Title: Product Owner

Department: Technology

Joined TAL: August 2022

By its very nature, ‘insurance language’ can be tricky for most people to understand. While we try to use plain English as much as possible, some of our documents still need to have a level of complexity. That’s why my job, helping to design our digital experiences, plays such an important role in helping to simplify the process for our enterprise clients (typically superannuation funds) and their members.

My approach is to take a process people are familiar with—like shopping for a loan or browsing for a new home—and bring that into the insurance application. We make it easier for clients by making sure all the business rules are applied, but people can only see the options that are available to them and their circumstances.

When I first came into the life insurance industry, there was a lot to learn. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed breaking complex things down to a more simple form—to make sense of things. So my work is incredibly rewarding. I’m always asking questions like ‘if I was using this, what would I want? how would I want to interact?’ This capacity to be in the ‘customer’s shoes’ plays a big part in creating better digital products and services for our enterprise clients.

Most of my work is helping our superannuation clients migrate their member digital experience to our new technology stack. Consistently we’re getting feedback from both our clients and members that the process is easier to understand. In user testing, members are better able to articulate the action they are doing and can only see the information and options that are relevant to them.

Of course, working at the enterprise level has its challenges. Each contract with our fund clients is different, which means we need to build products that are bespoke, while still trying to standardise our digital products for reuse.

The other challenge is balancing our desire for member personalisation with regulatory requirements. We strive to deliver the best possible outcomes for members, by tailoring the experience for members as much as we can, without contravene rules around financial advice. It’s always an interesting technical and business challenge, but one that keeps the work engaging.

Ultimately, my product is like my baby and I’m always looking for how we can make it better. This involves having good relationships with our partners as well as internal cross functional teams such as design, compliance, partnerships and more. We’re all collaborating to develop digital insurance solutions that create better member experiences.

Insurance is such an important factor in protecting people, and our technology investments means TAL can make it more accessible for more people.

Interested in applying?