AXA Health's recently formed risk team of 20 full-time employees has played a pivotal role in driving enhanced risk and conduct maturity across the entire organisation, earning them InsuranceERM's prestigious risk team of the year award.
The risk team embarked on a transformative journey in 2023, simplifying the insurer's risk profile from 463 to 78 risks for focused action. This enabled them to overhaul the control environment, ensuring controls were aligned with the new risks and mapped to clinical risk registers.
To further empower staff, over the past year, AXA Health trained over 500 employees on key risk management topics, such as risk incident management, controls assessment and issue action planning.
The risk team also established a robust first line assurance function, reducing overlap and increasing oversight across the organisation. It subsequently delivered impactful reviews on critical areas like compliance with Consumer Duty rules and data governance, as well as strengthening controls.
In addition to managing risk, the team has been a strategic partner in the insurer's growth and transformation. For example, it was instrumental in supporting the launch of AXA Health Plan, ensuring it met risk tolerances. Overall, the risk team has played its part in the product's strong sales volumes.
The team has also played a leading role in implementing AXA Health's Consumer Duty requirements, earning praise from stakeholders for their dedication and expertise. It developed an innovative "Customer Outcomes dashboard," empowering data-driven decisions and improved customer experiences.
Looking ahead, a spokesperson for AXA Health tells InsuranceERM the team is very much focused on risks and opportunities presented by the external environment.
"We are very conscious that NHS stretch, socio-political changes, and advancements in AI / machine learning present unique challenges – alongside an evolving regulatory agenda," AXA Health said.
AXA Health highlighted key players in the team include:
- Andy Martyn – head of strategic risk & resilience
- Illona McIntosh – head of risk business partnering.
- Lynsey Wilson – head of governance & reporting
- Ben Lynn – head of conduct & compliance
- Charlotte Salisbury – head of assurance
- Richard Byworth – head of quality
Furthermore, during a year of significant change and transformation, the judges were impressed that AXA Health has managed to maintain levels of positive engagement in the team. For example, it has offered apprenticeships or training programmes to its top talent.
