Gallagher Bassett (GB) is pleased to announce the promotion of Steph Connolly to the newly created role of Head of Personal Injury Innovation & GBCARE. Steph joined GB in 2011 as an Injury Management Advisor and has worked in several other roles at GB including Claims Operations Manager, Branch Manager, and Team Manager. Here, Steph talks about GB’s approach to personal injury claims and how it’s unique to other competitors as well as her goals in this new role.

In your words, what is Personal Injury defined as and why is it important to manage claims efficiently?

A personal injury is any physical or psychological injury sustained by an individual. At GB, we specialise in managing personal injury claims through the workers’ compensation schemes when a personal injury is sustained out of or in the course of their employment. It is important to manage these claims efficiently as early intervention and support is a key driver in achieving optimal recovery outcomes for those who are injured.

Why are tailored claims important in personal injury (speak to different injuries and industries)? With this in mind, how does Gallagher Bassett approach this?

A tailored approach to claims management is important as no individual or injury is the same. GB takes a holistic, person-centred approach to managing personal injury claims, through understanding demographic and biopsychosocial factors. These factors are used in combination with decision support tools, to facilitate personalised engagement and specialised intervention to support an individual’s recovery and return to health, based on their specific needs.

We have also developed extensive specialisation and expertise for injury types and industries, to support best practice claims management. This includes the creation of our Mental Health Hub, which drives tailored initiatives and the development of best practice for prevention, early intervention, and complex claims management using an evidenced-based approach.

From your experience, when have you experienced an innovative Pl initiative and what were the results?  

Our MyWellbeing program is an exciting innovation within Personal Injury. It is a pre-claim mental health program, designed to address psychological hazards including vicarious trauma, impacts of organisational change, single traumatic events, and interpersonal conflict. The program facilitates workplace health solutions through early detection and intervention, connection to support and community resources, education and empowerment, and debriefing with qualified individuals.

This program has been able to achieve a reduction in both the prevalence and severity of psychological injuries within the workplace. It has also proven to be effective in providing a proactive and early intervention strategy to support mental and occupational health, as well as a safe environment for employees to collaboratively develop wellbeing plans.

In an era where technology is at the centre of everything we do, what's next for Gallagher Bassett in terms of Personal Injury Innovation?

GB has developed a number of decision support tools and interactive dashboards to drive optimal claim outcomes. We are continuing to explore how we can further enhance and expand on these tools nationally.

How does Gallagher Basset employ innovation to differentiate their Pl claims management to other competitors?

GB is targeted in our approach to innovation in Personal Injury. We work in a very data-rich environment and use this to inform our strategy and delivery of innovative solutions, ensuring they are aligned to current and emerging trends. Our ability to leverage our global capability in addition to our extensive experience locally, has provided a strong platform to be at the forefront of PI innovation.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

A highlight in my career has been moving into this new role. To be given the opportunity to lead personal injury innovation across the business is exciting. The ability to collaborate with our operations nationally as well as with our US team has already demonstrated the drive across the business to embrace innovation and achieve optimal outcomes for our customers.

What has been the highlight of working with GB?

The highlight of working with GB always comes back to the people within our organisation, their commitment, support and passion. When recently discussing what matters most to people within our business, connection, purpose and trust were recurring themes. In my 11 years with GB, I can wholeheartedly say I have experienced this, consistently and profoundly. 

What are your top three goals for your new role?

The top three goals for my new role are to leverage existing capability both locally and globally to enhance our personal injury strategy across Australia. Establish new, innovative solutions to support best practice and tailored claims management. Finally, to integrate our GBCARE products into the Australian business to improve early intervention and recovery outcomes.

GB is the largest multi-disciplinary Third-Party Claims Administrator in Australia. Find out more about our services for Insurers, Brokers, Government, and Corporate Clients today!