Insurance Business Canada 4.05

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FIVE-STAR

MGAs The results of our broker survey reveal the best of the best managing general agents who set the industry’s golden five-star standard EXCEPTIONAL RISKS

It takes more than helmets and pads to safeguard the future of athletes in the NHL

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PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY COVERAGE

The stakes have never been higher in the rapidly changing liability arena

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Six essential areas to evaluate when choosing the right MGA

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ISSUE 4.5

CONNECT WITH US Got a story or suggestion, or just want to find out some more information? twitter.com/InsuranceBizCA

CONTENTS

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04 Editorial N M O Embracing a high-tech future G S A 06 Statistics R E Fort McMurray wildfires: the response

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EXCEPTIONAL RISK

COVER STORY

24

FIVE-STAR MGAs

Our survey results reveal the managing general agents whose performance, service and dedication to the industry make them stand out above the rest

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

Paul Krump has worked for Chubb since 1982.

He has a lot to reflect on

Even with all the pads and protective gear, NHL players still need extra specialized cover

08 Head to head

How to insure the peer-to-peer model?

10 Opinion

Harnessing the marketing potential of multimedia app Snapchat

12 News analysis

Facing up to the brave new world of critical technologies

14 Intelligence

A round-up of innovative products, big deals and new appointments

16 MGA update

Prepare for an industry revolution – the disruptors are coming

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FINALISTS

FEATURES

IBC AWARDS FINALISTS

The individuals and organizations who are finalists in this year’s Insurance Business Canada Awards

FEATURES 22 Spotlight on MGAs

Expert opinions on key considerations when choosing an MGA

44 A day in the life …

April Canada Insurance CEO Nick Kidd shines a light on the life of an underwriter

60 Succession planning Maximize the sale of your business with a clear exit strategy

PEOPLE

18

40 Broker insight

Oracle RMS co-founders on the brokerage’s laid-back office culture

FEATURES

MARKEL

56

Markel’s Dave Alexander gives the inside scoop on the changes in the professional liability space

2

16 20

FEATURES

s

BRO K

UPFRONT

68 Career path

KPMG’s globetrotting Mary Trussell

70 Other life

Getting physical with Natasha Clyde

INSURANCEBUSINESS.CA CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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ENCO

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

Brokers, it’s time to plug in

EDITORIAL Writers Ryan Smith, Libby Macdonald, Tim Garratt, Henry Preen, Paul Lucas, Joe Rosengarten, Caitlin Bronson, Lyle Adriano Copy Editor Bruce Pitchers

CONTRIBUTORS Michelle Lopilato, Christine Khor

I

t’s no secret to anyone in the industry that tech start-ups see insurance as an industry ripe for disruption. But while many of these start-ups have platforms that create a place for the insurance broker, most aren’t playing nice.

Whitney Arthofer, an MBA associate at venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners, has pointed out that insurtech start-ups are overwhelmingly focused on the comparison shopping and purchasing transactions that has traditionally been agent turf. He even called the insurance broker (now 59 years old, on average) “out of touch” with young consumers and prone to disruption.

Each time Insurance Business reports on these claims, we receive a flood of emails telling us why the outsider is wrong. Brokers are here to stay, they say, and the truly knowledgeable consumer wants no change to the status quo.

IBC determines that claim to be a mixture of truth and falsity.

Here’s what’s true: brokers definitely have a role to play in the future of the industry. More than 80% of small business owners expressed satisfaction with

The good news is that a growing number of brokers recognize the need for greater tech adoption. The trouble is that, so far, it’s just not enough their current producers in a recent Deloitte survey. A third also said they value their brokers’ knowledge and 15% credited their brokers with cost savings.

With that kind of endorsement, it’s not surprising that most brokers feel secure. But here is what is false about that same statement: contrary to what many producers feel, consumers do want change.

In the same survey, half of the 751 business owners said they’d be somewhat likely to consider buying insurance policies directly from a carrier. Similarly, more than two-thirds of current policyholders told Accenture they’d consider purchasing insurance products from organizations such as Amazon or Google.

Consumers may not make their preferences known directly to their brokers, but they do have them. The good news is that a growing number of brokers recognize the need for greater tech adoption and have put strategies in place to provide 24/7 customer service. The trouble is that, so far, it’s just not enough.

