This document serves as your foundational "source of truth" for Connect Business Insurance, capturing critical details about your vision, values, brand personality, ideal clients, offer, competitors, partners, team, ad-hoc and your personal role.
Executive Summary: Connect Business Insurance Overview
This executive summary provides a high-level overview of Connect Business Insurance, highlighting our strategic direction, core operational strengths, and technological advancements. It serves as a quick reference to our mission and key initiatives, designed for optimal scannability.
Strategic Vision
Connect Business Insurance is committed to significant national expansion, aiming to broaden its market presence across key regions. Our strategic focus is on cultivating robust partnerships with medium to large enterprises, specifically targeting clients with annual revenues ranging from $10-20 million, ensuring a concentrated approach to high-value relationships and tailored insurance solutions.
Core Operational Pillars
Our operations are built upon four fundamental pillars, ensuring comprehensive service delivery and client satisfaction:
- New Business Acquisition: Proactive outreach and bespoke solution development for prospective clients.
- Policy Renewals: Streamlined processes and ongoing client support to ensure high retention rates.
- Efficient Claims Management: Rapid and fair handling of claims, minimizing client disruption and maximizing satisfaction.
- Ad-Hoc Consulting: Providing specialized risk management advice and tailored insurance solutions on demand.
Technology & Innovation
At the heart of our operations is the RiskWise CRM platform, a robust system centralizing client data and streamlining workflows. We are actively developing plans for advanced AI adoption to further enhance efficiency, provide deeper client insights, and personalize insurance offerings, solidifying our commitment to innovation in the industry.
This snapshot underscores our commitment to growth, operational excellence, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver superior value to our clients and stakeholders.
How to Use This Document
This Business Context Document is your foundational "source of truth," capturing critical details about your vision, values, brand personality, ideal clients, offer, competitors, and your personal role at Connect Business Insurance.
Quick Steps
Save & Centralise
Keep this document in your dedicated cloud drive (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox) that I'll set up for easy access.
Flexible Formats
I'll include various file formats (PDF, JSON, TXT, etc.) in the cloud drive, optimised for uploading directly into different AI platforms and tools.
Using with LLMs (like ChatGPT & others)
Simply upload or copy/paste this Context Doc into the AI you're using.
When briefing new AI agents or creating workflows, always point back to this context for clarity, alignment, and consistent outputs.
Continuous Refinement
Treat this as a "living document"—review and update quarterly (or sooner) as business context or priorities evolve.
Tip: Consistency is key—the more your agents "learn" from a unified context, the faster they'll produce accurate, impactful work aligned with your vision.
Access the raw high level text document below for ready use in your favourite AI LLM. E.g. ChatGPT
Your Business: The Big Picture
Main Problem We Solve:
- Providing peace of mind and protection for business owners, enabling them to confidently take risks and focus on growing their businesses.
- Proactively manage and mitigate risk, ensuring clients can quickly return to normal operations following incidents.
Big Dream (5-10 Years):
- Develop a robust national presence with multiple offices across Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, beyond the current strongholds in Perth and Queensland.
- Successfully scale and acquire other insurance brokerages, leveraging superior processes and remote team efficiencies to integrate and manage new books of business.
Seek to Understand
Deep listening and understanding of client industries, challenges, and needs.
In It Together
Emphasis on strong internal team cohesion, especially evident during high-pressure periods.
Deliver with Pride
Commitment to quality, going above and beyond to meet client needs, and proactive engagement to stay ahead of client issues.
Your Brand: Your Style
Brand Personality (as a person):
- Knowledgeable, relatable, and professional, balancing between casual and corporate, approachable yet authoritative.
- Strong emphasis on integrity, transparency, and proactive support.
Brand Voice & Communication:
- Tone: Rated 4/10 on a casual-to-formal scale, balancing professionalism with approachability.
- Key Messaging: "We listen, we care, we get it" – reflects empathy, proactive client relationships, and reliability.
- Avoid overly corporate jargon or formality; prioritising genuine, straightforward communication.
Brand Visual Identity:
- Colors: Orange and Blue — symbolic of WA's mining heritage (orange) and corporate reliability (blue). These colors provide versatility in branding from relaxed to professional depending on the balance of use.
- Emotion conveyed: Reliability, clarity, and professionalism.
