Shift Technology hosts ambition focused coaching session for female fraud network

Artificial intelligence (AI) driven insurance platform provider Shift Technology hosted an ambition and resilience focused coaching workshop for its Women in Fraud network on 11 September 2025, to “inspire and support women across fraud and insurance, amplify their voices and, ultimately, move the industry forward through diversity and collaboration”.

Shift Technology launched its Women in Fraud network in 2023 for both its own staff and external female industry professionals that operate in the insurance fraud arena. Participants include, for example, fraud prevention leaders, claims handlers, operations managers, intelligence and investigations specialists and data experts.

This month’s event, which was attended by around 25 women, was the second coaching workshop arranged by Shift Technology for the Women in Fraud group. It was held at We Work’s Aviation House office, located in Holborn.

Led by personal and business coach Gemma Brown, the three-and-a-half-hour afternoon session was titled ‘Reclaiming ambition and the art of resilience’.

Alongside hearing insight from Brown, attendees were able to take part in small group exchanges centred on this theme, as well as listen to a panel discussion around the meaning of ambition and potential barriers to achieving ambitions.

Panellists that shared advice and personal experiences included Sarah Ashley, service delivery manager at the Insurance Fraud Bureau, Kat Perry, counter fraud manager at Animal Friends, and Chrissy Black, senior account executive at Shift Technology.

Brown also spoke on resilience, sharing a number of tools that attendees could utilise and practice to help improve their resilience. This included, for example, learning about growth and fixed mindsets, the ‘3Ps’ resilience model – personalisation, pervasiveness and permanence – and the sphere of control.

Following the coaching afternoon, Shift Technology held a dinner for the Women in Fraud attendees at a nearby restaurant – around 23 of the women present remained to enjoy the evening meal at a ”secret location” in central London.

Speaking on the motivations and purpose behind the Women in Fraud group, Brigid Edmunds, senior customer success manager for UK and Ireland at Shift Technology, told Insurance Times: “Fraud detection and prevention is complex and requires diverse perspectives to stay ahead of ever-more sophisticated schemes. Yet both [the] tech and insurance [sectors] still have significant gender gaps.

“Shift created Women in Fraud to provide a space for women to connect, exchange experiences and strengthen their professional networks. The ambition is to inspire and support women across fraud and insurance, amplify their voices and, ultimately, move the industry forward through diversity and collaboration.”

Sharing stories in a safe space

The inaugural Women in Fraud coaching session held in 2023 was also chaired by Brown. The title for this meeting was ‘From imposter syndrome to leaders: How to help women break this barrier to success’.

Edmunds explained that this prior workshop “explored challenges such as imposter syndrome, glass ceilings and glass cliffs, offering strategies to overcome these obstacles. It also examined the current and future landscape of fraud and insurance specifically through the lens of female professionals in the industry”.

She added: “What mattered most to us from the beginning was creating a safe space for sharing and that focus has carried through both [Women in Fraud] events [so far] and will continue with the next ones.”

Shift Technology hopes to put on more Women in Fraud coaching workshops in the future, although it does not have a predefined time line or schedule of when the next event will be held.

Edmunds noted that the themes for future events will be dictated by attendee feedback, with the AI firm asking female fraud professionals what subjects they found most relevant and engaging from past sessions, as well as enquiring which topics and themes they would like to dig into further moving forward.

“This helps us create an agenda that truly reflects the group’s interests and expectations,” Edmunds confirmed.

She continued: “From the outset, the goal was to create the foundation for an ongoing community – not just a one-off gathering.

“We’d welcome collaboration with regulators, insurers and other industry players to help this initiative grow and thrive.

“We also believe it’s valuable to have the sessions led by a neutral facilitator, which helps ensure participants feel comfortable contributing openly.”