At IBC, we empathize with and support the independent insurance broker.

It’s why we dedicate so much time to exploring these new channels. So when we hear that just 43% of agents operate online 24/7, that less than a quarter have client portals and just 21% have mobile apps, we get concerned.

We know brokers are smart and in touch with their client base – but we also know it’s time to start exploring technology. It’s this transformation, after all, that will cement producers’ place in the industry for many years to come.

The team at Insurance Business Canada

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www.insurancebusiness.ca NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Joenel Salvador Production Manager Alicia Salvati Traffic Manager Kay Valdez

SALES & MARKETING National Account Manager Eric Langille Associate Publisher Trevor Biggs General Manager, Sales John Mackenzie Marketing and Communications Claudine Ting Project Coordinator Jessica Duce

CORPORATE President & CEO Tim Duce Office/Traffic Manager Marni Parker Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil Global CEO Mike Shipley Global COO George Walmsley

Editorial Inquiries paul.lucas@keymedia.com Subscription Inquiries subscriptions@keymedia.com Advertising Inquiries eric.langille@kmimedia.ca

KMI Media 312 Adelaide Street West, Suite 800 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R2 tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com Offices in Toronto, Denver, London, Sydney, Auckland, Manila, Singapore CMCA AUDITED

Insurance Business Canada is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the insurance industry Insurance Business America cathy.masek@keymedia.com T +1 720 316 0151 Insurance Business UK jonathan.connelly@keymedia.com T +44 20 7193 0935 Insurance Business Australia peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Insurance Business NZ peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Insurance Business Asia peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

12/10/2016 9:40:09 PM

CA W

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Fort McMurray: the response

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How did the insurance industry respond to Canada’s costliest natural disaster in the toughest of times?

ON 1 MAY 2016 a wildfire began southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Two days later, it swept through the surrounding communities.

Two months later, the wildfires were declared under control after spreading across approximately 607,000 hectares and being declared the costliest insured disaster in Canadian history.

Within hours of the fires starting, Canada’s insurance industry arrived to help those

AUGUST 2014 ALBERTA HAILSTORM

Storm caused $537m in insured damage to Alberta properties.

in need. Although the damage devastated businesses and separated families, the community stayed strong and is now ready to begin the rebuilding process.

Like healing a wound, rebuilding the infrastructure and businesses of the city will take time. In a show of solidarity, the local community and the insurance industry are uniting to deal with a difficult situation in the best way possible.

5

MAY 2011 SLAVE LAKE WILDFIRE

Alberta wildfire caused $700m in insured damages.

10 JULY 2010 CALGARY STORM

Wind and thunderstorm caused $500m in insured damage.

$3.58bn

Estimated insured property damage from the May 2016 wildfires

90,000

Number of people registered with the province as evacuees

2,400

Number of homes and other buildings destroyed

65

Number of days that the fire burned before being brought under control Source: IBC, CTVNews.ca

WILDFIRES IN CANADA

BREAKING DOWN THE COSTS

Even when catastrophes like Fort McMurray are taken out of consideration, each year wildfires have a devastating impact across Canada.

During the wildfire, businesses were interrupted, properties damaged and cars wrecked. But how many claims were made and how much did each one cost?

30,000

2.5m Average number of hectares across Canada that burn each year.

8,000 Approximate number of wildfires that occur each year in Canada.

45% Percentage of fires caused by lightning strikes in Canada.

20,000

10,000

55% Percentage of fires caused by humans in Canada.

0

81% Percentage of total area burned caused by lightning.

Source: IBC

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27,000+

12,000+

5,000+

Personal property claims (average cost per claim: $81,000)

Auto insurance claims (average cost per claim: $15,000)

Commercial insurance claims (average cost per claim: $227,000) Source: IBC

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MAY 2016 FORT McMURRAY WILDFIRES

The IBC reports that the insured damage from the fires was $3.58bn.

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COSTLIEST DISASTERS IN CANADIAN HISTORY

9

From wildfire to floods and ice storms, Canada has a history of enduring torrid – and expensive – natural disasters. Here are the ten costliest disasters for Canadian insurers.

AUGUST 2012 CALGARY-AREA STORM

Areas in Alberta (mostly around Calgary) affected by wild winds and thunderstorms, which caused $530m in insured damage.

