Jeniffer Njeri Karanja
Underwriter
Nairobi
Summary
Proven leader with extensive experience at Absa Life Assurance Kenya Ltd, excelling in team supervision and analytical skills. Elevated team performance through targeted mentoring and streamlined workflows, significantly enhancing productivity. Demonstrated expertise in complaint resolution and people management, achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
10
10
years of post-secondary education
2
2
Languages
Work History
Team Leader -underwriter
Absa Life Assurance Kenya Ltd
08.2022 - Current
- Monitored team performance and provided constructive feedback to increase productivity and maintain quality standards.
- Worked with team to identify areas of improvement and devised solutions based on findings.
- Supervised team members to confirm compliance with set procedures and quality requirements.
- Set performance expectations for team, monitoring progress towards goals and providing constructive feedback as needed.
- Developed team members'' skills through targeted coaching sessions, resulting in improved individual performance.
- Managed leave requests and absences and arranged covers to facilitate smooth flow of operations.
- Managed conflict resolution among team members, fostering positive and collaborative work environment.
- Evaluated team member performance against established objectives during regular reviews, offering praise for achievements or identifying areas requiring further development.
- Conducted training and mentored team members to promote productivity and commitment to friendly service.
- Communicated KPIs outlined in annual plan to inform employees of expectations and deliverables.
- Streamlined workflows for increased efficiency, reducing turnaround times for critical tasks.
- Assisted in recruitment of new team members, hiring highest qualified to build team of top performers.
- Conducted regular reviews of operations and identified areas for improvement.
- Evaluated staff performance and provided coaching to address inefficiencies.
- Maintained overall safe work environment with employee training programs and enforcement of safety procedures.
- Mentored junior underwriters, providing guidance on best practices and improving overall team performance by over 50%
- Scrutinized underwriting performance to identify weaknesses and provide recommendations for improvement.
Underwriting Consultant
Absa Life Assurance Kenya Ltd
05.2021 - 09.2022
- Processed new application with utmost accuracy
- Established and maintained relationships with key stakeholders for growth opportunities and successful partnerships.
- Performed comprehensive background checks on applicants as part of due diligence efforts, mitigating exposure to fraudulent activity or misrepresentation risks.
- Built strong relationships with brokers to facilitate smooth communication channels and improve overall customer experience by over 30%
- Identified potential risks through meticulous analysis of clients' insurance proposals, effectively minimizing losses.
- Evaluated complex insurance applications, ensuring thorough risk assessment and accurate policy issuance.
- Contributed to increased revenue generation by collaborating closely with sales teams to identify cross-selling opportunities by sharing MI
- Made approval and denial recommendations by determining accurate risk levels.
- Documented underwriting decisions and provided evidence of compliance with applicable regulations.
Client Service Consultant- Policy Holder Services
BarclaysLife Assurance Kenya Ltd
01.2016 - 05.2022
- Responded to customer concerns with friendly, knowledgeable service, and resolved issues quickly to deliver prompt service.
- Updated accounts, documents and reports with efficiency and accuracy.
- Maintained detailed client records with both personal and payment information.
- Educated clients on services and products available.
- Referred customers to correct representatives after answering questions.
- Educated clients on account services and resolved client inquiries regarding their already finalized policy.
- Collaborated with other departments to develop ways to increase customer satisfaction by over 50%
Team Leader -Complaint Handling Unit
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
11.2009 - 01.2016
- Ensured that all complaints received on the (Complaint Relationship Management) CRM system were assigned to support agents for resolving.
- Was in-charge of the teams’ workflow.
- Allocated cases received through the Contact Centre or the MDs office to the agents for resolving.
- Ensured that follow-ups and escalations were done effectively
- Aggressively followed-up on all outstanding complaints to ensure that they were resolved to the customers’ satisfaction.
- Ensured that all resolution details received from branches were updated on CRM system when received.
- Handled escalations of the outstanding Complaints.
- Liaised with branches for any issues that arese in reference to the turnaround time (TAT) or the service level agreement (SLA
- Was in-charge of the team members’ attendance and leave management.
- Was in-charge of the Complaints reconciliation logs forwarded to Complaints Handling unit (CHU) from all the branches monthly.