Your Customers: Who You Serve
Ideal Customer Profile:
- Industries: Mining contractors, civil engineering, transportation, and construction.
- Size: Revenue range $10-20 million, employing 20-40 people.
- Annual Insurance Spend: Approximately $200k, profitable margins for Connect Business Insurance.
- Decision Maker: Typically business owners or general managers moving into growth phases and seeking structured risk management solutions.
Customer's Biggest Frustrations:
- People Management: Difficulty managing employee-related issues, such as incidents, performance, and reliability.
- Asset Management: Handling accidents or damages to equipment, vehicles, or property, particularly weekend incidents affecting operational start to the week.
Customer's Biggest Dreams:
- To have robust risk management, reducing stress, allowing them to focus on business expansion, operational excellence, or eventual succession and exit strategies.
- Achieving smoother operational management, fewer disruptions, and more predictable growth trajectories.
Customer's Biggest Fears:
- Major incidents or accidents: Disruptions due to employee injuries, fatalities, or equipment damage.
- Compliance and Liability: Legal consequences and potential lawsuits stemming from incidents or employee management issues.
- Financial Impact: Loss of income, increased costs due to insurance claims, downtime, or poor risk management.
Customer's Biggest Objections to Buying:
- Cost of insurance and questioning ROI on premiums.
- Trust in the broker's capability or previous negative experiences with brokers not being proactive or communicative enough.
- Resistance to change existing policies or relationships, due to complexity or perceived inconvenience.
Your Offer: What You Do
Unique Value:
- Highly personalised and proactive service, distinctively setting Connect apart from others who are passive or reactive.
- Strong capability in incident management and claim handling, with proactive and rapid responses to client needs.
Tailored risk advisory
Ensures comprehensive coverage tailored to specific business risks.
Dedicated, proactive claims management
Reduces client downtime, improves operational continuity.
Remote team and streamlined processes
Efficient and scalable service delivery, enabling competitive pricing and exceptional responsiveness.
Offer Structure & Pricing:
- Premium-based revenue with commissions (5-10% range).
- Structured to incentivise comprehensive client protection, reflecting both operational scale and risk profile complexity.
Competitive Landscape
Biggest Competitor:
Major direct competitor, frequently encountered in tenders and renewal stages. Competes directly for similar mid-market clients, especially in mining and contracting sectors. Knightcorp is strong on market visibility, digital marketing presence, and client-facing technology.
Other Primary Competitors:
CBI's Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
- Highly personalised advisory approach delivered directly by Paul and senior team members.
- Rapid, efficient remote back-office operations, providing clients faster turnaround than larger competitors typically deliver.
- Proven responsiveness and strong personal relationships at leadership level, often a decisive factor for clients choosing CBI over other other larger brokers.
You in Your Business: Your Role
Biggest Strengths:
- Relationship Building: Ability to quickly establish trust, credibility, and long-term client relationships.
- Proactivity and Responsiveness: Ensuring Connect consistently stays ahead of client needs and issues.
- Leadership and Team Motivation: Building and maintaining a strong internal team culture focused on client success and employee engagement.
Tasks You Dislike or Find Difficult:
- Micromanagement of operational processes, preferring strategic oversight.
- Managing performance issues with problematic employees.
- Administrative burdens, preferring to delegate or automate.
Main Responsibilities:
- High-level strategic oversight, new business development, and key relationship management.
- Culture building, team alignment, and maintaining adherence to brand values.
- Strategic risk management consulting, complex incident management, and oversight of key claims processes.
Appendix: COMPASS Framework (For Future Agent Setup)
C (Context)
Provide comprehensive business background, key resources, current operational bottlenecks.
O (Objective)
Clearly defined business outcomes (specific, measurable goals).
M (Mode)
Specific expert roles for agents, e.g., risk advisors, operational efficiency specialists.
P (Progress)
Measurable success criteria (e.g., client retention, claim resolution speed).
A (Assets)
Defined deliverables (process maps, operational templates, CRM integrations).
SS (Specifications & Style)
Brand and operational rules, tone of communication (professional yet approachable).
People, Roles & Internal Workflows
High‑Level Org Chart (2025)
TBC (This needs to be designed by a graphic designer)
Role Snapshots & Success Markers
Communication & Cadence
Paul ↔ Nat
ad‑hoc Teams/WhatsApp plus daily check‑ins; Nat now drafts client emails directly.
