Legal & General has promoted Dr Tarun Gupta to chief medical officer (CMO).
He succeeds professor Robert Rubens, who steps down after more than 30 years but stays on as one of the insurer’s medical officers.
Gupta (pictured) joined the provider as medical officer in September 2020, with a focus on the group protection business.
As chief medical officer, his remit expands to supporting and advising on Legal & General Retail’s wider protection proposition, including underwriting, claims management and client relationships.
Gupta will draw upon his background as an NHS GP, occupational physician and specialist adviser to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to serve as a resource for its group and individual claims, underwriting and clinical teams.
He provides medical opinion on complex cases, applying his expertise to comprehensively assess functional ability, interpret disparate medical evidence and address appeals, including decisions by the Financial Ombudsman Service, to help achieve the right and fair decision for claims.
Currently, he serves on the Assurance Medical Underwriting Society (AMUS) committee and the insurer’s wellbeing advisory board; a body of experts across a range of clinical, occupational, vocational rehabilitation and business consulting fields, with a remit to provide simple, accessible and practical health and wellbeing guidance to employers and employees.
Vanessa Sallows, claims and governance director of Legal & General Group Protection, said: “I am delighted to welcome Tarun into the role of chief medical officer.
“His experience has already proven invaluable, not only the support he gives on complex case reviews, but the training and support he gives to the claims team.
“I’d also like to wholeheartedly thank Professor Robert Rubens for his commitment to and support of Legal & General over many years of service and it’s wonderful that he is staying within the organisation as a medical officer.”
David Banks, underwriting and claims director – retail protection at Legal & General, said: ” It is great news that Tarun has agreed to broaden his role within Legal & General as he has been a huge asset since joining in 2020 and has quickly established himself in the market. He has big shoes to fill.
“Professor Robert Rubens has been giving invaluable insight and guidance to underwriters and claims assessors as our chief medical officer for over 30 years. I would like to thank Robert for everything he has done in those years as CMO, and I am delighted that he has agreed to keep working with us so that many more at Legal & General can benefit from his knowledge.”
Gupta added: “I’m excited to be growing my career within Legal & General and to have the opportunity to further contribute across business development, thought leadership and clinical governance.
“Also, to help with the evolution of products and services to reflect the shift in the industry in terms of taking a more proactive, preventative, holistic approach to wellbeing as part of the UK income protection proposition.”