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Team Lead - Life Retail Claims at Leadway Assurance Company
Leadway Assurance Company
October 17, 2026
Full-time
On-site
This role leads the day-to-day delivery of Retail / Individual Life Claims, with responsibility for the accurate, fair and timely assessment and processing of claims and policy benefit transactions across annuity, credit life, term assurance, whole of life and other individual life products, including surrenders, maturities and related benefits. The role is accountable for service delivery within agreed SLAs, sound claims decisions, strong customer outcomes and effective control of claims cost, leakage and operational risk.
This is a senior leadership role within Life Claims. The role holder will provide day-to-day direction to the Retail Claims team, set clear priorities, allocate work, coach team members and take ownership for the quality and timeliness of the unit's output. The role requires strong technical judgement, critical thinking and the ability to convert claims data into practical insight for management decision-making. The role holder will work closely with Actuarial, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Customer Experience, Sales and other shared services, ensuring that claims experience informs pricing, reserving, underwriting, product and process decisions.
The role will achieve these outcomes through effective leadership and oversight of the Retail Claims function, including:
Ensuring the team obtains all necessary information and evidence required for the accurate and timely assessment of claims and policy benefit transactions.
Providing technical oversight of claim admissibility and coverage decisions, and reviewing complex, high-value or exception cases to ensure consistency with policy terms, regulatory requirements and delegated authority.
Overseeing the assessment of claim circumstances, policy status, supporting evidence and benefit calculations, and providing guidance or approval on complex and escalated cases within delegated authority.
Reviewing and authorising claim settlements and payments within approved limits, ensuring appropriate escalation of exceptions and consistent application of claims standards.
Ensuring fraud red flags and controls are embedded in the claims process, reviewing suspicious or potentially fraudulent cases and coordinating investigation and escalation in line with the company's fraud management framework.
Maintaining sufficient technical knowledge of individual life products and policy terms to provide guidance to the team, resolve escalations and engage Legal, Compliance and other specialists on complex or disputed matters.
Leading the identification and implementation of opportunities to improve claims processes, automation, customer journeys and product outcomes, using claims experience and team insight.
Ensuring customer enquiries and claims complaints are resolved appropriately and promptly, while personally managing sensitive, complex or escalated matters where required.
Providing technical oversight and quality assurance across Retail Claims activities, ensuring accuracy, consistency and compliance with approved procedures, controls and service standards.
Safeguarding the interests of the company and the integrity of the insurance process while ensuring fair and transparent treatment of policyholders, beneficiaries and other claimants.
Driving operational excellence and efficiency across the Retail Claims team through effective workload management, quality control, root-cause analysis and corrective action.
Owning the team's delivery against agreed turnaround time and SLA targets, currently 98%, and ensuring timely corrective action where performance is at risk.
Using claims data, trends and management information to identify emerging experience, claims leakage, fraud patterns and service issues, and translating these into actionable recommendations.
Working closely with Actuarial to support reserve adequacy, claims experience analysis and data quality, and with Underwriting and Reinsurance to provide feedback on emerging risks and claims drivers.
Leading, coaching and developing team members, building capability in claims analytics and digital tools, and maintaining a clear succession pipeline for critical responsibilities within the unit.
Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities) Perspective % Weight Output
Financial 43%
Ensuring reserve adequacy on the system is consistent with claim information at all times, with timely updates, reconciliations and escalation of material differences in collaboration with Actuarial.
Overseeing monthly claims data and experience reviews to ensure clean, complete and reliable claims data for reporting, reserving and decision-making.
Performing qualitative claims reviews to ensure adherence to policy terms and conditions, proper documentation and consistent claims decisions.
Ensuring quantitative claims reviews and quality checks support accurate benefit calculations, approvals and payments, with minimal claims leakage and rework.
Improving risk profiling by identifying and communicating claims trends, emerging risks and risk improvement recommendations to Underwriting, Actuarial, Reinsurance and Product teams.
Avoiding fines, penalties and regulatory breaches through strong controls, documentation and adherence to applicable requirements.
Monitoring claims cost, leakage and fraud trends and recommending practical actions to protect portfolio profitability and customer value.
Internal business processes 29%
Ensuring prompt registration and end-to-end processing of claims, annuity-related claims events, surrenders, maturities and other policy benefits.
Ensuring prompt and accurate review of claims substantiating documents and policy records.
Ensuring prompt review of investigators' reports and effective follow-through on recommendations and exceptions.
Ensuring timely communication of claim decisions, settlement offers and other benefit outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
Owning Retail Claims SLA, quality and control performance, using dashboards and management information to identify bottlenecks and drive corrective action.
Maintaining effective fraud detection, referral and investigation controls, with regular review of red flags, exceptions and emerging patterns.