Paul ↔ Jeremy
weekly KPI/ops review; Jeremy compiles performance dashboards in the CRM.
Managers ↔ PH Assistants
task tickets + email; no single source‑of‑truth SOP repository.
All‑hands
recent "everyone meeting" proved culture booster during busy June. Now doing every fortnight.
Key Bottlenecks Surfaced
Role Clarity Gaps
maternity vacancy west‑coast manager; Katty reporting line.
Metric Visibility
KPIs exist but live dashboards absent; data trapped in emails/spreadsheets.
Process Drift
PH team SOPs versioning; need evergreen central repository.
Founder Load
Paul back in day‑to‑day broking; strains strategic focus.
Operational Pillars & Core Workflows
"I broke the business down into four things … new business, renewals, claims, and ad-hoc/endorsements." - PC
Why the Pillars Matter
Paul built Connect's CRM and remote-team structure around the four operational pillars, giving every job a clear workflow and common language.
A three-tier responsibility model keeps work moving: Account Owner → Workflow Owner → Task Handler.
Remote staff in the Philippines now complete ≈ 80 % of process steps, letting brokers focus on high-value advice.
Pillar 1 – New Business
Purpose
Acquire new clients or add new policies for existing ones.
Typical trigger events
Inbound web lead, referral, cold call, or cross-sell request.
High-level workflow
Lead captured in CRM → new-business workflow auto-created.
Qualification & needs analysis (broker).
Market placement & quote comparison.
Advice call, Letter of Engagement & FSG acknowledgement.
Bind cover, issue invoice, shift to Debtors sub-workflow.
Pillar 2 – Renewals
Purpose
Retain revenue and maintain cover for existing clients.
Ideal Timeline
12-week program → 10 → 8 → 6 → 4 weeks checkpoints → terms issued 14 days before expiry.
High-level workflow
Remote team prepares draft policy pack and data requests at 12 wks.
Broker reviews risk, meets client, and goes to market 8–4 wks.
Terms issued ≥ 14 days out; bind & invoice.
Debtors workflow remains open until payment clears.
Pillar 3 – Claims
Purpose
Advocate for clients and control loss ratios. Puts client back to where they were before the event
Objective
Resolve 90 % of standard claims within 14 days while maintaining a loss ratio under 55 %.
High-level workflow
Notification & first response – phone, Teams, or dedicated WhatsApp.
In-house review: decide early-intervention vs formal lodgement.
Lodge with insurer, manage assessment, negotiate outcome.
Settlement, payment, and learning loop to underwriting.
Pillar 4 – Ad Hoc / Endorsements
Definition
Unplanned mid-term changes—adding assets, contract reviews, certificates of currency, limit increases, etc.
Common tasks
Vehicle additions, entity name changes, wage adjustments, contract-specific liability increases, new locations, plant hire additions, risk surveys – often dozens per day.
Priority
Highest, because they are time-sensitive and client-initiated.
Cross-Pillar Infrastructure & Metrics
CRM System
CRM (Microsoft Dataverse) drives every workflow; dashboards surface overdue tasks and debtor status every Monday.
Universal Sub-workflows
Debtors, Notes feed, Follow-up date stamp.
Key KPIs (sample)
- Renewal terms issued ≥ 14 days out
- Lead-to-bind ratio (New Business)
- Claim average closure days & loss ratio
- Ad-hoc turnaround < 24 hrs for simple endorsements
Observed Strengths & Gaps
Strengths
Pillar architecture gives clarity and accountability across on-shore and remote teams.
Gaps
New-Business process map is the biggest gap—ripe for AI-supported redesign.
Manual hand-offs (e-mail overload, inconsistent follow-ups) create errors; Paul plans a v2 process-map & SOP library plus AI-driven onboarding modules for new staff.
Technology & Data Architecture — RiskWise Stack
Core CRM
RiskWise is a bespoke platform built on Microsoft Dataverse and Power Apps. Every record—leads, policies, claims, ad-hoc tasks—is modelled around the four operational pillars, with bespoke forms and workflows replacing off-the-shelf broker systems.
Workflow Automation
Each record carries its own task list and activity log. Outlook emails and Teams messages can be auto-tracked into RiskWise so every step is auditable. Remote staff handle roughly 80 % of routine tasks directly in the system.
