Meet Ursula Jallow, Director at the Insurance Fraud Bureau

What do you remember most about your first few days at the IFB?

"One of the first things I remember was how amazing it felt to have the opportunity to lead an organisation that has always been close to my heart.

"I also remember how strangely familiar it was. I was part of a small group of industry colleagues who first came up with the idea of setting up the IFB.  During a sixteen-year career at LV =, I was also working closely with the IFB. So, although there was a lot to learn, it almost felt like I'd been here before. I knew many of the people and recognised the energy around the office. I was reminded that the people who work here really believe in what we are trying to achieve."

What's been your focus in your first few months?

"I'm a real people person and I genuinely believe that if our people are happy and motivated, there's nothing we can't do. So, I've spent a lot of time getting to know the team, especially all the new faces who have joined us in the last year. I've also been speaking to our members to understand what they need from us, and how we can work together, in the right way, to deliver the improvements the industry needs.

"I was closely involved in Forward Together – the IFB's three-year strategy, which sets out what we need to do to help the industry respond to the changing nature of fraud. That includes broadening our offering to better reflect the needs of the market, replacing outdated technologies to make sharing intelligence faster and more efficient, and evolving our membership model so that it better reflects today's changing insurance market. Our members also wanted us to continue delivering awareness campaigns that protect the public, but also to look at solutions that prevent people from turning to opportunistic fraud.

"Although our work to help the industry tackle motor insurance fraud will continue, we've been looking at opportunities in other areas of the market, such as commercial liability, life insurance and travel. To allow us to expand our offering, we've been looking at our Articles of Association and the rules that underpin our cross-industry databases. We've decommissioned several legacy systems, and we'll soon begin preparations for the interface that brings together the IFiHUB and the Insurance Fraud Register to move to a modern cloud platform in 2024. And as always, we're looking closely at potential risks to the IFB over the next few years.

"Working closely with our members, we've also made a real impact in raising awareness of common insurance scams. In recent weeks, we've helped warn the public about new forms of crash for cash through our social media channels, as well as securing coverage in major news outlets. To build on that success, we're moving towards an always-on approach to our awareness campaigns and bringing new people into the team to help take that message further."

What have been the biggest challenges?

"Aside from being new and there being a lot to learn, I'd say it's been managing the level of expectation on us. We've got big ambitions, we've got a fantastic team, and we've seen how the IFB can bring talent from across the market together to solve difficult challenges. But we also need to be mindful that we're not a regulated commercial business with substantial cash reserves. We're a small not-for-profit that's entirely funded by an annual levy on the insurance market. We need to try and deliver the improvements we need while also keeping a close eye on how spend the resources we have.

"The opportunities for the IFB are hugely exciting, but we also need to be honest about the scale of the challenge. Expanding our offering into other areas of the market is going to require significant innovation and bring a major change in the way we work. And yes, that will mean we're going to have to have a conversation with the industry about how we cover the cost."

What are two things you're focusing on this year and next year?

"I want us to continue improving our leadership, so that we empower our people to think and do things differently. The market is looking to us to drive some massive changes – we need to be ready for that, not just in terms of what we offer, but culturally too.

"I also want us to get better at reminding our industry colleagues of the title of our three-year strategy – Forward Together – and that nothing in it can happen unless they too are inspired to come and support the work we do."