Bidvest | Income Protection

I joined Bidvest Life (formerly FMI) as the first product hire in a newly formed technology team. At the time, the team consisted of just one developer and a technical lead. Over three years, I built the department into a fully-fledged technology division with three product teams reporting to me as head of product, growing the department to over 30 employees.

Challenges We Faced

• Modernizing outdated systems while managing an existing team of three employees.
• Reducing advisor friction as financial advisors could choose any provider, making adoption critical to success.
• Navigating company resistance, as many job functions existed solely due to inefficiencies in manual processes.
• Meeting strict compliance requirements, as the company was heavily audited annually.
• Handling an acquisition, as FMI was acquired by Bidvest during the transformation.

My Role

• Built the entire product function, including hiring, processes, and leadership for three product teams.
• Led the rebuild of the policy administration system from scratch.
• Launched a new mobile app (iOS and Android) for 35,000 financial advisors.
• Digitized applications, replacing paper forms with a fully integrated, compliant, and real-time validated system.
• Integrated with Aura for medical underwriting, reducing business risk and optimizing underwriters’ time.
• Worked across engineering, compliance, finance, and advisory teams to drive adoption and execution.

Key Results

• Reduced application time from 25-30 minutes to 5 minutes, an 80% reduction.
• Cut down support queries by surfacing commission details to advisors, eliminating manual monthly inquiries.
• Enhanced underwriting accuracy, reducing risk and freeing up underwriters to focus on high-value cases.
• Successfully navigated an acquisition, maintaining strategic momentum while scaling product initiatives.

Takeaways

• Leading large-scale digital transformation requires balancing technology, compliance, and stakeholder buy-in.
• Change management is crucial when modernizing legacy-heavy industries.
• Scaling product teams from scratch involves hiring, structuring, and aligning efforts with company goals.

This was a defining leadership role, where I scaled teams, transformed an industry-resistant organisation, and built high-impact insurance technology from the ground up.