Head of Settlements

The role:
As our new Head of Settlements, you will provide strategic & operational leadership for the Settlements department, working collaboratively with the Third-Party Settlement & Recoveries Leadership Team & General Manager to oversee managers, team leaders, and technical motor claims consultants responsible for delivering honest, efficient, and effective claims handling and negotiating favourable settlements with insurers and other parties. 

This role involves analysing claims data to identify improvement opportunities, implementing strategies to streamline the claims settlement process including process improvement and automation, and establishing effective negotiation approaches to achieve cost-effective claim outcomes for the business, while ensuring adherence to all regulatory and compliance obligations. 

A key aspect of the role is leading the team to operate as 'one team' across three sites (SE Queensland and offshore), contributing to the overall success of the Third Party Recoveries & Settlements business.

Key Accountabilities:
Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and implement settlements strategies that deliver efficient, honest, effective, and fair outcomes by understanding market dynamics, while building strong relationships with key stakeholders across finance, legal, and operations to ensure effective collaboration and communication.
• Lead and motivate the Settlements team by setting clear expectations and role clarity, providing guidance and support, exhibiting strong leadership that inspires high performance and integrity, and fostering a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, technical proficiency, and excellence in handling motor insurance claims.

Operational Management:

• Oversee day-to-day operations of the settlements function by managing the settlement process, ensuring regulatory compliance, monitoring KPI performance, collaborating with the Optimisation team to develop and implement efficient policies and procedures, and managing the settlements budget to ensure resources are allocated effectively within financial constraints.

Risk Management:

• Identify and mitigate settlement risks by assessing potential risks, developing mitigation strategies and implementing controls, ensuring compliance with all regulatory requirements and applicable laws, staying current on relevant regulations, and managing settlement disputes with counterparties to ensure accurate and timely completion of all settlements.

Performance and Reporting:

• Monitor and report on settlements performance by tracking key metrics such as settlement times, accuracy, and costs, and present regular reports to senior management with updates on performance, key trends, and recommendations for future action.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement opportunities by evaluating the settlement process and driving enhancements through process improvement, automation, efficiency gains in claims handling, and optimisation of technical aspects and quality standards.

Other Responsibilities:

• Stay current on industry best practices by attending events, reading relevant publications, and networking with professionals, while developing and implementing innovative settlement solutions by exploring new technologies and approaches to improve the settlement process.

What experience you’ll bring:

• 10 years of experience in a leadership role in insurance or similar industry
• Strong working knowledge of motor insurance claims management relative to applicable legislation, processes and industry best practices
• Excellent analytical, problem solving and decision-making skills along with high level conceptual & analytical skills and able to develop innovative solutions
• Exceptional communication & interpersonal skills, with the ability to liaise effectively with a variety of stakeholders & effectively engage, influence and develop others
• Understand the linkage between data and emerging technology solutions to optimise business performance and outcomes.

Our perks:

• Location: North Lakes - Save the long commute to Brisbane and work for a growing company close to home and within walking distance to some of the north side’s best retail outlets, restaurants and other amenities.
• Extra leave - Enjoy additional leave days on us! You’ll receive a paid ‘ME’ day and one paid volunteer leave day annually. Team members can also purchase up to two additional weeks of leave per year.
• Paid parental leave - We support our new parents with paid parental leave and other benefits.
• Workplace giving - If you’re passionate about a cause, then we are too – we offer workplace giving and we’ll dollar match your donations to registered charities.
• Development opportunities - We’re championing your development with internal programs and access to a wide range of online courses.
• Employee discount - You’ll receive discounts on Budget Direct insurance products.
• Reward and recognition - We reward high performance with employee recognition, reward and incentive schemes.
• Onsite facilities - There’s excellent end-of-trip facilities on offer and private spaces for nursing mothers.
• Get social - Join our vibrant social and community activities including annual celebrations, family fun days and regular events across each of our sites.
• Be rewarded - we recognise high performance and reward our people for their hard work through bonuses and other perks. 

About us:

Auto & General (A&G) is the fastest growing major Motor and Home insurer in Australia. We provide insurance products and solutions to safeguard a brighter future for our customers, delivered through our multi award-winning brand Budget Direct and partnerships with leading brands - ING, Qantas and Coles Insurance.

Our range of general insurance products protect customer’s most valued possessions on the road, at home and on holiday with various Car, Motorcycle, Home, Contents, Pet and Travel Insurance products as well as Roadside Assistance.

Our culture of ‘high performance with high integrity’ underpins our values and the way we interact with our customers, the community and each other. We’re excited about the future and we’re always on the lookout for talented, passionate individuals who can help us achieve our goal of being Australia’s best insurer! If this sounds like you, apply today.

If you are seeking a new challenge and would enjoy the opportunity to work in a growing and changing business, click on the APPLY NOW button and submit your application. 

Auto & General values individual differences and believes in fostering an inclusive culture that creates a great place to work for all. 

*A note from Auto & General to recruitment agencies: We politely ask that you avoid making any approaches or sending any unsolicited resumes to our Recruitment Team or Hiring Leaders across our business. Auto & General is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.