New Ireland Assurance is the first wholly Irish owned life assurance company to operate in Ireland, providing life assurance, pensions and investment solutions to individual and corporate customers.
The company is committed to supporting their employees through an exciting and varied career and offers competitive salaries, creative and challenging projects as well as a wide range of career development opportunities.
Bernie McGarrell works in New Ireland’s Risk Claims department and she told us more about her work and her career with New Ireland.
What does your role involve?
I currently work in the Risk Claims area dealing with death claims, critical illness claim and claims on other benefits such as absence from work and hospitalisation payment. The role is quite varied and involves a lot of customer interaction as well as administering claims on core systems.
The role also involves medical assessment of claims whereby I review medical information received from claimants and their doctors. This is a core part of the role as it integral to the overall claims decision.
The handling of claims also requires a lot of liaising with other departments such as legal and actuarial in the business and it provides a good opportunity for learning more about how the overall business functions as claims are the last step in the insurance process.
What qualifications do you have?
I obtained my QFA prior to joining New Ireland and while I was part of the Financial Planning Team I studied to become a Member of the Irish Institute of Pension Managers.
With the support of New Ireland, I’m currently studying for the final module to qualify for a Diploma in Life and Disability Claims.
What is your previous work experience?
Prior to joining New Ireland, I worked for a general insurance company and then I spent five years in retail banking. I joined New Ireland’s financial planning team in 2010.
The team produce high-quality financial plans for high wealth customers based on the Personal Financial Reviews submitted by Sales Managers. I spent five years on this team and then moved to my current position in the Risk Claims Team.
What attracted you to the job?
My current role has allowed me to get back to interacting directly with the customer. The medical aspect of the Risk Claims role also attracted me; there is a lot to learn in respect of this area of claims and it is very interesting. The exposure to other areas of the business and how they work also attracted me.
How has your career path developed since joining New Ireland Assurance?
I joined New Ireland as a Financial Planner in 2010 and this role was quite admin based with no direct contact with the customer. This role involved preparing financial plans that covered the protection, pension and investment needs of the customers.
This role allowed me the ability to expand my pensions and protection knowledge and I was encouraged to study for my MIIPM. I was also encouraged to deliver presentations on our protection products to new sales managers starting in the company and this really helped build my confidence in relation to preparing and delivering presentations.
I then applied for the Risk Claims role and was successful in my application. In this role, my protection knowledge has really expanded along with my legal and medical knowledge in relation to our protection policies. I am currently studying for my DLDC and receive a lot of help and support from my colleagues with my study.
What is the best thing about your job?
The people in New Ireland are one of its strongest assets. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the organisation and everyone is open and willing to assist with any queries. No two days are ever the same in Risk Claims, it’s extremely interesting and there is always something new to learn.
In terms of working conditions, New Ireland offers flexi-time which is great as it gives you the ability to let work fit around any other things you might have going on in your life.
We’re also slap bang in the middle of the city centre and the Luas is going to be right outside our door come December.
And what is the biggest challenge?
There is a lot to learn in this job but there is great support and encouragement so while it’s challenging it never feels overwhelming.
What other skills do you need for your job?
This job requires a lot of attention to detail, patience when going through policies that might have a lot of paperwork on them. Empathy is also very important, every day we are dealing with customers who have been ill or bereaved so their queries and claims need to be handled sensitively and appropriately.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
In five years’ time, I hope to be fully qualified with the DLDC. I hope to have expanded my medical knowledge and be progressing towards a senior claims position.
What advice would you give someone considering a career in your profession?
Have a look at some of the industry websites such as Life Insurance Associate (LIA) and Insurance Institute of Ireland (III) for information about the various industry qualifications. If you can talk to someone in the industry that will also give you an insight into the real-life element of the job, but also remember there are vast opportunities in this industry and no two jobs are the same.
What advice would you give someone considering applying for a job with New Ireland Assurance?
Do some research, if you can contact someone in the organisation to have a chat about the role that you’re interested in. Have a look at the website to get a general feel of our products and company values.
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