Diary of an Insurer: Axa’s Paul Tombs

Monday

A very early start this morning (the alarm was set for a time beginning with a four) for a flight to Glasgow to visit our office in the city and two days of meetings with colleagues. 

We were named SME Insurer of the Year at the UK Broker Awards in October, so it was a great opportunity to congratulate the team in person for this fantastic accolade.

My team in Glasgow works on a hybrid basis with Mondays and Tuesdays being anchor days in the office. 

I caught up with our new business trading manager and the wider team on how we’re doing on new business, and we talked through quote and conversion rates, operational issues and improvement initiatives. 

I also made sure I kept my diary relatively free to spend some time sitting in with the team so I could see and hear what was happening. The team is focussed on delivering a great service to our brokers, and we talked through what we can do to make it even better.

Our SME finance business partner is also based in Glasgow, so it was a perfect opportunity to review our performance for the month, and year to date. We also discussed the new initiatives we have planned, and have secured funding for, in 2025.

The day ended with a meal with the team at an Italian restaurant in what is certainly a very vibrant city centre, even on a Monday night. It was also the first time I’d ever experienced black pudding in an Italian pasta dish – a great culinary innovation.

Tuesday

Another day in Glasgow, but before heading to work, I called the twins for a quick catch-up before they went to school. 

I don’t want to knock the Scottish weather, but I definitely wished I’d taken my big coat with me – it was freezing as I walked from my hotel to the office.

Today I caught up with our SME digital pricing manager, who’s also based in Scotland. We reviewed a particular portfolio where we had made some changes and it was great to see the team’s hard work coming to fruition, with the results in a positive place. 

I had a quick catch-up call with Axa Commercial’s strategy director, and we talked through our vision for SME and the key initiatives that we have planned in 2025 and beyond. 

I also managed to squeeze in a chat with Axa Commercial’s regional manager for Scotland and got his thoughts on what’s happening in the local market.

After a busy couple of days, I was back at the airport at 5.30pm and got home around 9pm.

Wednesday

Today I worked from home in my newly completed office. 

We did some house renovations earlier this year and I’m now lucky enough to have a dedicated home office space with a standing desk. 

I prefer standing when working from home as it helps to keep my energy levels up in longer meetings.

No two weeks are ever the same and I share my time between home, Axa’s regional locations and broker meetings. 

Today was back-to-back Teams meetings, with responding to emails squeezed in between. One call was with colleagues in Axa Group discussing inclusive insurance. We’re focussed on delivering for our customers and, having been an SME insurance customer for the two years prior to joining Axa, it helps me to bring another dimension to discussing customer initiatives.

After a couple of days away from home, it was nice to spend time with my family and eat dinner together.

Thursday

This morning, I headed into London on the early train to spend the day at our head office in Gracechurch Street. 

I’m usually in London at least a couple of days a week, depending on other commitments, and Thursday is probably the most regular day. It’s a great opportunity to catch up with a wide range of colleagues from all areas of Axa Commercial and meet up with key brokers.

In the morning, I had a quarterly business review with one of our strategic broker partners. It’s fantastic to meet face-to-face to review our growth on their panels and discuss and agree what we can do collectively to grow even further together.

One other benefit of being in London is all the different choices for lunch and I generally rotate and try something different each time. I was tight on time today, so I grabbed a salmon poke bowl takeout from close to the office.

I had a quick catch up with a broker after work and then made it home just in time to pick my son up from Scouts and we enjoyed a great chat before bedtime, when he told me all about how he’d made a fire and cooked himself a meal. 

He is great at cooking but just hasn’t transferred that skill to cooking tea at home for the family yet.

Friday

First thing Friday is always our weekly trading meeting with our head of underwriting and the operational and finance leads.

We review performance and where we are against the plan for new business and renewals. It also gives us an opportunity to discuss and agree any changes that we want to make to ensure we deliver our plan.

Our miniature dachshund Betty hung out with me in the office today – she was named by my daughter after a Taylor Swift song. 

The sun was shining and so I took the opportunity to take her out for a quick walk in the park at the end of my road at lunchtime. She’s only six months old, but very stubborn about going out if it’s cold or raining.

After lunch, I had a number of performance review discussions with some of the people managers in my team as we’re reaching the time for end of year reviews. I then took part in a final round tender pitch, where we presented our proposition for a new opportunity. 

We’re confident it will resonate with brokers, helping them to grow their business, but we’ll have our fingers crossed until we get the final result.

The week ended with a couple of one-to-one chats with members of my team before closing the laptop and enjoying the traditional family ‘fajita Friday’ – a favourite with everyone.