Beyond the call of duty

ICBL IS A COMPANY comprised of people that are driven by and towards excellence. Passion for purpose and customer care has brought ICBL through 45 years of being at the top of the insurance industry in Barbados.

One of the most passionate stalwarts at ICBL is Lisa Brathwaite-Graham, the medical & health services administrator for ICBL Her journey in the medical field began more than 20 years ago as a registered nurse. Starting out as a bedside nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, BrathwaiteGraham realised she wanted more.

She graduated from college with the Peggy Rickinson’s Award for Excellence in Nursing, and after two years of working at QEH, she asked what more she could do. So she enrolled at the University of West Indies Cave Hill while working at the hospital. Eventually, she withdrew and instead applied to UWI’s Mona Campus for a Bachelor’s in Nursing.

“I knew I had something to offer,” said Lisa Brathwaite-Graham. So, she did her Master’s in Public Health. “I recognised, at that time, my interest in research and teaching,” she added.

“Once I finished my Master’s, I was working at the University and a position opened at ICBL, and I applied,” said the fervent seeker of progression. In November 2012, she joined ICBL to satisfy the requirements for medical onboarding of life insurance clients.

She shared, “I got involved with HR, and within short order, I was serving the staff.” From there, she was tasked with developing the easyWELLNESS Programme for ICBL Brathwaite-Graham continued to develop the programme over the years.

In 2018, ICBL decided to create a growth path for her substantive talents. This was when her job title became nurse administrator. Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland, executive chairman of QEH, met Brathwaite-Graham during a symposium where Brathwaite-Graham lectured.

A few short weeks afterwards, the first case of COVID arrived in Barbados. That very evening, Brathwaite-Graham was sitting in QEH’s board room as a part of the team serving to fight this menace. She served with the QEH team for six months to prepare, plan and chart a course through the unknown waters of a brand new pandemic as the chair of the Nursing Response Committee. Her efforts awarded her a plaque for her contribution during this chaotic time.

“The ICBL team supported me greatly with whatever I needed while I was there,” assured Brathwaite-Graham. While at the hospital for the latter three months, she also designed new processes for ICBL’s medical onboarding insurance process.

Brathwaite-Graham oversaw the creation of the training and protocols that ICBL staff had to undergo before returning to the office. Due to her efforts, at no point did COVID-19 spread through the ICBL offices.

Keeping the staff safe and healthy has always been a part of the mission of ICBL Designing the Wellness Programme not only aided the team at ICBL but also filtered towards clients of group medical insurance.

“Exploring prevention is always the first step. I look at the full person. I look at what the full person needs. People need to know their numbers. So, we’re going to look at your every organ. We test every major organ. We look for colon cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and we run a comprehensive examination. In this examination we run a full blood count, assess coronary risks via lipid tests, conduct an HbA1c to assess risk for diabetes, and then we record blood pressure readings, and the body mass index—that’s a full screen, searching your body for disease. All of this is called easyPrevent,” BrathwaiteGraham informed.

“Should we find disease, you are then sent for coaching—that’s easyCoach. Here is where you are guided back to wellness. Then, there is easyWork which involves education. easyMinute involves 60-second blocks of information and the Nurse Knows came out of that, giving me a voice in social media,” she added.

The last aspect is easyFit, where movement is key. Each of these processes was first offered to staff before being offered to clients of ICBL. When a new client in group health is onboarded, they are offered this complimentary service which is covered by the plan.

Brathwaite-Graham also hosts the ICBL 15-minute radio segment on Voice of Barbados 92.9 every Monday at 9 a.m. From health tips to insurance information, the ideal of educating the public is woven throughout each facet of ICBL

“A large part of what I do here at the company is Personal Injury Medical Case Management. I thoroughly enjoy this as I provide service to customers who have been injured because of motor vehicle accidents or injured parties within our employer’s liability portfolio. I walk with you to ensure that you get the best care, and I help you navigate the care system and get out,” she added.

It’s no surprise that Brathwaite-Graham garnered the award for Employee of the Year for 2021. She concluded, “There’s a journey ahead of us and I think we all have to have the right attitude as we walk it; one that is positive because we’re all headed somewhere and it’s somewhere great if you’re with ICBL.” (NN)

THE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF BARBADOS LIMITED (ICBL) is one of the few companies that exist today with a reputation for true excellence. This remarkable trait is epitomised not only through the longevity of their customers but in the fervent loyalty of their team. Pamela Lowe, assistant vice-president Underwriting, celebrates 32 years with ICBL this June.

Initially, she began her insurance journey with a subsidiary of an American company that was serviced by Life of Barbados. Lowe’s very first introduction to the world of insurance was in sales at life insurance before going into group medical claims. It was in this position that ICBL sought her services as supervisor for medical claims.

“ICBL was very different and very dynamic in that claims for group medical were also attached to group life, pension, creditor life – it was very broad. Not just claims but underwriting,” shared Lowe.

“Everything exploded at ICBL; it was a lot of responsibility but it was very exciting and the atmosphere was such that, even though there was a lot of work, you never felt that you were being pressured. It was a very nurturing environment. I would have been mentored by some really great people that I worked with over the years,” she elaborated.

Lowe reports that, over the years, there has been training in all aspects all the time. This has fed the growth of ICBL. Lowe asserts that at ICBL, inclusion was the key to progression. Even juniors within the company were present at meetings to ingratiate novices in knowledge through observation. In 2008, ICBL took the plunge to diversify into the market of individual life and health by offering creative products that showcased their power.

In her time, Pamela Lowe has been a part of the building of clientele for individual life and health products. In that time, clients have been with ICBL longer than her extraordinary stint. Corporate clients have remained with ICBL for decades due to their pride in being flexible and compromising towards customer needs. For Lowe, that may be ICBL’s biggest asset.

Today, Pamela Lowe is still involved with the group medical and group life arena of insurance. However, her involvement in technical underwriting has grown with her involvement in insurance on the P&C side of the continued expansion of ICBL

Lowe impressed, “I just want to say one thing. I want to just thank all our clients for being with us, for believing in us for all these years. And, also, to welcome the new ones to come in and to embrace and welcome them to the ICBL family.” (NN)