Meet the Team: Liesje Jansen Van Rensburg

Get to know ... 

Liesje Jansen Van Rensburg
General Manager of Performance, Portfolio Management and Underwriting

What is your role at TAL?

As the General Manager of Performance, Portfolio Management and Underwriting, I oversee all aspects of underwriting across the business, ensuring a careful balance between managing risk and delivering value to our customers.

I am also responsible for driving the commercial performance of our Individual Life business, which involves not only protecting the sustainability of our products but also ensuring that we continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers and partners.

What is your professional background?

I’m an actuary by trade, which means I truly enjoy numbers and making data-driven decisions.

My career path has been more diverse than the typical actuary. I spent part of my career at a start-up life insurer, which sparked my passion for innovation and customer experience. That time really shaped my desire to challenge the traditional way of doing things in the industry, helping me to blend a data-driven mindset with a focus on delivering exceptional customer outcomes.

What role do you play in helping to support advisers to deliver value for their clients?

My aim is to make the underwriting process as seamless and straightforward as possible.

By reducing complexity and streamlining decision-making, we improve the experience for customers and enable advisers to focus more of their time on building relationships with their clients rather than getting bogged down by cumbersome processes.

I want underwriting to be as efficient and fair as possible, allowing advisers to maintain the affordability of their clients’ cover over the long term. In doing so, advisers can spend more time on what truly matters – supporting their clients.

How do you think your role will evolve over the coming years as the industry changes?

Looking ahead, I see my role becoming increasingly technology driven. As the industry continues to embrace digital transformation, I believe we’ll see greater use of advanced data analytics and automation to further streamline underwriting and enhance the customer experience.

My personal ambition is to optimise the balance between effective risk management and a superior customer experience. Leveraging our analytics expertise and real-time data will allow us to deliver smarter, faster, and more personalised solutions.

Tell us something that’s guaranteed to brighten your day (what’s something that made you smile recently?)

My inner science geek always lights up when I see a post from the CSIRO’s Instagram page. It’s a brilliant mix of quirky science facts and cleverly crafted jokes that merge science with pop culture.

I’m constantly amazed by their creativity – it’s not only informative but also never fails to make me smile. There’s something refreshing about the unexpected combination of science and humour.