Meeting: Liam Moore - Account Executive Interview¶

Date: 2025-12-05 Role: Account Executive (Renewals & New Business) Previous Experience: Marsh (world's largest insurance broker) - process-driven Acturis usage Specialization: Property owner renewals (residential blocks, property management)

Overview¶

Liam provides a critical perspective as someone trained in rigorous Acturis usage at Marsh who can identify gaps between best practices and current EF processes. This interview revealed several significant findings about Acturis feature awareness, document management issues, and the relationship between Excel spreadsheets and task management.

Key Finding: Liam doesn't know about Acturis Version Control feature (reinforcing Andy's discovery that this £0 feature is completely unknown at EF).

Background & Experience¶

Previous Role at Marsh¶

Marsh Context: "Biggest insurance broker in the world" - heavily invested in processes and systems
ISO Audits: Required to complete all client tabs in Acturis (TOBA dates, IDD dates, policy documentation dates)
Rigorous Documentation: Every step tracked and dated for audit compliance
Task Management: Mandatory - tasks assigned by managers and self-assigned

Quote: "I come from a Marsh background, sort of process driven. So they use Acturis a lot. And that's kind of when I came over to Egga Forester, I realized we weren't really using Acturis a lot. We use it a lot because we're on it, but I find that we use it differently than I was using it."

Transition to EF¶

Initial Observation: EF doesn't fill out client compliance tabs
Duplication Issues: Attempted to implement some Marsh practices but found "too much duplication of work"
Process Pushback: Raised version reference concerns multiple times but "it was thrown out" - "I don't really want to just appear disruptive"

Current Work & Processes¶

Renewal Workflow¶

Core Process: 1. Pre-Renewal Communication - Template letters/emails to clients requesting: - Rebuild Cost Assessment (RCA) - must be within last 3 years - Fire Risk Assessment - check for outstanding actions - Material changes, ongoing works, planned works - Annual service charge (for some policies)

Client Interaction Preference:
Calls over emails: "I would call the client and I'd run through all of this"
Uses Word comments in template to track responses
Avoids lengthy written correspondence: "I don't really want to give the clients too much crap to read"
Market Exercise:
Creates RFQ line in Acturis
Generates submission document from Acturis (Word template)
Email-based submissions to insurers (not portals)
Attaches RCA report, submission doc, sometimes photos
Forwards same email to multiple insurers

Property Owner Policy Mix: - Property Owner policy - Management Liability policy - Engineering policy - Terrorism policy (some cases)

Quote on Pre-Renewals: "The Rebuild Cost Assessment is important for the client. It's in their interest to make sure that we're doing our good job as a broker... and the Fire Risk Assessment is in our interest to make sure that our clients are complying with any fire risks requirements."

Critical Finding: Version Control Unknown¶

The Discovery¶

When TD mentioned Andy's recommendation about using Acturis Version Control:

TD: "Andy was very keen to use 'Versions.' Which I can see here is all at Version 1. But he said like at Egga Forester people don't use versions."

Liam: "What's version?"

Impact: This confirms Andy's major finding that nobody at EF knows about the Version Control feature - a zero-cost Acturis capability that would dramatically reduce file clutter.

Liam's Response After Explanation¶

Acknowledged it could be useful for policy docs
Identified limitation: "if you're changing insurer then those versions are going to be different insurers"
But didn't recognize this was an existing feature - thought it was a potential enhancement

Implication: Even someone from Marsh's rigorous Acturis environment doesn't know about this feature at EF.

Major Issues Identified¶

1. CRITICAL: Lost Documents Due to Attachment Handling¶

The Problem: People choose "Remove Attachments" or "Separate Attachments" instead of "Embed Attachments" when saving emails to Acturis.

Real Example - Document Loss: Liam needed a 2022 Rebuild Cost Assessment for an insurer submission: - Searched electronic file: Found email "Insurance valuation RCA done in 2022" - Opened email: "everything's removed" - no attachments - Searched for forwarded email to insurer: Not on file anywhere - Document completely lost - would need to contact original sender from 3 years ago

Quote: "I was looking for a document yesterday and this is the example that I'm going to give which will prove why this is needed... I open the email everything's removed... So I don't have this RCA it's not on file."

Liam's Practice (from Marsh training): - Always "upload as activity attachments embedded" - Ensures PDFs and documents travel with the email

Business Impact: - Lost client documents - Cannot provide complete file to insurers - Rework/delays to obtain documents again - Professional embarrassment

Root Cause: No standard process - everyone chooses their own method

2. Email Description Standards - Inconsistent¶

The Problem: People copy the email body text as the description instead of writing a proper descriptive title.

