Press releases
Dr Tarun Gupta appointed Chief Medical Officer for Legal & General
Legal & General Group Protection today announces the appointment of Dr Tarun Gupta to the position of Chief Medical Officer.
9 Jan 2023
Tarun originally joined 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.
The current long-standing Chief Medical Officer, Professor Robert Rubens, steps down after more than 30 years (in January 2023), but remains as one of Legal & General’s Medical Officers.
Tarun has a wealth of experience in his field and draws upon his background as an NHS GP, Occupational Physician and Specialist Advisor to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to serve as a resource for Legal & General’s 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.
His clinical interest is mental health and he previously advised the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE) as a Guideline Committee Member on the ‘Depression in Adults: treatment and management’ guideline (2020-2022) and as Clinical Lead for Mental Health for the largest CCG in England (2018-2022).
Tarun gained his medical degree from St George’s, University of London, and holds postgraduate qualifications in Clinical Psychiatry, Occupational Medicine and Legal Medicine. Prior to pursuing medicine, Tarun graduated with a First Class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University and started his career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and an alumnus of Harvard Business School.
Currently, he serves on the Assurance Medical Underwriting Society (AMUS) committee and the Legal & General 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 & Governance Director, Legal & General Group Protection: “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 & Claims Director - Retail Protection: “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.”
Further information
Notes to editors
Established in 1836, Legal & General is one of the UK's leading financial services groups and a major global investor, with £1.2 trillion in total assets under management1 of which 40% is international. We have a unique and highly synergistic business model, which continues to drive strong returns. Legal & General provides powerful asset origination and management capabilities directly to clients, which also underpin our leading retirement and protection solutions. We are a leading international player in Pension Risk Transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income. Our purpose is to improve the lives of our customers and create value for our shareholders. Through inclusive capitalism, we are investing in long-term assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, that can help build a better society for the future.
1Data as at 31 December 2023.
Legal & General Retail helps create brighter financial futures for all our customers. The division covers the savings, protection and retirement needs of our c.14 million retail policyholders and workplace members.
In 2023, we had total individual annuity sales of £1,431 million, and issued £299 million of Lifetime Mortgages and Retirement Interest Only Mortgages. Our Workplace pension platform served 5.2 million members, while our Protection businesses gave peace of mind to several million direct, group and US customers, taking in £1,991 million of UK and $1,584 million of US gross written premiums.