From the moment a customer contacts us, to getting them back on track as quickly as possible, our Claims and Insurance Support team are the face of Open. They handle all things customer-facing, so on any given day they'll be helping customers from the first notification of loss, right through to claim completion, facilitating repairs or replacement of items being claimed.
They do a stellar job of keeping our customers happy and are well known at Open for keeping team vibes high in our Sunshine Coast and Melbourne offices.
We chatted to five of our Claims and Insurance Support team to hear about their careers at Open. Alana (Lead Claims Specialist), Jamie (Claims Manager), Robinson (Claims Specialist), Jasmine (Motor Claims Team Lead) and Lewis (Claims Specialist) shared their take on all things work-life related, from team dynamics to what makes their roles fun.
From team members that have grown with the company, to newer team members, our team come from a range of insurance and non-insurance backgrounds, here’s what everyone had to say.
What do you find different about working at Open compared to other places you’ve worked?
Individual impact
Enabling our team to make an impact is core to how we work at Open, “People care and I think that's the number one”, says Alana. “You're not another number. You have a voice. People want to listen to you. People at Open want to help you improve your life and the customers’ lives because they really care. “
Jamie also talked about the difference actively being encouraged to share ideas and feedback makes, “I've worked at larger corporates and small to medium-sized businesses before and I don't think I've worked in a company that values your opinion as much as Open. I wasn't used to being asked “Hey, what do you think?”, or being invited to provide my opinion or share my ideas.”
At Open you're valued as a person with really awesome ideas. Which means you can make a big impact on the business and in the wider industry, just by being able to have that free communication within the company.” - Jamie
Individual impact also means “being able to use your own logic and rationale to help the process along,” says Robinson. In insurance, it’s easy to look at someone’s situation or claim and assess things completely factually. But at Open, our team are encouraged to view things empathetically as well. Robinson says that “there's a good human side to what we do.”
A sharing culture
How does a culture of sharing and accountability impact the way our team members work together? “I think everyone in my team and every team I've worked in holds themselves to a high standard.”, says Lewis, meaning that people can be upfront when they make mistakes and take the opportunity to learn from it.
“I really like the sharing culture, the fact that everyone can contribute towards finding solutions for issues. It makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than just your claim portfolio and gives you a chance to get a broader perspective on the issues that our customers are dealing with.” - Lewis
It means that everyone grows together as a team too,, “we're interested in bettering our whole team, rather than just individuals’ performance, so we really work together and support each other,” says Jasmine.
Can you share with us what you enjoy most about your role and working at Open?
Variety
Across different roles, variety is a common theme – no matter whether you’re a Team Lead or directly on the line with customers. For Jamie, being Claims Manager comes with its share of variety, “what I like about my role is it doesn't necessarily mean just because I'm in a leadership role that I'm hands-off. I get to still jump on the phones. I still get to assist with process and system development ideas, I get to deal with complex claims and speak with our customers.”
“I love the variety. So I get to work with a really awesome team, both long-term and newer people that have come on board.” - Jamie
A healthy dose of variety is part of the job for our Claims Specialists like Robinson, “what I really like about the role is that every interaction with the customer is a completely individual story. Everyone has different expectations. So it's like opening night, you've got to be on point with every claim.”
It's just a fun team. We play table tennis. We've got the pool table. There's always music going. There's always banter between the different teams. You can bounce off people when you have something tricky you’re working through.” Robinson
Transparency
We often say that we’re Open by name and nature, “the company lives up to its namesake a lot in that it is very open. Transparency at Open is an integral part of the way we work and run our company,” says Lewis. “I really enjoy being able to sit in on the All Hands meetings and learning about the projects that the business is working towards. It just feels like everyone can know everything if they’re interested.”
“We're always encouraged to be transparent. The approach that the company takes and that you can always tell the customer the truth rather than needing to find excuses or try and hide things. “ Robinson
“There's a lot of really genuine engagement and desire to do the right thing and change things. Everybody is really passionate about growing the business and making a change in the industry.” Jamie
Making a difference
The opportunity to be a part of a business that aligns with our team members’ own values is something that rates highly with our team. Alana says, “it goes back to being a B Corp and making a difference within the community, stuff that aligns with what's important to me personally.” For Alana, it’s what sets Open apart from other companies, “I know a lot of big insurers have quite a bad rap, but our point of difference is really being able to help communities.”
“I love the values Open has - the fact that they want openness and honesty, the fact that they want to be high performance and they want to be the best in the industry.” Jasmine
‘No excuses’ is one of Open’s company values - tell us about what it means for you and for your role?
Continuous improvement
“No excuses” is about how we’re always looking at ways to innovate, improve and provide an even better experience for our customers.
Jamie explains this as “moving away from being okay with excuses for poor customer outcomes. If a customer says, “Hey, this didn't work for me,” how many other customers is that not working for? And can we change things? Can we do it a different way to provide a better outcome? Or make it easier for our team, if our team is saying this doesn't work, then we listen and make those changes.”
For Jasmine it carries into every aspect of her work, “it means that when you’re performing a task or you’re speaking to a customer, you're looking at how you can solve a situation instead of coming up with an excuse, looking at it in different ways to be able to come to a resolution instead of going, oh, it's too hard.”
“It’s the self-reflection of ‘how am I finding a solution for this?” - Jasmine
Accountability
Alongside continuous improvement, our team also reflect on “no excuses” as being part of their approach to work. Robinson explains, “I try to get everything done in a timely, efficient manner. It means I’m going to get a better outcome for my customer, delivering clear, transparent communication for them. It's just taking time to really build rapport with customers so that I understand what is most important to them in their situation.”
Similarly for Lewis, it’s living up to Open’s mantra of being accountable and getting the best results for our customers, ”…no matter how small an issue might seem or how big an issue might seem, it's trying to get that customer the best result at the end of the day. And just look after them how we would want to be looked after ourselves.”
And finally… describe working at Open in three words
Alana: We all care
Jamie: Exciting, impactful, flexible
Jasmine: Rewarding, refreshing, challenging
Lewis: Supportive, innovative, ambitious
Robinson: Fun, always learning
Interested in how our team members progressed into the roles they’re in today? Check out Part 2 of our Inside Claims & Insurance Support blog where our team share the interesting and varied ways they’ve been able to grow and progress throughout their careers.
We’re hiring at Open! From Claims roles, to Engineering, Partnerships and more, we’re looking for people who want to build the future of insurance with one of the world’s leading FinTech companies. Learn more ›
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