3

Ice storms in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick caused $1.49bn in insured damages.

SEPTEMBER 1991 CALGARY HAILSTORM

Severe hailstorm cost insurers $343m.

2

JUNE 2013 SOUTHERN ALBERTA FLOODS

JANUARY 1998 EASTERN ICE STORM

4

High winds and thunderstorms created $1.72bn in insured damage.

JULY 2013 TORONTO FLOOD

6

Wind and thunderstorms flooded highways and streets in the Greater Toronto Area and caused $943m in insured damage.

AUGUST 2005 TORONTO FLOOD

Severe rain and thunderstorms caused $590m in insured damage.

Source: GlobalNews.ca

RISK MITIGATION With natural disasters on the rise, it’s important that brokers work with their clients to help them identify and take measures to minimize their risk exposures in the event of a catastrophe. Here’s a snapshot of Canadian attitudes.

42% Percentage of people with home insurance who rated their level of knowledge about what their policy covers as highly knowledgeable.

45% Percentage of those residing in homes with an emergency exit plan that indicated that they had practised or reviewed the plan in the past 12 months.

A HELPING HAND FROM THE INDUSTRY Within hours of the wildfires starting, RSA Canada arrived to help those in need. RSA and its employees also made a contribution to the Red Cross to help the victims of the fire.

$125,000+

Amount RSA donated to Alberta wildfire crisis.

28% Percentage of people with home insurance who rated their level of knowledge about what their policy covers as having little or no knowledge at all.

55% Percentage of Canadians who reported having a plan for how household members would get in touch if separated due to an emergency situation.

4% Percentage of individuals who reported that they did not have home insurance coverage.

53% Percentage of individuals who indicated that they had copies of important documents, such as insurance policies, birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, licences or deeds, stored in a safe place.

$25,000+

Amount of money that has been raised by RSA employees through the company’s Matching Donation program.

50

Number of employees across the country who manned the phone lines over the Mother’s Day weekend and reached out to customers to ensure their safety.

Source: www.statcan.gc.ca Source: OPTIS Partners: “2015 Agent/Broker Merger & Acquisition Statistics”

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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

How to insure the peer-to-peer model?

What does the insurance model pioneered for sharing economy initiatives such as Turo mean for the future of the industry?

Karim Hirji

Don Forgeron

François Dumas

Senior vice president, international and ventures Intact Financial Corporation

President and CEO Insurance Bureau of Canada

Vice-president, actuarial, insurance and business intelligence La Capitale Insurance and Financial Group Inc.

“There is no doubt that the sharing economy is redefining insurance and changing how Canadians live. Leaders in this space, like Uber and Turo, are providing consumers greater choice, transparency, products that are simple to use and easily accessible. To keep pace with these changes, insurance companies will have to design new products to meet consumers’ evolving needs. We can no longer think in silos such as personal vs commercial. Companies will also have to evolve their pricing models, rethink how they use data, and continue to strengthen their relationships with consumers – who are at the core of this transformation.”

“Winston Churchill once famously described Russia as a ‘riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’ The sharing economy is an opportunity, surrounded by a challenge, coated with uncertainty. We need to fight our way through to the opportunity.

A changing world brings new risks and vulnerabilities. It opens the door to innovation. Our future successes depend on us harnessing the power of this new economy and using it for our own purposes, rather than reacting too late. The potential is there for us to do more, and do it better. The good news is: we’re already on our way.”

“Our primary mission as an insurer is to focus on our clients’ evolving needs by offering a comprehensive product selection. With the rise of the sharing economy, La Capitale’s main objective is to rapidly adapt our products to support clients who are part of this trend. It is with this mindset that our partnership with Turo was made possible. We have also developed new coverage for clients that, for example, share their homes on Airbnb, or provide regulated ridesharing services. To face any new market or change in our society, we need to remain creative and agile. This future is now.”

PEER-TO-PEER MODEL TO BE WORTH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS It barely existed a decade ago, but, according to some forecasts, in less than a decade the sharing economy will be generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.

According to PwC’s Global Annual Review released last year, by 2025 the five most prominent sectors of peer-to-peer sharing could, together, be the driver of US$335 billion. PwC Germany’s senior partner, Norbert Winkeljohann, says, “These sharing schemes require […] easy access to short-term insurance coverage.”

