Transforming Quality Assurance and Compliance Outcomes in the Insurance Industry

August 2025

Following her commencement with Gallagher Bassett in March 2025, General Counsel Katie Lamb has made several strategic moves to progress the company's quality assurance and compliance programmes. The recent promotion of Victoria Beaumont to head of Quality Assurance (QA) was a key milestone in Katie's roadmap.

We sat down with Katie and Victoria to discuss their current plans and future vision for the QA and Compliance function.

Katie, what was your focus and priority upon commencing with Gallagher Bassett?

Katie: When I joined Gallagher Bassett, I was focused on establishing a comprehensive understanding of our operations, legal and compliance culture, and strategic priorities. Through collaboration across our departments and building strong relationships with leadership and other stakeholders, my team and I identified key legal and compliance challenges and opportunities.

As a result of this extensive discovery phase, we have fostered an environment where the general counsel function is seen as a strategic partner to organisational success. Concurrently, we have evaluated our legal processes and compliance framework to ensure alignment with industry best practices.

How will Victoria's promotion to head of Quality Assurance enable the function to achieve their strategic objectives?

Katie: Promoting Victoria to head of QA was one of my first actions as general counsel. The QA function is an integral part of my team and requires deep claims expertise and leadership skills. Victoria's background in claims management and her extensive knowledge of Gallagher Bassett and the environment in which our clients operate are all part of what makes her the right fit for this role. I'm confident that, under her leadership, the QA team will continue to grow and develop.

Victoria: The QA team is responsible for monitoring compliance across a broad spectrum of service, operational, and regulatory requirements. My goal in this new role is to establish a robust strategy that focuses on high standards of service, operational integrity, and compliance with our regulatory obligations.

What projects is the department currently working on?

Victoria: We're continuing to strategically invest in QA, which will enable us to further develop our already well-established programme and introduce enhanced technical capabilities.

By building our QA team, we can evaluate our claims handlers more frequently, as well as our operational divisions' processes and practises. We aim to focus on key areas like fraud detection and prevention, proactive claims management, and Consumer Duty compliance.

Katie: Another key project is delivering improved QA processes for First Notification of Loss (FNOL), as well as our recently launched Accident and Health division. By introducing regular, comprehensive QA processes, we expect to improve our communications with claimants, identify areas for improvement, and uphold consistently high service standards.

How will these projects position Gallagher Bassett as a market leader in QA and compliance?

Victoria: Our comprehensive QA programme has been thoughtfully designed with both clients and claimants in mind. Our aim is to deliver the highest standards of service and operational integrity. It's the depth and scale of this programme that will position Gallagher Bassett as a leader in quality and service delivery.

The approach we're taking is proactive — by seeking to enhance the capabilities of our people whilst addressing potential issues early, we mitigate risk for our clients. Through regular monitoring and evaluation, we can effectively identify areas for training and development. This ensures our people will have the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver exceptional service.

Katie: An integral component of our QA process is compliance. By ensuring we adhere to our regulatory requirements, we safeguard our clients from legal and financial repercussions. As we continuously refine and enhance our processes, we reinforce Gallagher Bassett's commitment to excellence and reliability. This delivers substantial value to our clients by offering assurance and confidence in our partnership, while positioning Gallagher Bassett as a distinctive leader within the market.

How are key trends in insurance shaping QA, and what is Gallagher Bassett doing in response to these trends?

Katie: The insurance industry is constantly evolving, and a robust QA strategy is integral in ensuring we manage these changes appropriately.

From a regulatory perspective, Consumer Duty continues to be a key focus and, as we seek to enhance our QA programme, we prioritise our commitment to acting in the best interest of our clients and claimants. By delivering fair, transparent, and values-driven services, we aim to uphold our Consumer Duty obligations with a particular emphasis on providing vulnerable individuals with care tailored to their needs.

Victoria: AI is significantly transforming the insurance industry, and we're looking into solutions to lead this change. We're implementing a state-of-the-art telephony system that will provide us with significant technical capability using AI. This system will allow us to automate certain QA tasks, such as analysing the sentiment, pace, and tone of calls and adherence to best practices. Through this automation, we expect to see enhanced productivity of our QA team, providing us with a sharper focus on our strategic goals.

By responding to the dynamic trends of the insurance market, we can effectively streamline our processes whilst delivering exceptional service and expertise — all of which will help to position Gallagher Bassett as an innovative market leader.

What other plans do the QA and Compliance team have for the rest of 2025?

Katie: As we look ahead to the rest of 2025, Gallagher Bassett is poised for substantial growth. Our acquisitions of Caytons and WK Webster are pivotal steps in our growth journey. We're integrating the learnings and best practices of our recently acquired and global partners within Gallagher Bassett to establish a robust, centralised QA team.

Victoria: Acquisitions offer a unique opportunity for knowledge sharing that all Gallagher Bassett family of brands can benefit from. Their integration will not only enhance our operational capabilities but also ensure that we maintain consistent, high-quality service standards across all facets of our organisation. By leveraging our combined expertise, we strengthen our ability to deliver exceptional service and protect our client's interests.