Technical Claims Specialist, Personal Injury Claims

A/S Levels at Halifax New College

After six years I am still learning new things, developing my skills and making new friends everyday. The support and dedication given to staff and the local community are the reasons I am proud to tell others that I work for Provident Insurance.

2005 - Claims Specialist, Policyholder Claims Department

I began my Policyholder training in February 2005. I worked within the Accidental Damage Department for two years developing my skills to become a capable Claims Specialist. My role within the department became more varied and enjoyable as my responsibilities grew. I became a referral point for my team members, auditing their work and feeding back the results, as well as working alongside the fraud and data protection teams. 

2007 - Fraud Investigator, Claims Validation Unit

In 2007 I applied for an internal position within the Claims Validation Unit. As I was already involved in fraud in my previous role I knew this was something I would enjoy and wanted to get more involved in. I was given a huge amount of help and support with my application from my Team Leader and I was the only successful applicant. I began training to use Digilog's Voice Risk Analysis Software, which is an expensive high tech validation tool used by Provident Insurance to screen claims for fraud.  I worked in the Claims Validation Unit for four years developing the skills I already had, using the Digilog system and developing my technical knowledge. I handled my own caseload working with investigators, solicitors and police forces to identify and defeat fraudulent claims. As I developed into a competent Digilog screener and fraud claims handler I became a mentor for other Digilog screeners and I also developed a workshop and delivered fraud training to other departments within the company.

2011 - Technical Claims Specialist, Personal Injury Claims 

This year I applied for an internal position to move to the Technical Claims Department who in addition to general claims handling, also deal with personal injury claims. Again I was given masses of help and support throughout the recruitment process and was successful in my application. Following extensive training I am now continuing my development dealing with more complex and technical claims. I am not sure where I will go from here, but I am certain that Provident will continue to support me in whatever I choose to do.

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Team Leader, Customer Services Team

A levels at Ryburn Valley High School

Provident Insurance is still the same vibrant and enthusiastic place, as when I began.

2000 - Customer Service Advisor, Customer Services

I joined Provident Insurance in February 2000 as a Customer Service Advisor where my main duties involved providing quotes for brokers and processing post. After showing initiative, a development plan was created to identify areas to focus upon, in order to grow my career.

2002 - Senior Customer Service Advisor, Customer Services

I was promoted to Senior Customer Service Advisor in 2002 and was involved in auditing work and providing training to members of staff to assist their development. These skills were recognised in late 2003, when I was seconded to an internal project to develop a new underwriting system.

I became responsible for writing training material for the customer service staff and performing system testing, which helped improve my planning and organisational skills. This time was challenging but rewarding and represents one of the biggest achievements I have experienced at Provident Insurance so far. The end of the secondment saw me return to my old role and I began to bring the team together through organising incentives and publishing a daily newsletter.

2006 - Claims Team Leader, Total Loss Team

My main aim was to work towards a team leader position and I achieved this in November 2006 when I was promoted to Claims Team Leader, following a brief transfer to claims in September. I spent two years managing the Claims Settlement team which was focused on quick and accurate turnaround of the client's settlement. The side I loved most about my role was the interaction with the team and helping to develop staff and enabling them to progress to other claim areas.

2007 - Achiever of the Year

I was in charge of the Total Loss and ROI Departments and as a team we achieved a lot in a short period of time. We were able to develop new ideas and technology to improve results which culminated in me receiving the Achiever of the Year Award.

Provident Insurance is still the same vibrant and enthusiastic place as when I started. I am often 'volunteered' by the team for hair-raising activities such as leg waxing during fund raising events.

2009 - Team Leader, Customer Services Team

I was delighted when I got the chance to move back to Customer Services as a Team Leader, as this is where I began my career at Provident Insurance.  It was a nice challenge to manage some of the people I used to work alongside, when I was a fresh faced twentyysomething . The challenges in the team are completely different to the claims area and the focus was on hitting service targets, rather than monitoring costs. Since returning I have also set up a separate team to service the affinity area and have also started to take more responsibility with the Credit Control team which is focused on collecting the premiums from brokers. Again, these new challenges add to my daily role helping to always keep my role fresh and expanding my skill set.

Stars in their Eyes

For the past five years I have run the annual Provident Insurance ‘Stars in their Eyes' contest which we held to highlight the many other talents our members of staff have. Most of the time the acts are far from serious and it is more about the taking part than winning. We have raised a lot of money over the years with the most recent one being a cause close to my heart as we raised over £2,000 for the Special Care Baby Unit. My son was born 8 weeks early and the support of the SCBU was amazing, so I wanted to give something back to thank them. With the help of my colleagues, we were able to present them with a large cheque which will help them with the resources for caring for premature babies.

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Service Coach

A/S Levels at Ryburn Valley High School

In my six years at Provident Insurance I have made great friends and developed my career extensively. I have been provided with a strong support network which has enabled me to develop and gain a strong skill set.

