Elizma Booyens

Death Claims | Beneficiary Allocation | Compliance | Customer Care
Registered and administered death claims end‑to‑end, ensuring accurate beneficiary allocation and compliant payouts.
Verified documentation, policy details and tax requirements.
Coordinated with stakeholders, Underwriting, legal, finance and clinical teams to resolve complex claims.
Conducted investigations into claim validity, fraud indicators and policy conditions.
Managed sensitive claimant interactions with empathy and professionalism.
Achieved 99% accuracy in death claim payouts.
Processed 95% of claims within internal turnaround times.
Reduced claim processing times through workflow redesign and documentation improvements.
Strengthened fraud detection through stringent verification processes.
Ensured all claim payouts were POPIA verified.

Handled high‑volume inbound calls from intermediaries and clients across multiple insurance products, resolving queries, escalations and complex cases with accuracy and professionalism.

Delivered full policy servicing for Retirement Annuities, Living Annuities, Commutations, Surrenders, Section 14 Transfers, Death & Disability Claims, Beneficiaries and Nominees.

Consistently met service level, average handling time, productivity and quality targets through disciplined adherence to procedures and call guidelines.

Maintained precise and compliant customer interaction records, ensuring seamless case progression and effective communication between departments.

Demonstrated strong problem‑solving and issue analysis, improving first‑call resolution and reducing repeat contacts.

Adapted quickly to process changes, product updates and regulatory requirements, ensuring accurate and up‑to‑date information was provided to customers.

Participated in ongoing training and development, strengthening product knowledge and procedural accuracy.

Delivered stable performance during peak call periods, maintaining composure and service quality under pressure.

I listen with intent, respond with care, and turn difficult conversations into constructive outcomes.

Introduced and Supported customers in moving to online services, making their experience smoother while reducing call centre demand.

Utilized multiple systems, Sentrix, Roscoe, Content Manager, Epsilon, Avaya Avanti to navigate, ensuring excellent client experience.

Payments | Instalments | Tax | Reconciliations | Unclaimed Benefits | High-Risk Transactions
Led a team of 25 across Payments, Instalments, Tax Processing, Reconciliations and Unclaimed Benefits.
Directed end‑to‑end operational delivery, ensuring productivity, quality, compliance and governance targets were consistently achieved.
Oversaw monthly reconciliations for Instalments & Tax, RA, Disability Claims, Death Claims and Values.
Managed high‑risk escalations, executive complaints and complex service failures.
Ensured POPIA, ASISA, audit and regulatory compliance across all operational processes.
Approved international cross‑border payments via ABSA International Banking.
Led workforce planning, hybrid attendance management, capacity planning and resource allocation.
Managed UAT, BRT and disaster‑recovery readiness for PMT systems and processes.
Rebuilt team culture, resolved conflict and stabilised morale in a previously fragmented environment.
Key Achievements:
Transformed a high‑risk department into a compliant, stable and high‑performing operational unit.
Created Key Control Documents, shifting accountability to consultants and strengthening audit compliance.
Implemented a two‑tier control sign‑off preventing missed controls and repeat audit findings.
Founded the SAP4Hana BUS Enablement Forum, awarded for adoption, issue resolution and staff empowerment.
Reduced escalation recurrence through structured root‑cause analysis and process redesign.
Improved ASISA reporting accuracy and operational transparency across all recon areas.
Implemented weekly backlog clean‑ups, ageing‑bucket tracking and structured ownership allocation.
Streamlined workflows across Instalments, Tax and Death Claims, improving turnaround times and freeing capacity.
Major Project: Recon‑Interval Analytics Solution
Designed and implemented a reconciliation‑interval analytics solution categorizing ageing intervals and highlighting non‑compliant items.
Provided instant visibility of volumes, values and fluctuations across accounts.
Enabled proactive correction before audit findings and significantly reduced manual analysis time.
Adopted across all recon teams, strengthening audit readiness and operational control maturity.

