The company’s head of customer claims support, Alison Maitland, said about 45 per cent of all customer service officers would be made redundant. Photo: Glenn Hunt
Medibank Private will cut more than 40 jobs from its Melbourne office as it automates the processing of customer claims, in a move the government-owned health insurer has distanced from its upcoming $4 billion privatisation.
In a memo sent to staff on Monday, seen by The Australian Financial Review, the company’s head of customer claims support, Alison Maitland, said about 45 per cent of all customer service officers would be made redundant. A spokeswoman confirmed the restructure would affect about 40 of the team’s 110 employees.
Staff were told that two types of insurance claims not yet outsourced to Fuji Xerox Document Management Systems would be transferred soon. “This means that we will no longer need to receive and sort claims received in the mail or undertake manual data entry for these two claim types,” the memo said. “As such, a new structure, with a reduced number of roles, is being proposed.”
Medibank, which is the country’s largest health insurer, said it would consult with staff in the coming week before moving to compulsory redundancies on Wednesday, July 9. In a “frequently asked questions” document, the company said the changes were not related to the federal government’s planned float of the insurer. “These proposed changes are part of Medibank managing its business as usual,” the document said.