Fenmoor Specialty Underwriting / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Fenmoor Specialty Underwriting · 9 Jan 2026 11:30
Callum Reid heard that daily active users had fallen to around nine of forty licences. He values the on-time 07:00 refresh, wants a one-page usage view, and expects Richard to ask what the spend delivers before the 1 Jul 2026 renewal.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Callum Reid heard that daily active users had fallen to around nine of forty licences. He values the on-time 07:00 refresh, wants a one-page usage view, and expects Richard to ask what the spend delivers before the 1 Jul 2026 renewal.
What happened: Daniel Okafor opened with the usage fall, around nine active a day against forty licensed users, down nearly a third on the quarter before. Callum said the operations team is in daily and he suspects the underwriters have drifted back to spreadsheets.
Customer view: Callum praised the 07:00 dashboards and noted there were no tickets. He said the questions run mainly through him and a couple of others, which he called the problem.
Commercial: Growth at £44k with forty licences, term to 30 Jun 2026, renewal 1 Jul 2026. Budget sits with Richard, who Callum says will ask what he is getting and dislikes surprises. Callum wants no extra users or connectors.
Watch: no tickets alongside falling usage could be silence. Daniel committed to a one-page usage picture and an underwriter session.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Falling usage, value case
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
mixed
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel Okafor to send Callum a one-page usage picture by team and person by the end of the following week.
- Callum to suggest two or three underwriters for a short hands-on session.
- Daniel to confirm renewal notice timings against the paperwork and take the value story to Callum before Richard.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daily active users have fallen to around nine of forty licences, so Richard may question value at the 1 Jul 2026 renewal.
- Questions run mainly through Callum and a couple of others, a key-person risk.
- No tickets alongside falling usage may be quiet disengagement rather than health.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A short session built on the underwriters' own submissions could widen use of the Growth subscription.
- Callum wants to be able to show capacity providers the brain as the tool used to monitor the book.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello Callum, thank you for making the time. Can you hear me all right?
Callum ReidLoud and clear. Morning, Daniel. I've got until about half twelve, so what I need is something I can take back to the team.- Daniel OkaforThat's plenty, we'll be well inside it. It's just the two of us today as far as I can see, so I'll keep it conversational. How was the first week back?
- Callum ReidBusy. Bordereaux landed on Monday as if nobody had been away. Capacity providers don't take a holiday.
- Daniel OkaforNo, they don't. Well, I'm glad the first week is behind you. Just so you know what I had in mind: a look at how the brain is being used, anything on your side that's getting in the way, and then a word about the contract, because the date is coming round faster than either of us will want.
- Callum ReidFine. Start with usage. I'd rather hear the bad news first.
- Daniel OkaforRight. I'll be straight with you, it's the thing I wanted to raise. You have forty licensed users, and over the last month the average number of people active on a given day is around nine. That's down by nearly a third on the quarter before.
- Callum ReidNine.
- Daniel OkaforAround nine, yes. Some days a bit more.
- Callum ReidThat's lower than I'd have guessed. I'd have said fifteen, maybe. Down by a third. Hm.
- Daniel OkaforAnd I want to be careful here, because the numbers tell me what has happened and not why. Part of it could be the Christmas break, although I wouldn't lean on that too hard, because the fall is measured against the whole of the previous quarter.
- Callum ReidNo, I wouldn't either. What's the split? Who's dropped off, who's still in there?
- Daniel OkaforThat's what I'd like to get right for you. At the moment I can see the overall trend and a handful of heavy users who are still asking a lot of questions. I haven't cut it by team properly yet. I'd rather do that with you than guess.
- Callum ReidOkay. My honest read, and it's only a read: the operations side is in there every day. Bordereaux checks, the oversight questions. That's my team and they're not going anywhere. The underwriters are another matter.
- Daniel OkaforGo on, that's helpful.
- Callum ReidThey got a bit of training at the start, then the book got busy, and when you're busy you go back to what you know. A spreadsheet. An email to someone who sits two desks away. I'm not saying that's what's happened. I'm saying it's what I'd bet on.
- Daniel OkaforThat fits a pattern I've seen with other teams, to be fair. Adoption goes in at the front, the day job takes over, and people fall back on habit. It doesn't mean the brain isn't useful to them. It often means nobody has shown them the question that would save them an hour.
- Callum ReidRight. And that's what I need to fix, because that's my people's time. If they spend an hour looking for something the brain finds in a minute, that's on me.
- Daniel OkaforI'd say it's on all of us. How is the team finding it, though, the ones who do use it? Are they happy with the answers?
- Callum ReidThe ones who use it, yes. I'll give you this: the dashboards have been right at 07:00 every morning. I haven't had to chase once. That matters to me more than almost anything.
- Daniel OkaforGood, I'm glad. The nightly refresh has been completing on time, and I'm pleased that you've noticed, because it's the sort of thing people only notice when it goes wrong.
- Callum ReidExactly. Which brings me to something else. You've had no tickets from us. Not one.
- Daniel OkaforI was going to come to that. Not one in the last month, and none of any priority. In one way it's good news, nothing is broken. In another way, when usage is falling and there are no tickets, I'd rather hear from you than find a quiet account.