Little wonder then that in its 2015 report, Harnessing the Power of the Sharing Economy, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce urged, as one of its main recommendations, that immediate action be taken “to fill any insurance gaps.”

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www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca

Humanize your brand the Snapchat way The insurance industry’s reputation could be improved by using Snapchat to engage and humanize its stories, says marketer Kat Macaulay IT’S A fundamental truth that humans are behind the decisions made in companies, and the adage goes that we do business with people we know, like and trust. One means of humanizing your brand? Snapchat.

Snapchat is the image and multimedia app perhaps best known for its initial branding as a means of privately messaging photos that would self-delete.

Although some businesses scoff that the app is just for sexting and young people, new stats illustrate that the user base is growing – including decision makers. Aside from being dynamic in its acquisitions and having a strong foresight of what its users want and expect, Snapchat offers more mature options, such as the Discover part of the app. Most recently, this election year has seen the partnership between Snapchat and the app TurboVote to enable American would-be electors to register to vote.

The facts on Snapchat are strong: the company is valued at an estimated $20bn and boasts 10 billion video views a day, as well as 150 million daily active users. Snapchat has caught the eye of marketers – 5% saying they already use it and 16% planning on increasing their Snapchat activities. Meanwhile, 28% of marketers want to learn more about the social-media platform. Backstopping this interest is the fact that consumer uptake has been strong: 60% of smartphone users aged 13 to 34 utilize the app. With all that to its credit, Snapchat may just be your new best friend.

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So who should be using Snapchat as part of their marketing plans? Anyone who wants to be visible, valuable and vertical.

Snapchat is well-suited to the needs of small business, personal brands and entrepreneurs across industries. According to one unofficial Snapchat survey, 95% of users watch Snapchat stories daily and only 5% state that their follows are confined to regular people. The remainder, 95%, follow a mix of regular people and brands.

time and money. It’s no different from any other piece of marketing – the resources required to create and curate content cost time and money, and companies must ensure the outlay matches the overall goals of their marketing strategies.

Think of small data, rather than big data. In an effort to learn as much as we can by pulling reams of data, sometimes marketers can lose the little things that can make a huge difference.

While many companies are obsessed with numbers, such as Google Analytics, this approach can mean missing the wood for the trees. For example, a B2C company asking their followers questions can zero in on critical consumer information from those already engaging with them.

Aside from our American friends Hillary and Donald, politicians are jumping on Snapchat.

Despite the potential risks associated with a new platform and no concrete evidence that ROI can be determined, they’ve already decided it’s the best social platform to engage and learn.

Metrics include the amplification rate (the number of views), the conversation rate (number of engagements) and the economic value (the revenue or cost savings).

The most critical metrics to track are the number of unique views and the number of total story completions. The engagement rate –

Snapchat is well-suited to the needs of small business, personal brands and entrepreneurs across industries However, a critical Snapchat insight worth repeating for marketers from the bigger brands: the expectation from Snapchat users is that those brands engage – or go away.

The same survey reports that 95% of users do not think brands should use Snapchat if they don’t engage. Or as Zach Hansen put it on the Snapchatters Podcast: “It’s not good to just shove your stuff down people’s throats – ’cause, honestly, we don’t care.”

Snapchat provides insurers with the opportunity to be nimble and create content and stories that can be repurposed across other social media platforms.

As for the thorny question of return on investment: what is the investment? Resources,

the metric that tracks any sort of engagement relevant to your story – is also crucial.

The most important things to keep in mind to make the most of the app: • Integrate your Snapchat use with existing programs; align those goals.

• Focus on advocates, not impressions.

• Think about quality, not quantity.

• Both big and small data are useful.

• Try it, test it, track it.

• Be visible, be valuable, be vertical.

Kat Macaulay is a marketer who helps organizations become visible, valuable and vertical both online and offline through social media, digital marketing and traditional communications.

She’s the founder of TAKCAM Social Media and Digital Marketing.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Technically irrelevant?

Progress toward technological adoption has never been greater, but brokers are still putting in a woeful performance in comparison with their peers PEOPLE RELY on technology more than ever. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians now own a smartphone, using them to do everything, from banking to regulating home heating. And, thanks to increasing automation, goods and services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Yet the insurance industry, independent brokers in particular, is failing to take advantage of these and other critical technologies.

