Claim busters get top award

OLDHAM Council’s risk and insurance team has won a prestigious national award for its work.

The Team of the Year award recognised how the team has changed its approach to insurance claims — potentially saving the council and taxpayers thousands of pounds each year.

The Alarm Risk Awards are highly regarded as a measure of excellence in the management of risk and insurance in public service and community organisations.

The judges’ citation said: “Oldham Council’s team has made a significant impact by generating ideas in relation to fraud strategies, obtaining a network of community contacts, providing professional advice and generating savings.

“The team has ensured that projects are worked through together by effective task management, understanding the process, managing communications and respecting each other’s contributions.”

The team has worked alongside various departments and external partners. This has proved especially successful around highways claims and increasing the defence around these claims

The team works closely with schools and produces an insurance manual for senior leadership teams as well as providing guidance and advice to all council departments.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar, cabinet member for finance and human resources, said: “We’d like to congratulate the team. The council faces many financial challenges, so ensuring we have robust internal systems in place that can produce savings, as well as allowing us to tackle those who aim to make fraudulent claims, are important.”