- Callum ReidFair. No tickets because nothing's wrong, or no tickets because people can't be bothered. I couldn't tell you which.
- Daniel OkaforNeither could I, which is rather the point. So may I suggest something practical?
- Callum ReidGo on.
- Daniel OkaforI'll pull usage by team and by person, so we can see precisely who has gone quiet. I'll also pull the questions that have been asked most often, because that tells us what the brain is genuinely used for at Fenmoor. Then we sit down with that picture and decide who needs what.
- Callum ReidBy when?
- Daniel OkaforI'll come back to you by the end of next week. That one's in my hands, so I'm happy to commit to it.
- Callum ReidGood. End of next week. And don't send me a wall of numbers. One page. Who's using it, who's not, what you'd do about it.
- Daniel OkaforOne page. Understood.
- Callum ReidBecause I'll tell you what happens otherwise. Someone asks me in a meeting whether we're getting value out of this and I haven't got an answer. That's a capacity-provider question as much as anything. They ask what tools we use to monitor the book, and I want to say this one and show them.
- Daniel OkaforThat's exactly the use it was bought for, so I'd want you able to say that with confidence. Which of the oversight questions comes up most often at the moment? Just so I know where to point the effort.
- Callum ReidSubmissions against bordereaux, mostly. Do the numbers the syndicates see match what we've got on our side. And claims tickets, whether anything's open that touches a binder they've got money in. The brain pulls those together. That's why it's worth having.
- Daniel OkaforMm. And is that still happening mainly through your team, or are underwriters asking those too?
- Callum ReidMainly through my team. Which is the problem, if I'm honest. It's me and a couple of others carrying it. If one of us is off, the questions stop.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a good thing to have said out loud, and I'll make a note of it, because when a few people carry most of the questions it's a risk for you, not just for us. So part of the plan is to spread it a bit wider.
- Callum ReidYes. Wider. So the underwriters ask for themselves and I stop being the switchboard.
- Daniel OkaforRight. I could run a short session for them, an hour, no slides to speak of. Real questions on your real data, the things they currently ask someone else. Would that be welcome, do you think?
- Callum ReidIt'd be welcome if it's short and it's on their own work. If it's a product tour they'll be on their phones in ten minutes.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood, that's useful to know. I'll build it around their actual submissions and not a generic demo. Perhaps you could suggest two or three people who'd be good to start with, the ones others listen to.
- Callum ReidI can do that. Give me a few days.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. No rush on that one, it's more important that it's the right people.
- Callum ReidRight. Contract. You said you wanted to talk about it.
- Daniel OkaforJust briefly, and mainly so nothing surprises anyone. The current term runs to 30 Jun 2026, and the renewal date is 1 Jul 2026. You're on Growth at forty-four thousand a year, with forty licences. That's what we've invoiced and it matches the order form, so there's nothing untidy on our side.
- Callum ReidGood. I'll say now, budget isn't mine. That's Richard's. I'll tell you what he'll ask though. He'll ask what he's getting for it.
- Daniel OkaforWhich is entirely fair, and it's why I'd like the usage picture sorted first. I don't want to go to Richard with a falling line and no story. I'd like to go with the line, the reason, and what we're doing about it.
- Callum ReidYes. He doesn't like being surprised. Don't let him find it from a chart.
- Daniel OkaforNoted. I won't. Would you rather I came to you first and you took it to him, or would it be useful for me to speak to him directly at some point?
- Callum ReidMe first. Always. Then we'll see.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. That's the right order.
- Callum ReidAnd what happens at the date? I don't want a cliff edge. Is there a notice, a form, what?
- Daniel OkaforThere's a renewal notice well ahead of the end date, and I'll be the one running that conversation with you, so you won't be hearing about it cold. I'd expect us to be talking about it properly in the spring. I'll come back to you with the timings once I've checked them against the paperwork, rather than give you something from memory.
- Callum ReidFine. Good. Don't guess it.
- Daniel OkaforI never will. Is there anything else on the contract side that's worrying you? Number of users, connectors, anything you've been wanting to add?
- Callum ReidNot at the moment. If anything we've got users we're not using, so more wouldn't help. Fix what we have first.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a sensible way round to do it, and I'd rather we did it that way too.
- Callum ReidIs there anything else you can see in the data that I should know? Records, connectors, anything going stale?
- Daniel OkaforNothing that's flagged. Everything is loading, and the refresh has been landing on time. If I see a connector go flat I'll tell you straight away, you won't have to ask.
- Callum ReidGood. That's what I need. Right, I think we're done unless you've got more.
- Daniel OkaforJust to close the loop, then. I'll send you the one-page usage picture by the end of next week. You'll give me two or three names for the underwriter session in the next few days. And I'll come back to you on the renewal timings once I've checked them. Have I got that right?
- Callum ReidThat's it. Names from me, page from you, timings from you. Thanks, Daniel.
- Daniel OkaforThank you, Callum. Best wishes to the team. Speak soon.
- Callum ReidCheers. Bye.
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