Following the guidance in this section will help ensure your renewals are processed smoothly, accurately, and without unnecessary delays or complications.
1 Always Review AI-Generated Emails Before Sending #
Merlo AI produces professional, structured committee emails based on the content of the broker’s proposals. These drafts are designed to be accurate and clear, but they are generated from document data and do not incorporate your personal knowledge of the committee, the property, or any specific context that is not present in the documents.
Before sending any Merlo-drafted email to a committee or broker, take the time to read it carefully. Verify that insurer names are correct, that premium figures match the proposal documents, that coverage descriptions are accurate, and that the tone and framing are appropriate for your relationship with the committee. Add any personal notes, context, or commentary that would be helpful for the committee to make a well-informed decision. You know your clients – Merlo handles the data.
2 Provide Instructions Promptly After the Notification Email #
Renewal records are created three months before the policy expires, but that lead time is only useful if you act on the notification early. Every day that renewal instructions are not submitted is a day that the broker has not been contacted, quotes have not been requested, and the committee has not been engaged.
As a general guideline, aim to provide renewal instructions within the first week of receiving the notification email. This gives the broker sufficient time to prepare considered quotes, gives you time to review them, and gives the committee sufficient time to make an informed decision – all before the expiry deadline.
3 Set the Valuation Override Before Submitting Instructions #
If you know that the insured valuation in your strata system is not current – because a new valuation report has been received, or because the system has not yet been updated – always set the Valuation Override before you submit your instructions. This is the only opportunity you have to correct the figure. Once the broker has been contacted, the valuation field is locked in the system and cannot be changed without support intervention.
4 Use the Outlook Folder for All Broker Emails #
Every broker communication that needs to be processed by Merlo AI must be submitted via the “Merlo AI – Insurance” Outlook folder. This applies to quote emails, follow-up communications, and the final invoice and certificate email. Do not attempt to manually upload documents through other channels or enter data from the proposal documents directly into the Dashboard – the drag-and-drop Outlook workflow is how Merlo reads and processes the information.
If a broker sends you quote information across multiple emails (for example, an initial summary email followed by a detailed document email), process each relevant email through the folder separately. Merlo will link each one to the same renewal record.
5 Allow Processing Time After Each Drop #
After you drag an email into the Merlo AI – Insurance Outlook folder, Merlo needs a short amount of time to process it. This typically takes up to 5 minutes, depending on the size and complexity of the attached documents. During this time, Merlo is reading the documents, identifying the renewal, and generating the next action (such as a committee email draft or a document link in the Dashboard).
Do not refresh repeatedly or take further action until the processing window has passed. After 5 minutes, refresh your Dashboard or navigate to the relevant renewal record to see the updated status and any newly generated content.
6 Commercial Plans: Expect a Staged Start #
For strata plans that include commercial lots, there will always be a brief delay between the time you submit your renewal instructions and the time the broker is actually contacted. This is by design, not an error. Merlo will first reach out to commercial lot owners overnight to collect current tenant information, and only then will it proceed to email the broker with the full renewal brief.
If you have submitted instructions for a commercial lot plan and the broker has not been contacted by the following day, this is normal behaviour. Check the renewal record in the Dashboard to see the current status. If the status shows that tenant outreach is in progress, Merlo is still waiting for tenant responses before proceeding.