Example Given: - Good Description: "Presentation to AXA" - you know exactly what you'll see - Bad Description: "Good afternoon," followed by beginning of email text - doesn't describe content

Quote: "Some people will copy the email and then save that as the description. So you'll see like 'Good afternoon,' and another one for you would be the line on here and it's like the description just doesn't fit the description."

Liam's Observation: "I'm probably not the only one that does this [good descriptions]. There'll be a couple that do it but they'll definitely be a couple that don't."

Additional Note: "that sometimes comes from from higher up" - inconsistency exists at all levels

3. Emails from Acturis - Unprofessional Appearance¶

The Issue: Acturis has built-in email functionality, but emails sent this way appear as a "box" to recipients due to the Outlook plugin formatting.

Liam's Practice: - Never sends emails via Acturis email function - Always composes in Outlook, then "send and upload" - Avoids the version reference being automatically added to subject line

Quote: "People send out these emails in this box. It's like I just don't find it so professional... if you receive that you know that that really hasn't, it's been brought over from somewhere."

Demonstration: - TD asked Liam to send him an example - Email showed visible formatting artifacts - "weird indent," "box" structure - Recipients can tell it's automated/templated

Rationale: "I just don't think it's a good way to send emails. I don't think it's very confusing for the client."

4. Version Reference in Email Subject - Client Confusion¶

The Problem: Acturis automatically adds version reference to email subjects. Liam believes this confuses clients and isn't appropriate for external communication.

Liam's Arguments: - "The version reference is only relevant to our Acturis system" - "The client will think that the version reference might be that policy number, it's happened in the past before" - "You could have 20 version references for one client" - "If I'm getting a letter sent from my bank or EE... it might have a reference... but I just don't think version reference contact reference is the only thing I think's relevant"

Liam's Previous Advocacy: - Raised this concern multiple times - Was "thrown out" by management - "I don't really want to just appear disruptive" - At Marsh: "you had to just make sure you was plugged in and send the email" - no version reference required in subject

Current Workaround: Liam always composes emails in Outlook (not from Acturis) to avoid automatic version reference insertion.

5. Plugin Selection Errors - Wrong Policy Line¶

The Problem: When saving emails via the Acturis Outlook plugin, people often save to the wrong policy line because they don't check which record is currently selected in Acturis.

How It Happens: - Acturis plugin reads "selected record" from open Acturis window - If you're on the Property Owners policy when you save an email about Terrorism, it saves to wrong place - Also reads "email subject" if version reference is present - creates two options and confusion

Quote: "You'll be surprised how many times there that is in the wrong place. Because the email subject may be property owners but now the client's talking about their terrorism policy."

Best Practice (Liam's Method): 1. Read incoming email to understand topic 2. Before saving, click on correct policy line in Acturis 3. Save email via plugin (now correctly associated) 4. Check description and correct if needed

Quote on His Process: "Like I've got an email where what is this email? This email is the client asking about their terrorism cover. Okay let me save this email before I can move it out of my inbox and then just go onto the client click on their terrorism policy."

6. Some Staff Don't Save Emails to Acturis¶

Discovery: Liam revealed that not everyone follows the practice of saving all client correspondence.

Quote: "You I'm sure you have or will be speaking to other people and there are some people that don't even save their emails to Acturis. Until maybe the client becomes a client I don't know or they might feel like an email is not that relevant."

Liam's Practice (from Marsh): - "I physically cannot" send an email without saving it - Uses "send and upload" exclusively for client correspondence - "I just come from a process of save everything before you get rid of it"

Inbox Organization: - All clients have their own Outlook folder - Won't delete/move email from inbox until saved to Acturis - Process: Save to Acturis → Check description → Move to client folder

Business Risk: - Incomplete audit trail - Cannot demonstrate FCA compliance - Lost institutional knowledge - Professional liability exposure

7. Task Management - Exists But Underutilized¶

Current State: - Liam uses task management "sometimes" but "not as much as I need to" - Many staff don't use it at all - Excel spreadsheet serves as substitute

Task Management at Marsh: - Mandatory usage - managers assigned tasks, staff created own - Used for KPI tracking - "Monday morning should be spent looking at your tasks for the week"

How Liam Uses It: - Sets tasks with future diary dates (e.g., follow up in 7 days) - Can click task to open exact policy line - Color coding: Red (overdue) → Blue (due today) → Grey (active future task)

Example Use Case: - Task: "Follow up with Touchstone regarding desktop valuation" - Started: July 21 - Diarized: October 10 - Extended when not resolved

Quote on Potential: "I think it's the easiest way to manage KPIs as well... your manager can set them for you as well so you can actually assign tasks to other people."

