Young & Haggis - Celebrates 60 Years

INDEPENDENT INSURANCE COMPANY 60 YEARS STRONG

here’s an old adage that when it comes to family business, the first generation starts it, the second generation grows it and the third generation runs it into the ground. That trend is something that Barry and John Haggis are determined to buck.

The brothers represent the third generation of brokers at Young & Haggis Insurance Services and have worked hard to live up to the high standards set by their uncle, parents and grandfather. Jack Young started Young Insurance out of his basement in 1964, going door to door to generate business. He was soon working alongside his children Rob Young and Barbara Haggis to build a strong family business until Jack retired in the

“The day they brought the first computer into the office – it was on a big trolley that they’d wheel around and share – was the day Jack Young walked out the door,” says Barry Haggis, president of Young

The second generation grew with the times and brought Barb’s husband, Chris Haggis, on board in the 1980s. Rob and Chris were the customer-facing principals of the renamed Young & Haggis Insurance Services, while Barb established the operational procedures that created the company’s strong foundation.

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Young & Haggis

John Haggis and Barry Haggis

figuring out how we do this the right way and keeping things on the rails.”

Integrity and work ethic were baked into the corporate ethos from the beginning and as the company grew organically and through acquisition, the team continued to provide exceptional service to clients. It slowly expanded from personal insurance into commercial, life and disability coverage and the management team sought out experienced and knowledgeable brokers in the business to build a strong team of like-minded professionals to help it grow.

It grew by two more when Barry’s and John’s professional paths circled back to the family business in 2011 and 2017 respectively. When Rob retired in 2018 and Barb and Chris

In a future that’s largely digital, Young & Haggis strikes a delicate balance. The firm remains up to date technologically and can accommodate a client’s preferred communication method, whether that’s through the app, text, email or by phone, but it will not compromise service for convenience. The Young & Haggis team is wary of insure-tech products that eliminate the service element and instead keeps human eyes monitoring and managing accounts. “When a client phones the office, they will never hear, “Your call is important to us” and then sit on hold for 30 minutes,” says John.

Young & Haggis is proud to remain a completely independent family-owned brokerage that puts relationships and customer needs first in this rapidly changing landscape.

Young & Haggis Insurance | 60 years

Jen Mohler, Seiji Miyazoe, Barry Haggis, John Haggis and Colleen Clark.

Young & Haggis is proud to remain a completely independent family-owned brokerage that puts relationships and customer needs first in this rapidly changing landscape.

Congratulations Young & Haggis Insurance Services

Celebrating 60 years of success

“With the rate consolidation and amalgamation are going, I can count on two hands the brokers left that are fully independent and not part of a cluster or larger group,” says Barry, who is also the past-president of the Alberta Insurance

They are fiercely proud to be one of the last independents standing and they strive to provide better service at every turn. Young & Haggis’ brokers aren’t incentivized by volume sales, and instead of pushing to add new accounts they focus on serving existing ones, getting to know clients well to provide the best possible experience.

“I would put the customer service reps in our office up

Clients know they have a dedicated broker assigned to their account so there is always a knowledgeable point of contact who will assist with their insurance including any issues they may have with claims. In an environment of call centres and impersonal batch emails, this matters. Their old-school relationship-driven approach attracts word-of-mouth referrals and has allowed them to provide a different kind of elevated personalized service to an increasingly discerning client base.

“Our focus is on that individual with assets that need proper attention and higher liability requirements from an insurance perspective,” says John. “We are very comfortable in that

They partner with high value markets CHUBB and Aviva Ovation and have long term relationships with Wawanesa Insurance, Intact Insurance, Peacehills and Aviva, along with a number of managing general agents that provide specialty products.

Over the past 60 years, Young & Haggis Insurance Services has evolved with the industry and become a highly respected boutique insurance broker. Jack Young would be proud to see his company thriving with grandsons Barry and John Haggis at the helm.