Product strategy · Enterprise UX

Simplifying the workflows behind global underwriting.

I led the redesign of two critical areas in Markel’s One Workflow platform, turning fragmented, click-heavy processes into clearer experiences shaped around how underwriters actually work.

Role

Lead UX/UI Designer

Product

Global underwriting platform

Scope

Submission Creation & Policy Page

Leadership

Strategy, design direction & delivery

The friction

Too many clicks, competing screen patterns, nested scrolling and information shown at the wrong level.

My intervention

Research across user groups, workflow analysis, strategic reframing and high-fidelity redesign across two workstreams.

The result

One redesigned journey released with positive feedback; the larger Policy Page redesign progressed into delivery.

Before and after comparison showing a dense table-based Policy Page transformed into a clearer structured policy view. — Before and after
From dense reference-based tables to a clearer policy-level experience
The redesign reduced duplication, established a stronger hierarchy and brought related policy information into a structure users could scan and act on.

Strategic approach

Reduce interface complexity without flattening domain complexity.

Underwriting contains real rules, dependencies and edge cases. The goal was not to hide that complexity, but to organise it around the decisions users needed to make.

Consolidate

Bring related tasks together and remove unnecessary movement between screens and modals.

Match mental models

Use language and structures that reflect how underwriters understand submissions and policies.

Design for the whole

Move from fragmented reference-level data towards a clearer policy-level view.

Discovery & direction

Patterns emerged across different user groups.

I gathered feedback from underwriters, administration teams, processing teams and different classes of business. Their scenarios varied, but the same needs kept surfacing: fewer clicks, clearer context and more direct routes through the work.

I also audited old and current screens to expose duplicated patterns and UX debt. That helped us avoid adding another visual layer and identify legacy experiences that needed to be retired as the redesign rolled out.

Workstream 01

Submission Creation

Turning a modal-heavy starting point into one direct, structured flow.

Released outcome

A faster start to new business.

The redesigned flow moved through development and UAT before being released to users. Feedback was strongly positive: users felt the more direct journey would save valuable underwriting time.

Removed repeated movement between separate modals
Made common inputs faster to find and complete
Balanced familiar behaviour with a more modern interface

Workstream 02

Policy Page

Reframing one of the platform’s most complex areas around the policy as a whole.

Before · Reference level

Reference A

Tasks · Quote · Data

Reference B

Tasks · Quote · Data

Reference C

Tasks · Quote · Data

Reframe

After · Policy level

Policy overviewClear whole

SummaryQuotesTasks

One place for related information and actions

Flow map showing the Policy Page redesign broken into sections, tabs, actions and underwriting states. — Workflow architecture
Breaking a dense page into six navigable areas
Mapping the experience exposed the relationships between data, actions and states, giving the team a shared structure for tackling the redesign.

The pivotal decision

Shift from references to the policy.

The original page organised data, tasks and actions by reference. When a policy contained multiple references, users saw duplicated information and struggled to understand the whole picture.

I reframed the experience around a policy-level view, then divided the page into six focused tabs. This reduced scrolling, clarified relationships and made the redesign manageable for users, stakeholders and delivery teams.

Policy Page pricing designs showing policy-level quote information and pricing actions. — Complexity deep dive
Making multiple pricing routes understandable at policy level
The design had to connect manual pricing in One Workflow with HX pricing in an integrated platform, while making quote status and next actions clear.

Design leadership

Scaling the work without losing the strategy.

As the Policy Page grew in scope, I brought in and managed a UX/UI contractor. I set direction, shared domain context, reviewed outputs and maintained consistency across a four-month design effort—while working closely with product, business analysts and engineering to keep decisions feasible.

Combined impact

Clearer journeys, stronger product foundations.

Core journey released after development and UAT

Policy Page areas structured into focused tabs

Major workstreams led from discovery into delivery

Reusable patterns applied across critical workflows

Reflection

The most important design move was not a component or layout—it was finding the right level at which to organise the work. Once the experience reflected the policy, rather than the underlying references, the interface could support complexity without making users carry all of it themselves.