Diary of an Insurer: Hood’s Ryan Fuller

Monday

Mondays are a time for planning the week ahead. An early morning walk with my dog helps clear my mind and sets a positive tone for the day ahead. 

At work, we begin with a team stand up, sharing weekly wins and setting goals, with a renewed focus on instilling a more commercial mindset and improving margins. 

The morning is spent finalising weekly trading reports and updating project progress documentation, ensuring positive progress towards our goal of being more digitally enabled and scalable. 

Client feedback from the previous week is reviewed to identify ways to enhance our customer centric solutions and service delivery, always mindful of our Consumer Duty responsibilities. 

Before lunch, there’s a call with one of our brand partners to discuss our upcoming joint marketing initiative for our travel insurance product, focusing on customer needs and strategies to exceed budgeted income. 

The afternoon is devoted to reviewing our KPIs including loss ratios, sales distribution, customer satisfaction and claims SLAs, to identify opportunities and financial efficiencies. 

After a productive wrap-up meeting, switching off work emails and getting some exercise properly helps reset for the week ahead.

Tuesday

A quick morning cycle always puts me in a good mood. Today is all about strategy and relationship management, key for securing the longevity of our brand partner contracts. 

The morning starts with a networking meeting with a representative from one of our partner brands. This is always an ideal way to catch-up on industry news and nurture key relationships. 

Back at the office, a cross departmental strategy workshop, explores our digital transformation roadmap and the potential of artificial intelligence-driven operational initiatives for handling our travel insurance. 

This is an important part of our drive to accelerate our transition to a more digitally and data enabled business. 

After lunch, recent campaign performance is reviewed with the marketing team, keeping margin improvement and chargeable activity front of mind. 

Later, a conversation with a peer from another intermediary highlights travel sector trends and ways to sharpen our commercial approach. 

After wrapping up a report for management, the evening is reserved for cooking dinner with my family. A simple pleasure that makes it easier to switch off from work.

Wednesday

The working day begins with a compliance catch-up to ensure our travel insurance processes remain aligned with Financial Conduct Authority’s requirements and our commitment to high quality service. 

Next comes a project session focused on improving our travel products, particularly the customer journey and messaging around travel disruption and parametric cover. 

This is in line with our objective of delivering customer centric solutions and exceeding budgeted income for our partners. 

The afternoon includes time with our customer service team, brainstorming ways to evolve our FAQs through Chabot tools and support workforce development. 

After work, meeting a friend for a drink and a chat provides a welcome chance to decompress and stay connected outside the office.

Thursday

Thursday mornings are reserved for a relaxed breakfast with my wife before the working day begins. 

Much of today is centred on personal development, supporting our aim to boost workforce engagement and elevate recruitment standards.  

A virtual seminar on price optimisation and different model structures, offers insights to share with the wider team and refine our performance management processes. 

Later, a brainstorming session with product managers, explores partnership opportunities with fintech and travel brands to drive commercial value and secure strategic partnerships. 

A deep dive with the data team into claims trends is followed by a catch up with account managers to exchange market intelligence and identify productivity gains and financial efficiencies. 

In the evening, unwinding with a good history book provides a welcome change from insurance.

Friday

Fridays allow for a slower start with a good cup of tea.  

Emails are reviewed and priorities set for the final push of the week, focusing on hitting the travel budget and supporting the renewal of a key brand partner contract. 

After a video call with an insurer to review quarterly performance, the afternoon is spent analysing portfolio data and preparing a tailored presentation for a corporate client, showcasing service quality and any price optimisation opportunities. 

The week ends with dinner with my family, feeling satisfied with what’s been achieved and looking forward to the weekend ahead.