Driving process simplification, automation and digital improvement initiatives that improve customer experience, accuracy and operational efficiency.
Leading team workflow, quality assurance, escalation management and completion of agreed management, audit and regulatory actions.
Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities) Perspective % Weight Output
Customer 14%
Maintaining appropriate engagement with customers and intermediaries on complex, delayed or sensitive claims and benefit transactions.
Ensuring clear, timely and empathetic feedback is provided to customers, beneficiaries, agents and brokers throughout the claims journey.
Owning adherence to agreed turnaround times and ensuring exceptions, complaints and service recovery are proactively managed.
Promoting fair customer outcomes and using complaint and service data to identify opportunities to improve the claims experience.
Learning and growth 14%
Identifying technical, leadership and data capability gaps within the team and organising knowledge-sharing, coaching and targeted learning interventions to close them.
Supporting team members to obtain relevant professional certification, including ACIIN or its equivalent, and to build broader life claims capability.
Building team capability in claims data analytics, dashboards and digital tools so that insight generation becomes part of day-to-day claims management.
Maintaining a succession and cross-training plan for key claims responsibilities, with clear development actions for high-potential team members.
Job Dimensions Reporting Relationships: jobs that report to this position directly and indirectly
Direct Reports
Analysts / Claims Officers (as applicable)
Indirect Reports
NYSC
Intern
Stakeholder Management: key stakeholders that the position holder will need to liaise/work with to be successful in this role
Internal
Head of Life Claims and Life Business leadership
Actuarial, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Risk, Compliance, Internal Control and Finance
Customer Experience, Sales, Legal, IT / Digital Transformation and other shared service teams
EXTERNAL
Regulator (NAICOM)
Brokers / Agents
Policyholders, beneficiaries and corporate partners
External investigators, medical service providers, legal advisers and reinsurance partners
Decision Making Authority /Mandates/Constraints: the decisions the position holder is empowered to make
Determining, within delegated authority, whether the policy covers the claimed event or benefit and whether the claim is admissible.
Determining or recommending the appropriate claim or policy benefit amount payable, consistent with policy terms, evidence and delegated authority.
Owning agreed Retail Claims improvement initiatives and making recommendations on claims strategy, controls, customer experience and operational efficiency.
Authorising claim payments within approved limits and escalating exceptions, disputed matters, material fraud concerns and cases outside authority.
Allocating team workload, setting operational priorities and taking immediate action on service, quality or control exceptions within the unit
Initiating or approving further investigation of suspicious claims in accordance with the company's fraud management and escalation framework.
Work cycle and impact: time horizon and nature of impact (Planning)
This role has various work cycle and impact groupings:
Daily engagements: reviewing team workload and priority cases; following up with claimants, beneficiaries, brokers, agents, investigators and relevant service providers; resolving technical escalations; and attending internal or external meetings on complex or disputed claims.
Performance review: weekly and monthly review of claim files, SLA performance, reserve and data quality, fraud exceptions, complaints, claims trends and outstanding actions, with clear ownership for corrective measures.
Periodic planning and improvement: participating in claims experience reviews with Actuarial and other stakeholders, audit and regulatory engagements, process improvement initiatives, team coaching and succession planning. Work arrangements will be in line with the company's applicable workplace policy.
Ideal Job Specifications Academic:
Bachelor's Degree / HND or equivalent from a recognised institution; Insurance, Actuarial Science, Finance, Economics, Business or another relevant discipline is preferred.
Master's Degree is an added advantage.
A professional qualification such as ACIIN, or its equivalent from another recognised professional institution, is strongly preferred.
Desired work experience:
Minimum of 3-5 years relevant life insurance technical experience, with at least 3 years in claims and evidence of supervisory responsibility, team leadership or ownership of a significant claims portfolio.
Excellent critical and analytical thinking, research capability and sound decision-making skills, with the ability to challenge assumptions and resolve complex claims issues with appropriate independence.
Strong numerical skills to assess policy benefits, claims calculations, policy values, reserves and financial implications accurately.
Strong working knowledge of life insurance products, claims practice, relevant regulation and market conduct requirements.
Ability to exercise sound judgement, balance customer fairness with policy terms and controls, and escalate material exceptions appropriately.
Strong customer focus and service delivery skills, including the ability to manage sensitive or complex customer situations.
Strong proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel; working knowledge of Power BI or equivalent analytics / dashboard tools is desirable.
Ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities and consistently meet strict deadlines and service commitments.
Strong administrative, planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage team workflow and maintain control over open items and escalations.
Strong interpersonal, stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills, including the ability to work effectively with Actuarial and other technical teams.
High attention to detail and a strong control mindset.
Demonstrated understanding of claims fraud risks, fraud indicators, investigation processes and claims leakage controls.
