Insurance · Melbourne, Australia
Bayview Insurance Brokers got 31 hours a week back in 7 days
Bayview Insurance Brokers has helped Melbourne small businesses find the right cover since 2012. We work with over 30 insurers to compare policies and negotiate premiums. Our team of 10 puts client relationships first, cutting through the jargon to deliver clear, actionable advice.
A typical morning at Bayview Insurance Brokers: brokers on calls with clients, admin managing schedules, and a whiteboard tracking renewals.
The business
Independent insurance advice for Australian small businesses.
- Customers
- Small to medium businesses across Australia: builders, cafes, IT consultancies, manufacturers, and more.
- Team
- 10 people
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Tools before we started
What they sell, share of revenue
The team
10 people, and what their AI now does for them
The questionnaire
What James Mitchell told us before we started
James Mitchell, Managing Director, filled in the same questionnaire you can fill in today.
Manually rekeying client data between our CRM, quoting tools, and policy documents.
Give every broker back 10 hours a week so they can spend more time with clients and less on paperwork.
AI might give incorrect advice to clients · Staff relying too much on AI and losing product knowledge · Data privacy when using cloud AI tools
Keep human
- Negotiating with insurers on behalf of clients
- Walking clients through complex claims
- Building long-term relationships
Take it off our plate
- Data entry across multiple systems
- Formatting proposals in Word
- Chasing missing client information
- Sorting and filing email attachments
Our advice
Microsoft 365 Copilot, and the three things to automate first
Your team lives in Outlook, Teams, and Excel. Copilot integrates directly into those apps, which means zero new interfaces to learn. It can read your emails, draft replies, build quote comparisons in Excel, and pull client data from your CRM without copying and pasting.
Your tools today
We advise
Microsoft 365 CopilotFit 9/10Set up for 10 people, connected to your toolsAI takes over
- Proposal Generator
- Email Triage & Filing
- Claims Document Summariser
- Renewal Data Prep
Stays human, AI only supports
How each platform fit this business
What we advised to automate first
- Proposal and quote document creation in Word
- Email triage and response drafting in Outlook
- Data consolidation from BrokerQuote Pro into Excel for comparisons
Their 7 days
One Zoom session a day, from kick-off to AI-ready
- Day1
Discovery & Audit
Managing Director, Senior Broker, AdminMapped current workflows and identified the highest-friction tasks on Zoom. Agreed on Copilot setup and priority automations.
- Day2
Platform Setup & Permissions
Managing Director, external IT supportConfigured Microsoft 365 Copilot for all 10 users on Zoom, connected it to their SharePoint and CRM, and set data governance rules.
- Day3
Individual AI Setup Sessions
All staff in rotating 1:1 Zoom callsHeld a Zoom call with screen sharing for each team member to configure their Copilot for their role: custom prompts, connected apps, and personalised instructions.
- Day4
Automation Build Day 1
Senior Brokers, Account ExecutivesBuilt the first automation on Zoom: a prompt sequence that takes a client's business details and generates a draft proposal in Word with a quote comparison table from Excel data.
- Day5
Automation Build Day 2
Claims Manager, AdminAutomated email filing on Zoom: Copilot now reads incoming emails, classifies them, saves attachments to the correct client folder, and drafts a reply for review.
- Day6
Training Content Creation
Marketing, AdminRecorded custom training videos for each role, covering their most common tasks. Edited and uploaded to their internal knowledge base.
- Day7
Live Team Workshop & Handover
All staffRan a 90-minute interactive Zoom workshop where the team practiced real scenarios together. Reviewed the automations, gathered feedback, and handed over documentation.
The Complete AI Business consultant leads a hands-on Copilot session on Zoom with the Bayview team, walking through a real client proposal.
Training
A live Zoom session, 5 custom videos and a plan per person
Live training on Zoom
We ran a 90-minute hands-on Zoom session with the full team in their meeting room, working through real client scenarios to build confidence using Copilot across Outlook, Teams, and Excel.
Custom training videos
- ▶ Copilot for Brokers: Building a Quote Comparison in Excel8 min
- ▶ Drafting Client Emails with Copilot in Outlook6 min
- ▶ Automating Renewal Letters with Word and SharePoint7 min
- ▶ Using Copilot in Teams to Summarise Client Meetings5 min
- ▶ Admin Essentials: Email Triage and Calendar Scheduling9 min
Online training plan, per role
- Managing Director
- Using AI for strategic planning and client communication.
- Senior Broker
- Automating quote comparisons and follow-ups.
- Account Executive
- Streamlining renewal admin and client data management.
- Claims Manager
- Efficient claims document review and client updates.
- Risk Consultant
- Using AI for risk assessment research.
- Marketing Coordinator
- AI for content creation and campaign analysis.
- Admin/Reception
- Automating admin: email, calendar, and invoicing.
Automations built
4 automations that now run every day
Proposal Generator
4.5hper weekEmail Triage & Filing
4.5hper weekClaims Document Summariser
1hper weekRenewal Data Prep
3.5hper weekThe result
31 hours a week back, worth $68,400 a year
18 hours come from everyone using their own AI every day, 14 from the automations. The team now handles 20% more client meetings without hiring. Brokers use Copilot daily for drafting, and the admin team has cut email processing time by 75%.
Where the hours come from, per week
Paid back in week 6
At $48 an hour, the time saved earns back the $7,700 in 6 weeks. Every week after that is profit.
back per year
value per year
Retainer: monthly. The monthly retainer covers ongoing Copilot updates, a monthly personal training session for new staff, and building two new automations each quarter.
I was sceptical about AI understanding insurance, but the proposal generator alone saves my brokers hours each week. The real win is that our clients get clearer advice faster, and my team can focus on what they do best - helping people.
Your business, AI-ready in 7 days.
Answer the questionnaire and get a free first plan, written for your team and your tools.