The good news is that most brokerages are excelling in some areas, most prominently in internal automation. A new survey from Applied Systems, a software provider for US and Canadian brokerages, reports that 98% of brokerages use an internal management system, and 75% have visibility across all departments, including personal and

Despite critical trends suggesting today’s consumer prefers to interact with financial services companies on their own time and in their own way, only 38% of brokerages surveyed offer e-signature functionality and even fewer (25%) use a client self-service portal. Just 17% provide their clients with a mobile app.

Perhaps most troubling of all, just 45% of agencies surveyed by Applied Systems have adopted technology allowing staff to access their management system outside of the office using a mobile device.

This is a critical oversight when Canadians are increasingly using their smartphones and tablets to transact business online – particularly as brokerages face increased competition from tech-based start-ups

“If agencies don’t adapt and evolve with time, customers will go somewhere else and these start-ups could absolutely be a threat” Michael Howe, senior vice president, product management, Applied Systems commercial property/casualty and sales.

Similarly high rates of brokerages are using the cloud to host their management systems.

Sixty per cent of brokers said they leverage cloud technology, resulting in 16% higher revenue per employee compared to brokerages that do not use the cloud.

Things are less impressive in technology adoption that allows for client self-service.

12

offering alternative distribution choices.

The founder of one such start-up notes that such issues detract from the core value of the broker.

“Insurance has not kept up in the advancements seen in other parts of society in terms of technology,” says Matt Miller, chief executive with US-based Embroker. “The core job of the insurance broker is still taking

information from a customer, taking that to the carrier and taking information back to the customer. There’s not a lot of technology involved in that process, and it’s a huge pain point for customers when brokers use their time on inefficient workflows.”

Those inefficiencies are manifest in insurance premiums, as roughly just 50 cents of every dollar spent by the customer goes toward settling claims.

Miller adds that brokers have historically benefitted from the complex, opaque nature of commercial insurance, which prompts few small- to medium-sized businesses to review their policies and consider more appropriate or better-priced coverage.

As technology emerges to bridge that gap in education, however, brokers may receive some pushback on the value of their service model.

“I think what brokers haven’t really done is empower the customer,” Miller says. “They’ve created a role where they’re absolutely critical to the customer, instead of allowing them to take ownership of their own risk management through tools, resources and expertise, providing guidance where they need it.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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AN UNDER-PAR PERFORMANCE Independent agencies across North America are lagging behind in key areas related to customer service.

38%

of brokerages offer e-signature functionality, despite the fact that 66% of Canadians own a smartphone.

37%

of brokerages have yet to start tracking prospective sales and renewal opportunities within their management system.

76%

of brokerages don’t use a business intelligence solution with their management system.

25%

of brokerages use a client self-service portal.

The irony is that by refusing to adapt, brokers are cheating themselves out of potential profit: data from Applied Systems suggests agencies using self-service applications have 9% higher revenue per employee than those that don’t.

Brokerages may also be risking potential

brands more than people,” Miller says.

“We want to build that trust by being highly confident and highly efficient, and we’re attracting people who want a different model, one that’s not as reliant on their broker taking them out to lunch or dinner.”

Michael Howe, senior vice president,

“I think what brokers haven’t really done is empower the customer” Matt Miller, founder and chief executive, Embroker connections with younger business owners who value self-service and tech-based offerings.

Technology companies, for example, which trend younger on average, account for a high number of Embroker’s clients.

As millennial business owners become an increasingly powerful force in the marketplace, traditional brokerages may grow to regret not accommodating the group’s preferences.

“I understand how powerful those relationships [with the broker] are, but if you look at how branding and trust works, you see that younger people often trust

product management, with Applied Systems, says it is possible that the way these trends are being discussed belies a positive shift in attitude among brokerages.

“Eighteen to 24 months ago, there was much more resistance to the idea of providing service in a non-personal way, but now I think we’ve gotten people over the hump and the difference in attitude toward self-service is night and day,” he says.

“We’re just in the early stages of adoption – in seven to eight years, I think we’ll see 90% of brokerages investing in self-service technology.”

17%

of brokerages provide clients with a mobile app.

Source: Citrix, Applied Digital Agency Survey

While Howe believes brokerages will remain resilient in the digital revolution, he does, like Miller, foresee trouble for companies that continue to shun new technological development.