2005 - Temporary Claims Negotiator, Policyholder Claims

I started at Provident Insurance in April 2005 on a three month temporary contract in the Policyholder Claims Department. After being offered a permanent position, I gained more responsibilities and continued to work within the Policyholder Claims Team.

2006 - Claims Negotiator, Third Party Claims Team

I was offered the opportunity to work in the Third Party Claims Team, dealing with liability enquiries/decisions.

After proving myself within the team I was rewarded with more responsibilities and went on a 6 month secondment to the Litigation Unit. During this time I gained a wealth of knowledge, giving me a real understanding of the ‘bigger picture', which made me appreciate the need to make a decision correctly and quickly.

2009 - Senior Claims Specialist, Debt Recovery Team

I moved to the Debt Recovery Team to help improve my skills further and after a few months I was promoted to Senior Claims Specialist, responsible for assisting the Team Leader with the day to day running of the team, completing audits and feedback.

2009 - Senior Claims Specialist, Helpline Department

I was asked to move teams, to bring liability experience to the new claims team. Ensuring the correct liability decision is made at day one, is key to managing the claim effectively. If a claim is incorrectly signposted we may not deliver the service we should to policyholder and the financial effects can be in the thousands.

2011 - Service Coach

My role is to audit, feedback and coach all members of Policyholder staff, some 55 people. My main objective is to improve the service provided to our customers, and ensure staff have regular constructive feedback to enable them to grow and develop

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Primary Call Handler, Claims Validation Unit

A Levels at Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School

Being able to work for a company like Provident Insurance with its family ethic has enabled me to broaden my skill base whilst making some very good friends.

1999 - Claims Negotiator, Policyholder Claims Team

I started at Provident Insurance in August 1999 as an A Level trainee in the Claims Department. After an initial training period, I worked my way through the various customer service teams and gained valuable skills which I could transfer to new roles within the Company.

2002 - Claims Negotiator, Theft Team

In 2002, an opportunity arose for me to join the Theft Team. At this time claims investigation techniques were very much based around intuition and the use of external investigators. The role enabled me to see claims in a completely different light and provided an interesting and fulfilling role.

2005 - Comprehensive Dispute Claims Team

In 2005 I transferred to the Dispute Team which deals with third party accident claims and debt recovery. I began dealing with the settlement and recovery of claims where there was a dispute on liability. This required negotiation with our clients, third party insurers and solicitors. During this period I was regularly used as a referral point for our debt recovery team, affording me a wide range of work and a varying daily routine.

2008 - Third Party Claims Handler, General Claims Unit

In 2008 I had gained a good understanding of claims, and I moved into the General Claims Unit. My role became extremely varied and included establishing our Bi-Lateral procedures. I was also responsible for setting up of a claims procedure for our Republic of Ireland policies; both of these pieces of work were undertaken with the full support of my team leader and seen at a higher level.

In May 2010 I identified an issue with another insurer's documentation, which has been recognised as a potential industry wide issue. This helped me win the 2010 Initiative award at the Provident Insurance Excellence awards.

During this time I became more involved with Claims Validation, became a 'Third Party Fraud Star' and was tasked with identifing 100 fraudulent claims in 2010.

2010 - Primary Call Handler, Claims Validation Unit

In October 2010 I applied for a role within the Claims Validation Unit as a Primary call handler. I received a week's external training by our partners at DigiLog. My current role involves documenting new theft and certain accident claims using the DigiLog system. This voice recognition tool allows us to identify any untrue statements when claims are reported. I am still learning but find it extremely rewarding. I am also still the link to Third Party Claims for our department and I, along with another member of staff, are the Fraud Star coordinators for the whole of non injury claims.

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Primary Call Handler, Claims Validation Unit

A Levels at Monks' Dyke Technology College.
Degree in History at the University of Huddersfield.

2009 - Claims Handler, Customer Support Team 

I joined Provident Insurance in October 2009 as a Claims Handler in the Customer Support Team assisting policyholders with their claim and answering queries from brokers and garages. Customer service was an integral part of my role.

2010 - Claims Handler, FNOL

In March 2010 I joined the First Notification of Loss (FNOL) team. This team takes the initial notification of accident claims and is the first point of call for policyholders. FNOL was a great team to work in and the team strive to provide excellent customer service, aiming to make the first notification service a quick, hassle-free process. Whilst working within FNOL, I was given some great opportunities; I was trained in cheque release and was responsible for setting up personal injury claims that had not been reported to us by the policyholder.

2010 - Primary Call Handler, Claims Validation Unit

In October 2010, I applied for a role within the Claims Validation Unit as a Primary Call Handler. I received a week's external training by our partners at Digilog. My current role involves the investigation of new theft and certain accident claims, using the Digilog system. This voice recognition tool allows us to identify any untrue statements when claims are reported.

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