Barrier to Adoption: Excel spreadsheet already exists and people are "accustomed to it"

Excel Spreadsheet vs Acturis¶

The Excel Spreadsheet¶

Purpose & Features: - Created by Rakesh/Martin every six months - Contains all commercial renewals (not private clients) - Color-coded status tracking - Renewal dates visible - Individual columns for each stage

What Liam Likes: - Visual management: Color coding shows progress at a glance - Familiar interface: Easier than Acturis reports - Personal tracking: "It just keeps me on path" - Status awareness: Can see if behind schedule

Quote: "I like the whole color coding thing. It just keeps everyone on tabs of their own work. I know for example I'm a little bit behind right now... I know that I've got to get this renewal date on the 20th."

The Duplication Problem¶

TD's Observation: "That data is in Acturis as well right? I mean you could presumably make a report or something that showed you that in Acturis?"

Liam's Response: - Acturis reports are "messy" - not clear - Shows example of Acturis-generated report: "It looks like all of this and sometimes it's just messy" - Excel is cleaner and more familiar

Attempted Process Tracking: Earlier in the year, management wanted more detailed tracking in Excel: - Log current instructions date - Renewal instructions sent to insurer date - Multiple date fields

Quote: "It was all just too much. I think some people were doing it, but I stopped doing it. You just physically can't do it. It's so much duplication of work."

Why Duplication Exists: When accepting an invoice in Acturis, you already fill out: - TOBA date sent - Policy documentation sent status

Quote: "Everyone just puts yes and yes. Because it's the only way that you can press next."

Acturis Usage Patterns¶

Electronic File Structure¶

Two Levels: 1. Client Level: Everything saved to any policy for that client - Shows all emails across all policies - Liam saves multi-policy correspondence here - Description: "renewal terms" or "renewal docs to client"

Policy Level: Only items saved specifically to that policy line
Individual policy correspondence
Policy-specific documents

Quote: "If I'm sending a group of policies to the client it will always be on the client level... And then you would see somewhere in here renewal terms or renewal docs to client."

Description Standards (Liam's Method)¶

Examples of Good Descriptions: - "Presentation to AXA" - clear what document contains - "MCA docs from the insurer" - "Asking breach to amend the doc" - "Revised docs" - "Docs to client" (only when individual policy docs) - "Renewal terms to client" (client-level when multiple policies)

Quote: "Most of the time nothing wrong I'm not going to say I don't make any mistakes I definitely do and own up to them. But a lot of my files are so straightforward."

Client Tabs - Not Used at EF¶

At Marsh, these tabs were mandatory (ISO audit compliance): - TOBA sent date - IDD (Insurance Distribution Document) sent date - Statement of Demands and Needs sent date - Policy wording sent date - Policy documentation received/checked/sent dates

At EF: "We don't do that here. And it is quite time consuming... it was just the norm, we had to do it before."

Earlier This Year: Some attempted to use these tabs but "I stopped doing these. I don't know if anyone does these anymore. Some people do. And it's a bit jumbled."

Insurer Interaction¶

Submission Process¶

Liam's Method (Email-Based): 1. Create RFQ line in Acturis (remarket policy) 2. Ensure risk details accurate in Acturis 3. Generate submission document (Word) via "Create Document" 4. Attach: submission doc, RCA report, sometimes photos 5. Email to insurers (not via Acturis email function) 6. Forward same email to multiple insurers with description changes

Quote on Document Generation: "So this is what the submission looks like pulls over the information over all of the claims."

Insurer Portals - Avoided¶

Liam's Preference: Email submissions over portal entry

Rationale: - "It's quite time consuming because you've got to fill out... if I'm trying to go to five insurers I don't want to do five different portals" - "Yeah that would be duplication" - "I'd rather do e-trade than those ones"

E-Trade: Liam doesn't use e-trade either - prefers direct email

Template Formatting Issues¶

Acturis document generation has formatting problems: - "Some formatting thing where you can't delete this" - "Messed up with the format for the document" - Liam uses templates from previous submissions to work around issues

Process Comparison: Marsh vs EF¶

Aspect	Marsh (Best Practice)	EF (Current State)
Client Tabs	Mandatory completion for ISO audit	Not used - "too time consuming"
Task Management	Mandatory - managers assign tasks	Optional - underutilized
Email Saving	Everyone saves all emails	Some people don't save emails
Attachment Handling	Standard: Embed attachments	Inconsistent: Some remove/separate
Descriptions	Clear standards	Inconsistent - some copy email body
Version Control	[Unknown if used]	Nobody knows it exists
Email Method	Send from Outlook, plugin saves	Mix: Some use Acturis email
Reporting	Acturis reports used	Excel spreadsheet substitute

