Meet the Claims Leadership Team

Get to know Tim Rafton, EGM, Intermediated Claims 

Tell us about yourself and your role

I'm from the outer western suburbs of Sydney and live in the Penrith area with my wife, Jolene and two daughters, Lilli-Rose and Charli. I have worked in the insurance claims and assessing industry for over 24 years and love the feeling of being able to help people in need and make a difference. Outside of work, I love spending time doing the most non-corporate things possible, for example: manicuring the lawn, tinkering with my classic car and spending time with my wife and family.

 

What initiatives are underway within CGU Claims to build a better business around brokers?

Our primary focus is on being easier to deal with by:

1. Simplifying our processes and ways of working;
2. Continuing to improve the functionality of our digital offering;
3. Improving the customer experience through our supply chain offering
    

Why CGU?

We are listening and committed to working with our partners to be the best claims team in the market. Not to mention, at CGU we have the best claims people in the business  

Get to know Natalie Tumeth, EM, Property and Specialty Claims 

Tell us about yourself and your role

I’ve been working in the insurance industry for over 30 years in both General and Life insurance classes. I’m passionate about customers and people and pride myself in helping our claims teams deliver exceptional results in an environment that is challenging and constantly evolving. I currently lead the CGU and WFI Property and Specialty Claims teams. It’s a large claims team of approx. 370 staff.

 

What initiatives are underway within CGU Claims to build a better business around brokers?

We have and continue to heavily invest in the technical capability of our claims team. We are uplifting our digital capabilities and our Broker Claims Portal to improve our ways of working together and reduce unnecessary touchpoints. These changes continue to help make the claims journey as seamless as possible.

We have recently launched a program of work called Claims Simplification - which is all about simplifying our claims processes. We have rolled out a new Rapid Claims model to our Brokers, settling low value, simple claims quicker than ever before. This work is now expanding with further pilots being tested to segment more claims based on their complexity. The vision for Intermediated Claims is to set a new standard of claims excellence for Intermediated insurance in Australia and in doing so, become the Partner of Choice. 
 

Why CGU?

We are listening and committed to working with our partners to be the best claims team in the market. Not to mention, at CGU we have the best claims people in the business  

Get to know Alison Grice, EM, Casualty Claims 

Tell us about yourself and your role

I’m Alli Grice, a proud and hopeful 2023 Pies supporter, animal lover, keen adventurer, eternal optimist and I LOVE a good joke! A lawyer by profession, rather than the vet I always thought I’d be, which I put down to being distracted while numbering my uni. preferences. I’m in the role of EM, Casualty Claims, which are negligence claims made against our customers we insure for general (Liability) or professional liability (Professional Risks).  We defend our insureds against claims that they’ve done something wrong in either a personal, business or professional capacity, and caused either injury or financial loss, which really epitomises “making the world a safer place” for our Customers during some of the most challenging and stressful times in their lives. 

 

What initiatives are underway within CGU Claims to build a better business around brokers?

Everything outward-facing we do in Intermediated and Casualty Claims is focused on ensuring the best possible claim experience for our Brokers and Insureds and an optimal claim outcome – all of our initiatives have our Customers and those goals at their core.  And simplification when it comes to claims – whether it be contacting and communicating with us; the claims process itself; accessing our help; demystifying what can otherwise be a complex, complicated and confusing experience; or speedy resolution – is at the very heart of our focus.  We segment claims to tailor our service to the specific and often very different needs of Customers.  We drive digital enablement to simplify connections with our Brokers and Customers. And we skill our caring, Customer-focused people to deliver market-leading claims service, every time.
 

Why CGU?

I did professional indemnity and general liability claims defense work for CGU and other Australian and international insurers as a lawyer in private practice for many years and absolutely loved it.  Very early in my career, I was fortunate enough to work with the CGU Professional Risks’ team on secondment and experience the insurer’s side of the experience and the passion of the people at CGU for the incredible work they do and the service they deliver.  Despite becoming a partner in law firm, many years later, when the opportunity arose to work with CGU to expand its Professional Risks’ business into the Corporate market, I just couldn’t resist.  That was 13 years ago now, and I haven’t looked back.  Claims is the proof-point for our Brokers and Customers in insurance. In our Casualty world of protecting our Insureds against claims of personal liability, our Customers turn to and rely on us for help in really difficult circumstances.  We really do help make the world a safer place for our Customers and Brokers.  And that’s ultimately “why CGU”. 

Get to know Darren Ryan, EM, Motor Claims 

Tell us about yourself and your role

I’ve been in the insurance industry across four different countries, in mostly Claims related roles for over 20yrs. The energy and hustle and bustle of the claims environment, and the challenge of working with large groups of stakeholders, has always kept me motivated to keep turning up.

Fortunately, I also have the privilege of working with a great team of committed and enthusiastic individuals, who don’t take themselves too seriously. That positive energy makes going to work fun and permeates through the broader Motor team.   

When I’m not at work, I like watching the footy, getting out for dinner or a swim at the beach and traveling - the more exotic and interesting the location the better.  

In my role as EM, Motor, my approach is to keep it simple. We live in a complicated world and the last thing people need when making a claim is more complexity.

 

What initiatives are underway within CGU Claims to build a better business around brokers?

In Motor we’ve been working to simplify our model and create capacity within our teams to focus more on the things that matter. Whilst we are working on multiple things at any one time, currently our key initiatives are, ‘Back to Basics’, the transition of our offshore work back onshore, and the rollout and embedment of a Commercial Motor Assessing team.  

Back to Basics, is the simplification of our end to end model. The transition of the offshore work onshore will create less hand offs and more claim ownership and the creation of the commercial motor assessing team will give us greater control of assessing outcomes, and allow us to improve communication at what is a critical time in the motor claim process. 
 

Why CGU?

We listen and we care and we’re constantly trying to do it better. I still feel proud of what we do, especially when I read letters from customers, or hear stories about how we’ve helped someone and made their claim experience a positive one. That’s the commitment of our Claims team. They are here to help when our customers need us the most. 

Get to know Emma Roberts, EM, Claims Enablement 

Tell us about yourself and your role

I work in our Intermediated Claims business as Executive Manager, Claims Enablement. My role is to deliver on our strategy through projects and support to Claims teams to ensure the best possible experience for our customers, brokers and our people.

This year, I reached 25 years with IAG. My career here has spanned across Distribution, Transformational Programs, Operations and Claims. Having that breadth of exposure has given me unique insights that help to shape solutions for the Intermediated Claims Team. That insight is also shared by my team who are constantly focused on how we meet our aspirations as a business, and what we can do better.

Outside of work, I am mum to two teenage boys and enjoy spending time with family and friends, eating out or cooking at home, and the occasional French martini.

 

What initiatives are underway within CGU Claims to build a better business around brokers?

We are continuing to enhance our digital capability to make us easier to deal with. We have been listening to your feedback on the Broker portal and over time are working to make that a better experience. We're also focused on finding ways to process claims more efficiently by re-engineering processes to make them simpler.
 

Why CGU?

Put simply, the commitment of our people. In my role and interactions with the broader business, I am reminded daily how passionate and committed our people are. Each and every day they strive to deliver better outcomes, more efficient interactions and a better overall experience for our customers, our business partners and brokers. That shared commitment focuses our collective attention and allows us to deliver on the things that matter most.