Assurance), Internal Audit, External Regulators, External Auditors, Finance teams and all internal teams within Business shared services.
Job Summary:
To provide thought leadership, insight and supports the enhancement of first line of defence model across all Claims teams, ensure smooth operation of internal controls and partnering with the teams to provide value added assurance, playing the role of “critical friend” to further help enhance and improve Claims’ internal control environment for risk mitigation.

Remit of role:

• Oversee Internal Controls: Manage and report on internal controls for legal and FRC compliance.
• Drive Performance: Foster a high-performance culture with continuous improvement.
• Empower Claims teams: Lead from the front and provide guidance and support to Claims teams on internal controls.
• Ensure Compliance: Lead adherence to legal, FRC, and internal control frameworks (e.g. COSO, 3 Lines of Defence).
• Improve Reporting: Provide robust reporting on internal claims control performance to Claims business management, internal committees and Boards (where required).
• Drive Automation: Seek automation opportunities in deploying controls and reporting.
• Ensure best practices: Responsible to monitor/lead all the actions back of audits and risk incidents to ensure plans are being put in place for closure of those actions. Lead the reporting of all open actions on behalf of Chief Claims and Litigation officer.
• Assurance: Create a plan by working with the Head of Claims business management to drive an assurance function with the Claims team which will support in mitigating key issues before they flagged by 2nd and 3rd lines of defence.

Key accountabilities

• Lead on improvements to address root-causes of control deficiencies and advise the business, including senior management to implement best practices.
• Liaising with business areas and sharing knowledge to make sure the Team is up to date with strategy, business initiatives, major projects and areas of high risk. Maintains an open and effective dialogue with all stakeholders, including business and team members.
• Lead key discussion and work collaboratively with the 2nd and 3rd line of defence teams across Beazley. Provide visibility, manage and monitor all the actions back of risk incidents, assurance reviews, control audits and internal audit reviews and work with the internal claims teams to ensure all issues and actions are closed as per the due dates agreed.
• Identifying the areas of highest risk in the business and seek to reduce residual risk by assessing risk and control design and testing operating effectiveness, making recommendations to strengthen these where necessary.
• Work collaboratively with the Business Architecture team and Operation Resilience team to ensure any issues and defects arising in key platforms or business continuity model is flagged which could cause risk to the smooth operation of Claims.
• Lead on behalf of Claims Business management team and work with Risk team in smooth implementation of GRC tool, and deliver transparent and effective control environment for Claims.
• Lead and attend all the relevant Committees and Groups across Beazley and ensure relevant papers are submitted in time and actions are closed. Ensure key outcomes and actions are shared with the Head of Claims business management team. Liaise with other leaders of Claims team where necessary.
• Collaborate with compliance and business change teams on oversight to stay up to date with changes in legislation, regulation, good practice within Claims, making changes as required to plans, policies and procedures.
• Lead and ensure all the procedures, policy documents are reviewed in time and version controlled with full audit trail of approval.
• Work closely with the modernisation workstreams and ensure systems and controls are being put in place to mitigate any potential risks to the Claims business.
• Ensure all processes and controls are in place across all teams as a result of key regulations set by regulators i.e., Consumer Duty, Vulnerable customers etc..
• Develop a broad understanding of operating models / processes / systems to enable providing answers to governance queries regarding operations (both Claims and with upstream and downstream departments) accurately and/or know who to contact for accurate answers.
• Deputise for head of Claims business management when needed and participate in activity, key projects.
• Lead, prioritise and coordinate critical issues identified in operation to find solutions before reaching the executive level.
• Assist with Claims team annual planner of activities and Committee reporting requirements to ensure we are meeting our governance requirements.
• Ensure the team is aware of all relevant company, regulatory and legal requirements and the implications for the Claims team given our products, jurisdictions, operating models.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams i.e. Finance, Credit control and underwriting to ensure downstream impacts to Claims are flagged and required actions are being put in place by those teams to address those.

