Jim has a wide experience of investigative matters commencing with service as a Section Officer in the British South African Police Criminal Investigations Department based in Zimbabwe. In 1980 he moved to the United Kingdom from where both his parents originated.
Jim spent a brief period in general investigation before setting up his own company specialising in the investigation of disability insurance claims in 1984. In 1993 at the invitation of a leading re-insurer the Health Claims Bureau was formed and Jim became its Chief Executive. Jim became Chairman and Chief Executive in April 2008.
Professor Mansel Aylward CB is Director of the Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research at Cardiff University which offers a unique opportunity to extend knowledge and understanding of the psychosocial, economic and cultural factors that influence health, illness, recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration.
He is also the first-ever Chair of Public Health Wales – a new unified NHS Trust responsible for the delivery of public health services at national, local and community level in Wales. He was Chair of the Wales Centre for Health, an Assembly Government Sponsored Body established to be the ‘hub of connected organisations’ and to communicate better health messages to the people of Wales.
In October 2007 Professor Mansel Aylward, in his capacity as Chair of the Wales Centre for Health, was asked by Edwina Hart, Minister for Health and Social Services to undertake a review of Health Commission Wales’ functions, including its decision-making processes and appeals mechanism. Under this arrangement, a report on key findings and advice (including the making of recommendations) was provided to the Minister in June 2008.
Professor Mansel Aylward was also asked to advise the Minister on the healthcare provision in Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding areas. In December 2008, during the 60th year of the NHS, the Minister asked Professor Aylward to head the membership of a new independent group, the Bevan Commission, to help ensure that changes in the NHS structures set Wales on the path to a world-class health care system.
In 2005 he was elected to the new Queen’s Birthday Honours Committee, designed to make the system more transparent. In September 2008 he was formally re-appointed for a further 3 years. He is also Patron of The Shaw Trust which provides training and work opportunities for people disadvantaged in the labour market due to disability, ill health, or other social circumstances.
From 1996 to April 2005 he was Chief Medical Adviser, Medical Director and Chief Scientist to the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions. He was also Chief Medical Adviser and Head of Profession at the Veterans' Agency, Ministry of Defence. In 2001 he was appointed as The Royal Society of Medicine's Academic Sub Dean for Wales.
Eoin, a Commerce graduate from University College Dublin, has over 30 years experience in the Financial Service Industry. During his career with Norwich Union and Hibernian Groups he operated at Director level, until his retirement in 2005.
His responsibilities included all Operational Divisions with specialisms in Business, IT and Process Solutions and Implementation, Legal and Compliance, Underwriting and Claims.
He served on many Industry panels and Boards including panels in the Irish Insurance Federation and the Insurance Ombudsman Board. He joined Health Claims Bureau in 2007 and was appointed to the Board in 2008.
John is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland.
He spent most of his career with Friends Provident, moving to Dublin in 1987 where he was Chief Executive of the life company in Ireland until his retirement in 1996. John’s earlier actuarial responsibilities included the design and pricing of Income Protection Insurance contracts. John was President of the Irish Insurance Federation in 1995-96 and served as Chairman of the Practising Certificate Committee of the Society of Actuaries from 1998 – 2000.
Al is a recognised expert and world leader in disability claims management.
He has a degree in mathematics from Boston College and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire. Al worked for Unum for 23 years in a variety of capacities, including two years in the UK, followed by two years managing a private consulting firm specialising in disability insurance. He has been Senior Vice President for disability risk for Prudential Financial in New Jersey for the past five years. Al brings a wealth of international expertise to the Board.
Peter is one of the best-known consultants in the life and health insurance sector. He began his career at Commercial Union (now Norwich Union), moved to British and European and latterly went to Swiss Re, where he was initially head of underwriting and later became head of UK marketing.
He left in 2001 to set up an independent consultancy, Le Beau Visage, which focuses on differentiation in the protection sector. Since starting Le Beau Visage, he has regularly co-authored the Protection Review and the Redmayne Report on Reassurance. He runs a strategic discussion group called The-Net-Work and, in 2005, he set up the Income Protection (IP) Task Force with Clive Waller to promote greater awareness of the value of the product. The task force produced a White Paper on IP in 2006. Peter is a non-executive director of several companies and he is a passionate believer in the value of protection.
David was Chief Underwriter for the Medical Sickness Group, where he was responsible for both Underwriting and Claims, from 1981 to 1997. In 1997, he became Claims Manager for Permanent Insurance Company. He was Permanent’s representative on the Association of British Insurers Income Protection and Critical Illness Forum and a member of the Industry Working Party liaising with the Government’s New Deal project.
He retired from Permanent at the end of 1999. David is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and of the Assurance Medical Society. He is a member of the Health Claims Forum, the Association of Medical Underwriters and other Industry Associations.
What Do We Do?
We provide independent and impartial claims inspection services for Disability Insurers. Trained disability claims inspectors and health claims consultants visit claimants, obtain facts and help claims managers assess claims in an informed manner. Our health claim consultants, who have a nursing or occupational therapy background, visit claimants with a particular view to helping with rehabilitation services as well as assessing the continuing validity of the claim. The services are for Income Protection Insurance, Waiver of Premium, Total and Permanent Disability and Creditor Disability Claims.
Disability insurers recognise the importance of early intervention in disability claims. Emerging data from the Continuous Morbidity Investigation Bureau, (the industry's central body for analysing claims experience), shows that while claim inceptions are generally stable recoveries are consistently less than expected for all deferred periods. There is considerable variation in the data between insurers in both inception and recovery rates. It is believed that this reflects, in part, the difference between those insurers who actively manage their claims and those who do not.
We recommend early intervention by means of a Claim Form Visit, where the inspector or health claims consultant helps the claimant complete the claim form, or a Pre Admission Visit shortly after the claim form has been received.
In either case our inspector or health claims consultant will:
• Listen to the claimant;
• Obtain facts;
• Inspect documents;
• Identify perceptions and hidden agendas;
• Ensure that the claimant understands the terms of the insurance and stress that benefits can only continue to be paid while the claimant continues to meet the criteria for a valid claim, to help Claims Managers assess claims in the most informed manner. The inspector or health claims visitor will also provide a report to the insurer on how best to help the claimant, if required, and where rehabilitation services appear appropriate and viable.
We also provide services to help review continuing claims. A visit can help identify a claimant who has recovered and who is able to start work again or help to identify claimants who it may be appropriate for insurers to help rehabilitate. We recommend such a visit at the time the claimant might be expected to recover. If required we can advise on the expected recovery time.
Early personal contact demonstrates to the claimant that the insurer will actively manage and review the claim. We also believe that personal contact with the claimant at a difficult time adds value to the claims service. Many IFA’s look for “added value” when recommending insurers to their clients.
A number of leading Income Protection and Creditor Insurers use our services.
In addition HCB provides specialised services to help disability claims managers by providing expert assistance for the assessment of claims, review of claims portfolios and training.