Opportunities Identified¶

1. Version Control Training (£0 Cost)¶

Liam doesn't know about it (reinforces Andy's finding)
Would help with policy document versioning
Could reduce file clutter

2. Attachment Handling Standard¶

Current: No standard - causing document loss
Proposed: Mandate "embed attachments" for all client correspondence
Evidence: Liam's RCA example shows real business impact

3. Email Description Standards¶

Current: Inconsistent - some copy email body
Proposed: Clear guidelines on descriptive titles
Training: Use Liam's examples as best practice

4. Task Management Adoption¶

Current: Spreadsheet substitute
Potential: Replace Excel with Acturis task management
Benefit: Eliminate duplication, enable KPI tracking, manager oversight

5. Plugin Training - Save to Correct Line¶

Current: Emails frequently saved to wrong policy
Proposed: Training on checking selected record before saving

6. Email-from-Acturis Issue¶

Current: Some use it, appears unprofessional
Investigation Needed: Can plugin formatting be fixed? Or standardize on Outlook composition?

7. Acturis Reports vs Excel¶

Current: Acturis reports "messy" so Excel used instead
Potential: Custom report formatting or File Audit Intelligence tool
Barrier: Familiarity and visual preference for Excel

Questions for Follow-Up¶

Client Tab Compliance:
Does FCA/PI insurance require documentation of TOBA/IDD dates?
Is current "just put yes" practice compliant?
Version Reference Policy:
Why was Liam's suggestion to remove it from subject line rejected?
Is there a compliance reason to include it?
Excel Spreadsheet:
Could Acturis task management fully replace it?
What specific features would need to exist?
Attachment Handling:
Can Acturis be configured to default to "embed"?
How many other documents have been lost this way?
Insurer Portals:
Are there e-trade efficiencies being missed?
What percentage of submissions could be automated?
Marsh Comparison:
What other Marsh best practices could be adopted?
Are there practices that don't apply to EF's size/structure?

Key Quotes¶

On Marsh vs EF:

"I come from a Marsh background, sort of process driven. So they use Acturis a lot. And that's kind of when I came over to Egga Forester, I realized we weren't really using Acturis a lot."

On Version Control (Not Knowing It Exists):

"What's version?"

On Lost Document (Critical Example):

"I open the email everything's removed... So I don't have this RCA it's not on file."

On Duplication with Excel:

"You just physically can't do it. It's so much duplication of work."

On Raising Process Issues:

"I know I've raised it a few times and it was thrown out... I don't really want to just appear disruptive."

On Email Saving Discipline:

"I physically cannot [send an email without saving it]."

On Task Management Potential:

"I think it's the easiest way to manage KPIs as well."

Recommendations Summary¶

Immediate Actions (No Cost)¶

Mandate Embed Attachments - Prevent document loss
Create clear standard: "Upload as activity - attachments embedded"
Add to playbook with screenshots
Email Description Standards - Use Liam's examples
"Presentation to [Insurer]"
"Revised docs from [Insurer]"
"Renewal terms to client"
Version Control Training - Add to Andy's housekeeping rules
Nobody knows it exists (Liam + rest of team)
£0 cost feature
Plugin Training - Check selected record before saving
Prevents emails going to wrong policy line

Short-term Actions (Low Cost)¶

Task Management Pilot - Test as Excel replacement
Liam already uses it partially
Could eliminate spreadsheet duplication
Email-from-Acturis Investigation
Can formatting be fixed?
Or standardize on Outlook composition?

Medium-term (Requires Analysis)¶

Acturis Reports Improvement
Why are they "messy"?
Can File Audit Intelligence tool help?
Custom report formatting?
Insurer Portal Assessment
Quantify time spent on submissions
Identify automation opportunities
E-trade evaluation

Integration with Other Findings¶

Reinforces Andy's Discoveries:¶

Version Control unknown - Both Andy and Liam experienced with Acturis, neither knew about it
Housekeeping standards needed - Liam has best practices but can't enforce them

Reinforces Rakesh's Findings:¶

Process consistency - "even though we've got processes, doesn't always follow the processes"
Attachment handling inconsistency - Documented example of document loss

New Dimension:¶

Someone with best practice knowledge (from Marsh) who can contribute to playbook
Excel vs Acturis tension - shows why people prefer spreadsheets
Evidence of process advocacy being rejected - "falls on deaf ears"

Next Steps¶

Add attachment handling and version control to Andy's housekeeping documentation
Use Liam as resource for best practice examples in playbook
Investigate lost document scope - how many other RCAs/FRAs missing?
Analyze if task management can truly replace Excel spreadsheet
Review client tab compliance requirements with insurance regulations expert