- Signed letters being mailed to the customer when responding to their complaints.
- Did resolution calls to the customer in response to their complaints
- Monitored all complaints forwarded outside the piloted branches and ensured resolution.
- Signed holding and resolution letters sent to the customers after the resolution of the case.
- Was in-charge of the control section where I undertook daily sampling of the already resolved cases to ensure proper implementation of the Complaints Management Policy.
- Ensured that the policy of treating customer fairly (TCF) was fully applied when resolving complaints.
- Analyze on a monthly basis the main root cause of the cases received and communicate the same to the departments involved to avoid repeated complaints.
- Work very closely with the Team leaders of the 24 hour Contact Center to ensure efficiency of complaint resolution
- Undertook training on complaints handling process to the customer facing staff and to those at the back office to ensure that any customer issue was handled with the speed, knowledge and accuracy that it deserved.
Investigation Agent - Complaints Handling Unit
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
05.2009 - 11.2009
- Handled complaints from all the Premier Centers in the country when they were rolled out under Complaint Handling Unit since it started as a pilot project.
- Followed up on complaints end to end when they were assigned to me to resolve adhering to the SLA.
- Owned up all the complaints assigned to me and ensured that they were resolved fully and to the customers expectation.
- Provided excellent customer service to both external and internal customers that I dealt with.
- Shared the branch knowledge that I posses with the team in assisting to resolve the complaints that we received.
- Drafted resolution letters for signing when the complaint was resolved.
- Resolved caller issues quickly and thoroughly.
Team Leader- Front Enquiry Desk
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
09.2008 - 04.2009
- Was in charge of enquiries desk ,card and cheque books issuance desks
- Handled customers card and cheque book queries and complaints
- Issued debit and credit cards to customers
- Handled dormant account claims
- Handed claims on deceased customer’s accounts
- Handled general customers queries and complaints
- Handled enquiries by customers both face to face and via telephone
- Managed to cross sell to customers after offering information on various products
- Authorized cashiers transactions both manually and in system.
Customer Advisor
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
03.2005 - 04.2007
- Was in-charge of current account department where I resolved customer’s complaints and queries forwarding by cashiers either via mail or face to face.
- Was in-charge of reconciliation accounts and profit and loss accounts and confirmed them to be balanced on weekly basis.
- Was in-charge of issuing and reviewing of snap checks done weekly, monthly, half yearly and yearly.
- Received and sorted out bank mail from customers and other internal departments.
- Carried out duties of duty authorizer where I manually and electronically authorized cashiers transactions that were above their limits.
Education
Diploma in Insurance - Insurance
College of Insurance
Nairobi Kenya 01.2018 - 05.2020
Diploma in Project Management - Project Management
Kenya Institute of Management
Nairobi Kenya 01.2006 - 12.2006
Master of Arts - Economics
Goa University
Goa,India 05.2002 - 03.2004
Diploma in Information Technology - IT
Manipal Institute of Computer Education
Goa India 05.2002 - 01.2002
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Goa University
Goa,India 05.1997 - 03.2002
Skills
Work Planning
Timeline
Team Leader -underwriter
Absa Life Assurance Kenya Ltd
08.2022 - Current
Underwriting Consultant
Absa Life Assurance Kenya Ltd
05.2021 - 09.2022
Diploma in Insurance - Insurance
College of Insurance
01.2018 - 05.2020
Client Service Consultant- Policy Holder Services
BarclaysLife Assurance Kenya Ltd
01.2016 - 05.2022
Team Leader -Complaint Handling Unit
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
11.2009 - 01.2016
Investigation Agent - Complaints Handling Unit
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
05.2009 - 11.2009
Team Leader- Front Enquiry Desk
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
09.2008 - 04.2009
Diploma in Project Management - Project Management
Kenya Institute of Management
01.2006 - 12.2006
Customer Advisor
Barclays Bank Of Kenya
03.2005 - 04.2007
Master of Arts - Economics
Goa University
05.2002 - 03.2004
Diploma in Information Technology - IT
Manipal Institute of Computer Education
05.2002 - 01.2002
Bachelor of Arts - Economics
Goa University
05.1997 - 03.2002
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