Advanced Buildings thrives on new ideas and improvement

Being a Leo, Rifhat Jangir believes she was a born leader.

Born and educated in Manchester, England to a Pakistani family of ten children, Jangir learned how to share very quickly and what it was like to work collectively in a manner that suited all.

‘I was used to dealing with big groups of people from a young age and living with many people meant learning how to adapt to different situations and personalities,’ she says.

GIVING IT EVERYTHING

Jangir, Chief Client Officer at insurance building and restorations specialist Advanced Buildings, says her first mentor was her father, an engineer who taught her to do everything with all her heart.

‘He also taught me that if you put your mind to it, “you can do it”,’ she recalls.

‘That was his philosophy and it helped mould who I am today and how I raise my own two children.’

‘My work mentors over the years have been people who believed in me and supported me through the good times and the tough times.’

For Jangir, a great insurance leader is always thinking of the customer at the heart of everything they do.

‘Great leaders need to ensure that they inspire trust in those around them,’ she says.

‘I have a fear of failure, so I ensure I use this as an engine to drive and achieve future success.’

STARTING YOUNG

Jangir became a supervisor managing and leading departments in the banking sector at the age of 20. Her policy was to ‘always seek new ideas for improvement’.

She started her insurance career with an opportunity at the Direct Line Group, one of the UK’s leading insurers.

Yearning for an adventure and to explore a new country, she and her husband of four months moved to Australia in 2006.

With experience in a variety of lines and roles in operations, recoveries, fraud, motor, home, landlord and business interruption insurance (BI), Jangir was appointed Head of Claims for SUU, a subsidiary of the IAG Group, in 2011.

‘I spent the last 18 months of this role working with underwriters and business managers on policy wording, supply chain management and supplier contracts, managing losses in the multi millions,’ she tells.

Winning the IAG Excellence in Leadership award was a career highlight.

‘Over the years I have worked towards building high performance teams through process improvement and streamlining processes,’ she says.

‘The award was awesome recognition of all the work I had put in.’

VALUE PROPOSITION

Most recently, she’s extremely proud of her appointment to a C-suite due to the customer value proposition she’s created at Advanced Buildings since joining the company in 2019.

‘As a supplier for the insurance industry, it’s very pleasing to see the client evolution over the last 18 months,’ she shares.

‘I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work through the departments of a private organisation, and I’d like to see that take me into the next step of my career.

‘The holistic view of the business I’ve gained gives me the knowledge required to offer best practice solutions and improve and maximise our potential and growth.’

PANDEMIC RISKS

In terms of the key risks facing the industry, Jangir points to the reduction in claims due to more people working from home as a result of the pandemic.

‘This could mean the need to review our current appetite for services,’ she says.

’For example, we might need to branch out to remedial private works, and build more clients in education, housing commission or hotel construction.’

Where technologies are widely available, there is also a risk of seeing an increase in high-profile cyberattacks.

‘There are growing security concerns regarding the number of cyberattacks directed against mobile devices,’ she points out.

PRIORITISING GROWTH

Despite the threats, Jangir says Advanced Buildings is prioritising growth by expanding its geographical footprint as a priority.

‘We are currently on the eastern seaboard and strongly supported by our clients,’ she says.

‘However, with the emerging urban and country model of living and the hybrid work patterns predicted in the future, Advanced is also exploring its regional footprint.

‘The growth we’ll see over the coming five years will be based on how we can be set up to support our current customers’ vision and journey.’

GREAT PLACE TO BE

Jangir is optimistic about the future.

‘The insurance industry is an amazing place to be within Australia with its vast network of support and education,’ she enthuses.

‘The industry is also pandemic-proof. It has job stability and the demand for insurance people will increase in the coming few years.’