CIC Insurance Group Limited, commonly referred to as CIC Group, is an insurance and investment group that operates mainly in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Malawi About the Role  Reporting to the Chief Executive Director, the Claims Manager – Life role will support the effective and efficient management of the life insurance claims function by ensuring accurate, timely, and fair assessment and settlement of claims; maintaining prudent and adequate reserving; ensuring full compliance with regulatory, policy, and governance requirements; and driving continuous improvement in claims processes, service delivery, and operational controls, while providing strong leadership, guidance, and professional development to the claims team. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:  Claims Approval & Settlement Provide technical oversight and approval of life insurance claims discharge documentation within delegated authority levels. Authorize payment of life claims strictly in line with policy provisions, underwriting intent, reinsurance requirements, regulatory rules, and internal governance frameworks. Ensure all life claims are assessed, approved, and settled accurately, fairly, and within agreed turnaround times (TATs). Exercise sound judgment to ensure settlements reflect policy intent while safeguarding the company against financial, legal, and reputational risk. Review and validate complex claims assessments to ensure alignment with medical evidence, legal documentation, underwriting disclosures, and contractual obligations. Escalate high‑risk, high‑value, complex, or contentious claims with comprehensive analysis, risk assessment, and clearly articulated recommendations.  Claims Reserving & Review Establish, review, and adjust life claim reserves based on evolving claim facts, legal outcomes, and exposure assessments. Ensure reserves accurately reflect the ultimate liability and comply with actuarial input, accounting standards, and regulatory requirements. Monitor reserve adequacy and trends to minimise reserve volatility and financial misstatement. Conduct structured periodic reserve reviews, providing clear justification for material adjustments, strengthening overall portfolio transparency and control. Collaborate with actuarial and finance teams to enhance reserving accuracy and claims provisioning discipline. Risk Management & Underwriting Support Analyse life claims experience, including mortality, morbidity, loss ratios, and emerging risk trends. Identify systemic issues, root causes, anti‑selection risks, and control gaps impacting portfolio performance. Provide targeted, data‑driven feedback to underwriting, pricing, and product teams to improve risk selection, pricing adequacy, and policy wording clarity. Support continuous enhancement of underwriting guidelines leveraging claims insights and lessons learned. Participate in post‑loss reviews, evaluations, investigations, and technical assessments. Customer Service & Complaints Handling Champion fair and transparent claims handling in line with Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principles. Manage escalated, sensitive, or complex claims complaints involving beneficiaries, policyholders, intermediaries, and regulators. Ensure professional, timely, and well‑documented communication at all stages of the claims journey. Build and maintain strong professional relationships with brokers, agents, reinsurers. Strengthen trust and brand reputation through balanced, customer‑centric, yet contractually sound decision‑making. Regulatory, Governance & Management Reporting Prepare, validate, and submit accurate life claims returns and reports to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) within prescribed timelines. Ensure compliance with all statutory, regulatory, reinsurance, and internal reporting standards. Maintain high standards of data integrity, documentation quality, and audit readiness. Support internal, external, and regulatory audits by providing clear explanations, reconciliations, and corrective action plans. Produce insightful management reports highlighting claims performance, risk exposures, trends, operational efficiency, and emerging issues. Appeals & Ex‑Gratia Claims Management Coordinate preparation and presentation of claim appeals and ex‑gratia requests to management, relevant or committees. Ensure all ex‑gratia settlements are justified, exceptional, fully documented, and aligned with approved governance frameworks. Track appeal outcomes and identify systemic lessons to enhance decision‑making consistency and reduce recurrence. Strengthen transparency and accountability in exceptional claims handling. People Management & Development Provide strong leadership, supervision, and mentorship to life claims teams. Set performance standards aligned to quality, turnaround time, customer experience, and technical excellence. Conduct structured performance reviews and implement targeted development and succession plans. Allocate workloads effectively and monitor productivity to ensure service and quality benchmarks are consistently achieved. Foster a culture of professionalism, ethical conduct, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Decision‑Making & Accountabilities  Financial Impact Decisions Approve life claim payments within delegated authority limits. Provide expert technical input into declined, disputed, negotiated, appealed, and ex‑gratia claims. Influence claims cost containment, reserve adequacy, loss ratios, and overall product profitability. Contribute to life claims budgeting, forecasting, and expense management initiatives. Operational, Customer & People Impact Decisions Communicate claim decisions clearly, professionally, and sensitively to policyholders, beneficiaries, and intermediaries. Drive continuous improvement of life claims processes, controls, systems, and workflows. Coach and guide staff to enhance technical competence and decision quality. Ensure consistent adherence to service standards, ethical principles, regulatory requirements, and internal policies. Who We’re Looking For Academic & Professional Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in actuarial, Business Administration or a related discipline. Professional insurance qualification such as ACII, CII, Diploma in Insurance Master’s Degree in related field is an added advantage.  Experience Minimum of 8 years’ experience in claims Management.  Key Competencies Claims Technical Expertise – Strong knowledge of policy interpretation, claims assessment, settlement, and reserving practices. Analytical & Judgment Skills – Ability to analyse complex claims, assess risk and quantum, and make sound, fair decisions. Decision-Making & Accountability – Confident, timely decision-making within delegated authority with clear ownership of outcomes. Customer & Stakeholder Management – Professional handling of customers, intermediaries, complaints, and external service providers. Leadership & People Development – Ability to coach, mentor, and manage claims staff to achieve performance and quality standards. Planning & Time Management – Strong organization and prioritization skills to meet turnaround times and service levels. Communication & Reporting – Clear written and verbal communication, including regulatory and management reporting. Ethics, Compliance & Integrity – Commitment to ethical conduct, regulatory compliance, and Treating Customers Fairly principles.