Sanlam | Banking Infrastructure | Collections | Payment Risk |Secure Data Movement.
FinTech is the banking and payments backbone of Sanlam. It’s the part of the business that keeps money moving safely, accurately and on time validating banking details, processing debit/credit transactions, and securely transferring financial data between Sanlam and external institutions such as ABSA, Home Affairs and other banking partners.

I Managed the high‑risk, time‑critical banking and collections engine of Sanlam, ensuring every payment file, every data transfer and every exception was handled accurately, securely and on time.
Worked in the high‑risk, time‑critical side of FinTech where every minute and every detail mattered.

Collections and payment files had to be validated, corrected and delivered to the bank before strict cut‑off times to prevent failed runs, customer impact or financial exposure.
Managed and validated daily and weekly banking files that determine whether payments go out correctly, debit orders succeed, and exceptions are flagged before they become financial risks.
Ensured the secure movement of financial data through SFTP/FTP/SQL uploads, keeping the entire banking system running accurately and compliantly.
Maintained 24/7 availability to fix files that fell out on SQL, remove incorrect files before they reached the bank, and prevent high‑risk failures.
Oversaw collections and payment files under strict time constraints where delays, incorrect details or missed exceptions could affect thousands of customers.
Built strong relationships with external banking partners, including Standard Bank, to support smooth payment operations and client retention.
Supported external clients using MultiConnect (security companies, churches, schools, clubs, wineries, payroll clients), ensuring seamless debit order and payment processing.

Conducted yearly fee updates for internal and external clients, ensuring accurate billing and compliance.
Led client retention initiatives by contacting former clients, understanding their concerns, and implementing solutions to win them back.
Delivered direct feedback to senior management on external client retention, operational visibility and service performance.
Standardized procedures, job roles and quality guidelines to strengthen operational consistency and reduce risk.
Drafted more advanced job profiles to support staff promotions, recognizing the high‑risk nature of the work and the zero‑error tolerance required.
Conducted regular performance reviews, coached staff, and built a collaborative, positive team environment.
Championed continuous improvement initiatives that enhanced process effectiveness across the department.
Excellence Award for Process Implementation for delivering high‑impact operational improvements.
Increased team productivity by 18% through new performance‑management frameworks.
Improved first‑contact resolution by 25% through coaching and quality monitoring.
Reduced processing errors by 10% through trend analysis and corrective action plans.
Strengthened customer retention through improved service delivery, proactive engagement and escalation management.
Enhanced data integrity and security across banking and payment systems.
Standardized operational procedures, improving consistency and reducing risk across all banking workflows.
Built strong external relationships, improving client satisfaction and stabilizing long‑term contracts.
Reduced employee turnover by fostering a supportive, communicative and growth‑focused team culture.
Successfully retained clients by addressing concerns, implementing solutions and rebuilding trust.
Improved operational visibility for senior management through clear reporting on client retention and service performance.

Provident Fund Operations | Policy Maintenance | Financial Calculations | People Leadership
Managed production‑driven teams performing maintenance on Corporate Financial Schemes policies.
Calculated surrenders, maturities, partial surrenders, cumulative interest and payouts.
Handled complex client interactions and financial calculations.
Led Provident Fund operations, production planning and people management.
Drafted training manuals, assigned workloads and managed service levels.
Conducted quality assurance, risk sampling and compliance checks.
Managed CEO‑level complaints end‑to‑end and redesigned processes to prevent recurrence.
Reported on volumes, values and trends to identify operational risks and improvement opportunities.
Represented Old Mutual at CCMA hearings.
Improved team productivity through structured performance management and workflow redesign.
Enhanced customer satisfaction by resolving complex escalations and preventing repeat issues.
Strengthened operational controls through quality‑assurance frameworks and compliance monitoring.
Developed comprehensive training materials improving onboarding speed and consultant capability.
Increased employee engagement and retention through coaching and cross‑training.

Matriculated at President High School Cape Town in 1994.