Once Merlo AI has contacted the broker with your renewal instructions, the next phase of the process is in the broker’s hands. They will research the market, prepare insurance proposals, and send you their recommendations – typically as an email with one or more PDF attachments.
This is where one of the most powerful features of Merlo AI comes into play. Rather than requiring you to manually read through proposal documents, extract key data, and write a committee email from scratch, Merlo can do all of that for you – automatically – through a simple drag-and-drop action in your Outlook inbox.
1 The Merlo AI – Insurance Outlook Folder #
The “Merlo AI – Insurance” folder in your Outlook account is the communication hub between your inbox and the Merlo AI platform. It is a dedicated folder that Merlo monitors continuously. Any email you move into this folder is automatically picked up by Merlo, which reads the email content and any attachments, identifies which renewal record it relates to, and takes the appropriate next action.
This folder is used twice in the renewal lifecycle: once when you receive the broker’s quote, and once when you receive the final invoice and certificate at the end of the process. The same drag-and-drop method applies both times.
| How to Find the Merlo AI – Insurance Folder in Outlook |
| The “Merlo AI – Insurance” folder should be visible in your Outlook folder pane on the left-hand side. |
| If you cannot find it, check your folder list for any folders created by your Merlo AI system administrator. |
| If the folder is missing entirely, contact your Merlo AI support representative to have it set up. |
2 What to Do When the Broker Sends a Quote #
When a broker emails you with an insurance proposal – whether it contains a single quote or multiple options – follow these steps to pass it to Merlo AI for processing:
- Open Microsoft Outlook and locate the broker’s email in your inbox. The email will typically contain one or more PDF attachments with the full insurance proposal or Product Disclosure Statement details.
- Do not open the attachments or extract data manually – Merlo AI will do this for you.
- Click on the email to select it, then drag and drop it directly into the “Merlo AI – Insurance” folder in your Outlook sidebar. You can also right-click the email and use the Move option to move it into the folder.
- Once the email has been moved, Merlo AI will begin processing it in the background. Allow up to 5 minutes for this process to complete.
- After processing is complete, Merlo will have generated a draft committee email and linked it to the relevant renewal record in the Dashboard. Navigate to the renewal record to review the draft.
3 What Merlo AI Does with the Broker’s Proposal #
This is the stage that makes the biggest difference to your workload. When Merlo picks up the broker email from the Outlook folder, it performs the following steps automatically:
Step 1: Reading the Email and Attachments #
Merlo reads both the body of the email and all attached files. It is capable of processing standard insurance proposal formats, including multi-page PDF documents containing detailed policy schedules, premium summaries, and coverage comparisons. It extracts the relevant information – insurer names, policy types, premium amounts, coverage limits, excesses, and any special conditions – without you needing to open a single document.
Step 2: Identifying the Renewal Record #
Merlo cross-references the information in the email against the active renewal records in the Dashboard to identify which strata plan the proposal relates to. It does this using details such as the strata plan number, the property address, or other identifiers present in the broker’s email. Once the match is confirmed, all subsequent actions are linked to that specific renewal record.
Step 3: Drafting the Committee Summary Email #
Merlo generates a professionally structured committee summary email. This email is designed to clearly present the insurance options to the committee in a format they can easily understand and act on. It typically includes a comparison of the available policies, key coverage details, premium totals, and a prompt asking the committee to indicate their preferred option.
The draft email is saved in the Dashboard and associated with the renewal record. You will see it available for review the next time you open that renewal record.
| Best Practice: Reviewing the Committee Email Draft |
| Always review the committee email draft before sending it. While Merlo AI produces accurate and professional drafts, you are the one with the relationship with the committee. |
| Check that insurer names, premium figures, and coverage descriptions are accurately captured. |
| Feel free to add context, a personal note, or any additional commentary before sending. |
| You may edit the draft directly in the Dashboard before it is dispatched. |