Evidence of people leadership, coaching and capability building, with the ability to develop successors and improve team performance.
Comfort using data to identify claims trends, service issues and emerging risks, and to translate analysis into clear management insight and action.
This is a senior leadership role within Life Claims. The role holder will provide day-to-day direction to the Retail Claims team, set clear priorities, allocate work, coach team members and take ownership for the quality and timeliness of the unit's output. The role requires strong technical judgement, critical thinking and the ability to convert claims data into practical insight for management decision-making. The role holder will work closely with Actuarial, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Risk, Compliance, Finance, Customer Experience, Sales and other shared services, ensuring that claims experience informs pricing, reserving, underwriting, product and process decisions.
The role will achieve these outcomes through effective leadership and oversight of the Retail Claims function, including:
Ensuring the team obtains all necessary information and evidence required for the accurate and timely assessment of claims and policy benefit transactions.
Providing technical oversight of claim admissibility and coverage decisions, and reviewing complex, high-value or exception cases to ensure consistency with policy terms, regulatory requirements and delegated authority.
Overseeing the assessment of claim circumstances, policy status, supporting evidence and benefit calculations, and providing guidance or approval on complex and escalated cases within delegated authority.
Reviewing and authorising claim settlements and payments within approved limits, ensuring appropriate escalation of exceptions and consistent application of claims standards.
Ensuring fraud red flags and controls are embedded in the claims process, reviewing suspicious or potentially fraudulent cases and coordinating investigation and escalation in line with the company's fraud management framework.
Maintaining sufficient technical knowledge of individual life products and policy terms to provide guidance to the team, resolve escalations and engage Legal, Compliance and other specialists on complex or disputed matters.
Leading the identification and implementation of opportunities to improve claims processes, automation, customer journeys and product outcomes, using claims experience and team insight.
Ensuring customer enquiries and claims complaints are resolved appropriately and promptly, while personally managing sensitive, complex or escalated matters where required.
Providing technical oversight and quality assurance across Retail Claims activities, ensuring accuracy, consistency and compliance with approved procedures, controls and service standards.
Safeguarding the interests of the company and the integrity of the insurance process while ensuring fair and transparent treatment of policyholders, beneficiaries and other claimants.
Driving operational excellence and efficiency across the Retail Claims team through effective workload management, quality control, root-cause analysis and corrective action.
Owning the team's delivery against agreed turnaround time and SLA targets, currently 98%, and ensuring timely corrective action where performance is at risk.
Using claims data, trends and management information to identify emerging experience, claims leakage, fraud patterns and service issues, and translating these into actionable recommendations.
Working closely with Actuarial to support reserve adequacy, claims experience analysis and data quality, and with Underwriting and Reinsurance to provide feedback on emerging risks and claims drivers.
Leading, coaching and developing team members, building capability in claims analytics and digital tools, and maintaining a clear succession pipeline for critical responsibilities within the unit.
Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities) Perspective % Weight Output
Financial 43%
Ensuring reserve adequacy on the system is consistent with claim information at all times, with timely updates, reconciliations and escalation of material differences in collaboration with Actuarial.
Overseeing monthly claims data and experience reviews to ensure clean, complete and reliable claims data for reporting, reserving and decision-making.
Performing qualitative claims reviews to ensure adherence to policy terms and conditions, proper documentation and consistent claims decisions.
Ensuring quantitative claims reviews and quality checks support accurate benefit calculations, approvals and payments, with minimal claims leakage and rework.
Improving risk profiling by identifying and communicating claims trends, emerging risks and risk improvement recommendations to Underwriting, Actuarial, Reinsurance and Product teams.
Avoiding fines, penalties and regulatory breaches through strong controls, documentation and adherence to applicable requirements.
Monitoring claims cost, leakage and fraud trends and recommending practical actions to protect portfolio profitability and customer value.
Internal business processes 29%
Ensuring prompt registration and end-to-end processing of claims, annuity-related claims events, surrenders, maturities and other policy benefits.
Ensuring prompt and accurate review of claims substantiating documents and policy records.
Ensuring prompt review of investigators' reports and effective follow-through on recommendations and exceptions.
Ensuring timely communication of claim decisions, settlement offers and other benefit outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
Owning Retail Claims SLA, quality and control performance, using dashboards and management information to identify bottlenecks and drive corrective action.
Maintaining effective fraud detection, referral and investigation controls, with regular review of red flags, exceptions and emerging patterns.
Driving process simplification, automation and digital improvement initiatives that improve customer experience, accuracy and operational efficiency.
Leading team workflow, quality assurance, escalation management and completion of agreed management, audit and regulatory actions.
Key Accountabilities (Duties and Responsibilities) Perspective % Weight Output
Customer 14%
Maintaining appropriate engagement with customers and intermediaries on complex, delayed or sensitive claims and benefit transactions.
