Fidelity Life has confirmed a leadership shake-up, with Dave Winspear stepping into the newly created role of chief commercial officer and Seema Bangera taking on an expanded remit as chief claims and operations officer.

Speaking to Good Returns TV, Winspear said the changes follow Bronwyn Kirwan's move to a new opportunity offshore, and mark a shift for him from leading operations to leading commercial. For Bangera, the role now spans the full customer journey — from onboarding and underwriting through to service, retention and claims — bringing what she calls "the end-to-end customer value chain" under one leadership.

Both executives point to a strong finish to the financial year, with Winspear saying Fidelity has delivered its strongest customer and adviser experience scores on record, alongside what he described as the highest new business volumes through the adviser channel in a long time. He credits the result to the insurer's local ownership and ability to move quickly, plus targeted investment in tools such as live chat and a redesigned e-app.

With cost-of-living pressures continuing to squeeze household budgets, Bangera outlines a suite of retention tools designed to keep customers informed rather than lapsing cover, including hardship packages, rapid premium relief after severe weather events, and adviser training such as a Protect and Value masterclass attended by more than 400 advisers.

The pair also discuss how AI is reshaping the business — from a Melbourne Business School-developed tool benchmarking advisers' digital maturity, to underwriting automation, claims triaging and call quality assurance. Winspear is candid that Fidelity has used AI creatively too, including in an eye-catching video for last year's Engage on Tour. Both stress that efficiency gains are being reinvested rather than simply banked, and that human judgement remains central to claims decisions.

Looking back on careers spanning 20 and 24 years in the industry respectively, Winspear and Bangera reflect on how regulation, digitisation and consolidation have reshaped life insurance — and where they expect it to head next.

There's plenty more detail in the full conversation, including an update on the postponed Engage conference. Watch the full interview with Dave Winspear and Seema Bangera on Good Returns TV.