Staff Management

• Ensure that all employees have the knowledge and the skills necessary to perform effectively in their given roles and responsibilities.
• Review employees’ performance and conduct biannual performance appraisals.
• Discipline, within the Beazley Group guidelines, members of staff contravening regulations per staff handbook.

General

It is important that within all your interactions both internally and externally you adhere Beazley’s core values - Being Bold, Striving for Better, and Doing the Right Thing as they contribute to an internal environment of teamwork and promote a positive brand image and experience to our external customers.” We also expect Beazley employees to:

• Comply with Beazley procedures, policies and regulations including the code of conduct
• Undertake training on Beazley policies and procedures as delivered by your line manager, the Culture & People or assurance teams (compliance, risk, internal audit) either directly, via e-learning or the learning management system
• Display business ethics that uphold the interests of all our customers
• Ensure all interactions with customers are focused on delivering a fair outcome, including having the right products for their needs
• Comply with any specific responsibilities necessary for your role as outlined by your line manager, the Culture & People or assurance teams (compliance, risk, internal audit) and ensure you keep up to date with developments in these areas. This may include, amongst others, Beazley’s underwriting control standards, Beazley’s claims control standards, other Beazley standards and customer relationship management
• Carry out additional responsibilities as individually notified, either through your objectives or through the learning management system. These may include membership of any Beazley committees or working groups.
• Carry out additional responsibilities as individually notified, either through your objectives or through the learning management system. These may include membership of any Beazley committees or working groups.

Personal Specification:

Education and Qualifications

• Degree in any discipline

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and both written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to fully participate and successfully influence effectively at all levels in the business.
• Experience of proactively engaging with senior management, demonstrating an inquiring mind and the courage to follow through to sound conclusion.
• Significant 1st line risk and controls experience and transferring into a 2nd line role assurance role.
• Experienced in production of formal committee papers
• Good project management type skills
• Strong business analysis and problem-solving skills, including business process review toolset
• Computer literate
• Must have the ability to facilitate the transition from conceptual thinking to practical project proposals (quickly and pragmatically)
• Organised and delivery focused, possessing high levels of resilience and determination, can multi- task, work under pressure and in a complex environment.

Knowledge and Experience

• Proven track record of successfully managing governance, risk management, assurance and compliance in customer facing service
• Experience of working in a regulated environment
• Experience managing a team; setting and directing the objectives and responsibilities of the team with demonstrable success in driving the team to deliver desired and timely outcomes to those objectives
• Experience of Claims is desirable

Aptitude and Disposition

• Organised and methodical, with positive ‘can do’ attitude
• Approachable and responsive
• Acts with integrity, transparency and able to build high levels of trust
• Empowers others through collaboration and encouraging ideas
• Appreciates difference and treats all people with dignity and respect
• Responsible, resilient, and able to work under pressure.

Competencies

• Achievement orientation
• Analytical thinking
• Information seeking
• Customer focus
• Team working
• Initiative

• Oversee Internal Controls: Manage and report on internal controls for legal and FRC compliance.
• Drive Performance: Foster a high-performance culture with continuous improvement.
• Empower Claims teams: Lead from the front and provide guidance and support to Claims teams on internal controls.
• Ensure Compliance: Lead adherence to legal, FRC, and internal control frameworks (e.g. COSO, 3 Lines of Defence).
• Improve Reporting: Provide robust reporting on internal claims control performance to Claims business management, internal committees and Boards (where required).
• Drive Automation: Seek automation opportunities in deploying controls and reporting.
• Ensure best practices: Responsible to monitor/lead all the actions back of audits and risk incidents to ensure plans are being put in place for closure of those actions. Lead the reporting of all open actions on behalf of Chief Claims and Litigation officer.
• Assurance: Create a plan by working with the Head of Claims business management to drive an assurance function with the Claims team which will support in mitigating key issues before they flagged by 2nd and 3rd lines of defence