Ensuring clear, timely and empathetic feedback is provided to customers, beneficiaries, agents and brokers throughout the claims journey.
Owning adherence to agreed turnaround times and ensuring exceptions, complaints and service recovery are proactively managed.
Promoting fair customer outcomes and using complaint and service data to identify opportunities to improve the claims experience.
Learning and growth 14%
Identifying technical, leadership and data capability gaps within the team and organising knowledge-sharing, coaching and targeted learning interventions to close them.
Supporting team members to obtain relevant professional certification, including ACIIN or its equivalent, and to build broader life claims capability.
Building team capability in claims data analytics, dashboards and digital tools so that insight generation becomes part of day-to-day claims management.
Maintaining a succession and cross-training plan for key claims responsibilities, with clear development actions for high-potential team members.
Job Dimensions Reporting Relationships: jobs that report to this position directly and indirectly
Direct Reports
Analysts / Claims Officers (as applicable)
Indirect Reports
NYSC
Intern
Stakeholder Management: key stakeholders that the position holder will need to liaise/work with to be successful in this role
Internal
Head of Life Claims and Life Business leadership
Actuarial, Underwriting, Reinsurance, Risk, Compliance, Internal Control and Finance
Customer Experience, Sales, Legal, IT / Digital Transformation and other shared service teams
EXTERNAL
Regulator (NAICOM)
Brokers / Agents
Policyholders, beneficiaries and corporate partners
External investigators, medical service providers, legal advisers and reinsurance partners
Decision Making Authority /Mandates/Constraints: the decisions the position holder is empowered to make
Determining, within delegated authority, whether the policy covers the claimed event or benefit and whether the claim is admissible.
Determining or recommending the appropriate claim or policy benefit amount payable, consistent with policy terms, evidence and delegated authority.
Owning agreed Retail Claims improvement initiatives and making recommendations on claims strategy, controls, customer experience and operational efficiency.
Authorising claim payments within approved limits and escalating exceptions, disputed matters, material fraud concerns and cases outside authority.
Allocating team workload, setting operational priorities and taking immediate action on service, quality or control exceptions within the unit
Initiating or approving further investigation of suspicious claims in accordance with the company's fraud management and escalation framework.
Work cycle and impact: time horizon and nature of impact (Planning)
This role has various work cycle and impact groupings:
Daily engagements: reviewing team workload and priority cases; following up with claimants, beneficiaries, brokers, agents, investigators and relevant service providers; resolving technical escalations; and attending internal or external meetings on complex or disputed claims.
Performance review: weekly and monthly review of claim files, SLA performance, reserve and data quality, fraud exceptions, complaints, claims trends and outstanding actions, with clear ownership for corrective measures.
Periodic planning and improvement: participating in claims experience reviews with Actuarial and other stakeholders, audit and regulatory engagements, process improvement initiatives, team coaching and succession planning. Work arrangements will be in line with the company's applicable workplace policy.
Ideal Job Specifications Academic:
Bachelor's Degree / HND or equivalent from a recognised institution; Insurance, Actuarial Science, Finance, Economics, Business or another relevant discipline is preferred.
Master's Degree is an added advantage.
A professional qualification such as ACIIN, or its equivalent from another recognised professional institution, is strongly preferred.
Desired work experience:
Minimum of 3-5 years relevant life insurance technical experience, with at least 3 years in claims and evidence of supervisory responsibility, team leadership or ownership of a significant claims portfolio.
Excellent critical and analytical thinking, research capability and sound decision-making skills, with the ability to challenge assumptions and resolve complex claims issues with appropriate independence.
Strong numerical skills to assess policy benefits, claims calculations, policy values, reserves and financial implications accurately.
Strong working knowledge of life insurance products, claims practice, relevant regulation and market conduct requirements.
Ability to exercise sound judgement, balance customer fairness with policy terms and controls, and escalate material exceptions appropriately.
Strong customer focus and service delivery skills, including the ability to manage sensitive or complex customer situations.
Strong proficiency in MS Office, particularly Excel; working knowledge of Power BI or equivalent analytics / dashboard tools is desirable.
Ability to work under pressure, manage competing priorities and consistently meet strict deadlines and service commitments.
Strong administrative, planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage team workflow and maintain control over open items and escalations.
Strong interpersonal, stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation skills, including the ability to work effectively with Actuarial and other technical teams.
High attention to detail and a strong control mindset.
Demonstrated understanding of claims fraud risks, fraud indicators, investigation processes and claims leakage controls.
Evidence of people leadership, coaching and capability building, with the ability to develop successors and improve team performance.
Comfort using data to identify claims trends, service issues and emerging risks, and to translate analysis into clear management insight and action.