Dashboards & KPIs
A Monday-morning dashboard highlights overdue workflows, debtor balances, and pipeline health. Ops Manager maintains a set of KPI widgets—quote-to-bind ratio, renewal lead-time, claims cycle days—which he distributes weekly to the leadership team.
External Data Feeds
RiskWise connects to the industry data warehouse (Insight) in read-only mode for policy master data and premium reporting (it can do this but currently doesnt). A live write-back will be enabled once our updated process maps are in place.
Future Upgrades
Enable full read/write integration with Insight for automated invoice posting and trust-account (not really) reconciliation.
Sole source of info for client and policy data to be accurate.
Pilot Microsoft Copilot inside RiskWise and Teams after Ever Nimble completes a security audit and M365 configuration.
Regulatory Overlay & Revenue-Share — Community Broker Network (CBN)
Connect operates under CBN's AFSL, which means CBN takes a fixed commission share on every new policy, renewal, and endorsement.
Insight pushes policy and commission data to CBN via a secure API, automating monthly licence reports and year-end audits.
Compliance requirements—like "trust-account clearance within seven days" or "FSG delivery before cover binds"—are enforced by templated workflows and timestamped document uploads.
Long-term ambition: offer the RiskWise platform plus our Philippines back-office as a white-label service to other other brokers.
AI Adoption & ChatGPT Teams Workspace
Current Status
All on-shore staff and 3 Philippines assistants (Carolyn, Jeide, Maribeth) have seats in the ChatGPT Teams workspace.
Q3 Re-Launch Plan
Host a refresher workshop for the team
Publish a library of "pillar prompts" (renewal checklist generator, claims update drafter, ad-hoc certificate formatter).
Open an "AI Playbook" channel where team members share successful prompts and outputs.
Agent Road-map
- Build the first COMPASS-driven Agent" to draft and schedule renewal packs.
- Pilot Microsoft Copilot inside Teams and RiskWise for natural-language reporting queries.
- Update Coby custom GPT
Support Functions — IT, HR, Payroll & Accounting
IT & Security
Managed by Ever Nimble, covering Microsoft 365 administration, endpoint security, device provisioning, network health, and upcoming Microsoft Copilot enablement.
HR & Onboarding
Bright HR is used for employee onboarding checklists, policy acknowledgements, performance notes, and leave management. Each staff member has individual Bright HR access to self-serve routine HR tasks.
Payroll
Processed through Xero Payroll, handling wages, superannuation, and BAS lodgements. Bright HR feeds leave balances into Xero for payroll runs until a deeper integration is set up.
Accounting & Finance Leadership
Ryan Brown of AR Advisors serves as Connect's fractional CFO, overseeing cash flow, wage management, ATO compliance, and monthly financial reviews. He also manages employee bookkeeping under one consolidated provider structure.
Other Businesses & Interests
This section provides a quick reference to the broader group's non-Connect ventures, highlighting entities that share resources, staff, or technology. Understanding these interconnected operations offers insight into the overall ecosystem and future growth opportunities.
Specialty: Provides tailored insurance for combat sports gyms, events, and individual fighters.
Status: Currently serves approximately 75 active clients, with significant East Coast growth driven by Mitch Tinley.
Specialty: An online platform offering essential insurance covers (Public Liability, tools, vehicle) for 1–5-person trades businesses.
Status: Experiencing rapid scaling, with plans underway to establish it as a standalone entity with a dedicated broker to manage its expansion.
Specialty: Focuses on facility and contents coverage specifically designed for self-storage operators.
Status: Launched in November 2024, operating with a bespoke underwriting facility through a London market insurer.
Role: Serves as the external digital marketing agency, providing comprehensive support to Connect and its sister brands.
Focus: Specialises in developing lead-generation funnels, crafting compelling content strategies, and managing paid media campaigns to drive customer acquisition.
Tech Startup (Paul)
Role: Paul acts as the founder and primary product architect for this new venture.
Focus: Dedicated to developing AI-driven workflow tools and exploring SaaS spin-off opportunities directly derived from the core RiskWise platform's capabilities.
Conclusion
This comprehensive context document captures the essence of Connect Business Insurance, and ensures alignment for future AI agent integration using the COMPASS framework.
Business Context Document