Follow the payment beyond our own screen

In 2019 I accepted a report describing a transmitted annuity file as twenty-four thousand completed payments. Bank-return evidence told a different story: 23,680 had confirmed credit,240 had been returned and eighty still needed status reconciliation. I had treated the completion of our file work as the completion of the customer outcome. We corrected the account and assigned follow-up without blindly sending the uncertain instructions again. A duplicate payment would not repair a weak understanding of the first one. That mistake changed the point at which I was willing to call an operating task finished.

I now lead 214 operating colleagues through six heads at Zerqavni Life Assurance in Guwahati. The ₹37 crore annual service-operation expense is distinct from annuity disbursements and the insurer’s premium measures. CEO Mohan Vezrqali and service head Tenzin Dezrqavi work with me on capacity and service decisions. Finance, actuarial, legal and compliance colleagues retain their professional authority. The insurer has 650 employees and eighteen branches; I have no statutory seat. My 0.2 percent beneficial interest sits within the employee ownership vehicle and would need consideration in any proposed outside relationship. I bring operating recommendations to directors by invitation rather than claim that access as director experience.

Two later programmes examined what happens when a customer’s instruction or verification needs more care than the standard route provides. A bank-detail change required confirmation through authorised channels, with unresolved requests kept separate from evidence of fraud. An existence-verification programme needed alternatives for people who could not attend the usual appointment. A remote route helped some, an arranged visit helped others, and fourteen cases still needed follow-up. Neither a new channel nor a completed form could settle contractual entitlement by itself. I would consider an insurance operations mandate that funds the work after an apparent completion and makes professional responsibility clear. A first outside contribution would require further preparation and an assessment of my relationships and capacity. The operating perspective I would bring is to ask where the customer’s unresolved need has gone when the company’s dashboard turns green.

Current focus

Reliable annuity service through clear payment states, authorised instruction changes and accessible verification.

Conversations I welcome

A life-insurance operations mandate and one assessed outside contribution after preparation.