What outsourcing actually looks like in a regulated business

I want to be honest about something before I explain what I do and how I work.

Most people who outsource admin in a regulated business are not worried about whether the work gets done. They are worried about what happens when it goes wrong. Who carries it. Where the file will be when someone asks.

That concern is reasonable. I share it.

I spent eleven years working inside insurance operations — first at The Co-operators in Canada, representing over 150 agents across the country, then at MSIG Insurance Europe in Germany supporting underwriting and invoicing for a Japanese industrial insurer operating in the EU market. I was not managing from a distance. I was doing the work, in the systems, on behalf of people who were responsible for what I produced.

I learned something early in that environment. The file is everything. Not because anyone is watching — though sometimes they are — but because the file is the only honest record of what actually happened. A claim gets paid or declined based on what is documented. A complaint gets resolved or escalated based on what the notes say. I once saw a windscreen claim paid out that should have been excluded because the endorsement had been discussed, noted on file, and reflected in the system — but never properly signed and documented. The coverage was clear. The process was not. That distinction cost money.

That experience shaped how I work today.

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What I actually do

I provide back-office and operational support to founder-led UK insurance brokers. The work includes renewal pipeline management, MTA processing, client and insurer correspondence, file documentation, credit control follow-up, and complaint handling support.

I work inside your systems — Acturis, or whatever platform you use — not alongside them. I do not build shadow systems, export data to spreadsheets on my own machine, or hold information I have no reason to hold. When the work is done, the file reflects it. When something is unclear or falls outside what we have agreed, I flag it and wait for direction. I do not improvise where your regulatory exposure is involved.

At MSIG, we were processing booking documents from UK brokers into a DOS-era system that had no connection to the Excel invoices we were producing manually. Everything was done twice, by hand, with obvious risk of error. I built a training manual in OneNote to document the process — screenshots, workflow steps, escalation points. Then I redesigned the invoice to pull directly from the source document rather than requiring manual re-entry. Not because anyone asked me to. Because the process was producing errors and I could see how to reduce them.

That instinct — to notice where a process is producing unnecessary friction and do something about it — is part of what I bring. Not as a consultant pitching a project, but as someone doing the work and raising it when I see it.

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Where the boundary is

I am not a compliance function. I do not advise clients. I do not interpret policy or make underwriting decisions. I do not act without instruction in situations where the right answer is not obvious.

Every piece of work I take on operates within a defined scope, agreed in writing before I start. You retain authority over every decision that matters. My job is to make sure the groundwork is done correctly so that your decisions are well-supported and your files reflect them accurately.

If a client complaint comes in and you want me to handle the initial call — log the details, let the client speak, confirm a timeline for follow-up — I can do that. I have handled complaints professionally for years, and I know the difference between diffusing a situation and making a promise you did not authorise. I do not make promises on your behalf. I gather facts, document them, and come back to you with a clear picture of what you are dealing with.

That is the boundary. I take it seriously.

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On data and access

You will receive a Data Processing Agreement before any work begins. This is not optional — it is a legal requirement under UK GDPR for any processor handling personal data on behalf of a regulated firm, and it protects both of us. I am ICO-registered. The DPA sets out what data I process, for what purpose, how it is held, and how it is deleted when our working relationship ends.

Access to your systems is named, limited to what is required for the work in scope, and reversible at any time. I do not carry credentials between clients. I do not hold client data beyond what is needed to complete the task.

If the work involves health data — PMI clients, for example — I will tell you before we start that it needs to be handled differently to standard admin work. There are additional steps required, and I would rather we talk through those early than find out later that something was not set up correctly.

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What this is not

It is not a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong. I made an error with an endorsement in year nine of my career and it resulted in a windscreen

claim being paid that should have been excluded. I have been honest about that publicly because I think the lesson is worth more than the discomfort of admitting it.

What I can tell you is that when something does go wrong, you will know about it. You will not find out from your client or your network principal. You will find out from me, with the facts, promptly.

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If you are thinking about getting in touch

I work with founder-led UK brokers — typically ARs under networks like Movo, Momentum or Howden, or small directly authorised firms. If you are doing your own admin, or relying on a family member to keep things moving, and the operational load is starting to affect what you can actually do with your time, it may be worth a conversation.

The contact page is here. No form that goes nowhere, no automated response sequence. I will read it and reply.

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Leif Skogberg is a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and the founder of UK Broker Support Services Ltd. He provides remote operational and back-office support to founder-led UK insurance brokers.