“You will always need someone to help you make smart choices in the complicated world of insurance, so the core value proposition offered by agencies will continue to exist,” he says.

“If brokerages don’t adapt and evolve with time, though, customers will go somewhere else and these start-ups could absolutely be a threat.”

The Applied Digital Agency Report found an industry-wide digital technology adoption rate among independent brokerages of 42% based on five core competencies: agency management system capabilities, business intelligence, insurer download adoption, cloud software and mobility.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER

TARGET

PRODUCTS COMMENTS

Canada Life International Re

NN Re Ireland

Portfolio transfer and capital repatriation are expected to result in an after-tax loss of approximately €25m.

AP Reid Insurance Ltd

Robinson Insurance Brokers of Edmonton

AP Reid’s Edmonton office and the Robinson office will combine to create a western regional office.

Lussier Dale Parizeau

Riverin Girard & Associés and Ouellet Fillion & Associés

Riverin Girard and Ouellet Fillion’s branches in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Chibougamau will operate under their current brands.

Metromile

Mosaic Insurance

The pay-per-mile insurer raised US$191.5m to purchase Mosaic; one of Metromile’s investors is Intact Financial.

Hub International Limited

Sarjeant Brokers Limited

Barrie-based Sarjeant specializes in property and casualty insurance; it’s the latest in a string of Hub acquisitions

Hub International Limited

New Dimensions Underwriters

New Dimensions is a managing general agency based in Edmonton – yet another firm purchased by Hub.

Manulife introduces Vitality life insurance program

Manulife has announced a new program called Vitality, which rewards life insurance customers for living a healthy lifestyle. Every time a participating customer accomplishes health-related activities, such as exercising or undergoing annual testing, they earn Vitality Points, which can be used to lower their premiums, among other perks. Participants also receive a voucher for a free wearable fitness tracker and discounts on gym memberships. Consumers who purchase Manulife Family Term have the option to sign up for the Vitality program.

Phoenix Group buys UK insurer

Major British insurer Phoenix Group has acquired Deutsche Bank’s insurance business in the UK, Abbey Life. Under the terms of the deal, Phoenix will obtain 100% of Abbey Life for £935 million. Deutsche Bank said the sale will strengthen its capital position, although the transaction will also result in an expected pre-tax loss of €800 million.

In its half-year report in August, Phoenix CEO Clive Bannister hinted at more potential deals, saying the company is “well placed to generate value from further acquisitions.”

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Trupanion offers lifelong pet medical insurance to service dogs

Trupanion has formed a partnership with Asista Foundation to provide the latter’s service dogs with lifelong pet medical insurance coverage. The Quebecbased Asista Foundation offers service dogs to those with autism, PTSD and psychological needs. The foundation is launching a program in collaboration with Veterans Affairs Canada to provide veterans with service dogs at no cost. The policy will also cover these dogs. The partnership will include a contact centre team to assist those involved in the program.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE Aviva, RDA launch landlord insurance program

Aviva Canada, with RDA Insurance, announced that it would provide coverage for landlords who use digital platform Casalova. Called Casalova Landlord Protect, the product provides protection of up to $50,000 in unpaid rent and up to $50,000 for property damage caused by tenants.

“Casalova.com is a great digital platform, offering simplicity and ease of use to both landlords and tenants,” said Martin Campbell, Aviva Canada’s assistant vice president of specialty warranty.

“As customers are increasingly looking to self-serve, digital platforms like Casalova are a perfect fit for Aviva Canada and RDA Insurance.”

Morneau Shepell launches online health and life insurance benefits marketplace

Morneau Shepell, a human resources consulting and technology company, has launched an online health and life insurance benefits marketplace specifically for retirees. Called MyFuture, it lists various competitive medical, travel, dental and life insurance plans made with retirees in mind. Great-West Life, Green Shield Canada, Medavie Blue Cross and Pacific Blue Cross are some of the insurers underwriting MyFuture’s plans. The service will allow retirees to compare plans between multiple providers.

Ingle International provides outbound travel insurance product for students

Ingle International is offering a new outbound travel insurance product for both Canadian students and chaperones from most Alberta school boards, and plans to eventually offer the product nationwide.

The Canadian Student Travel Insurance Plan provides all-inclusive coverage to students and chaperones and gives them 24/7 access to emergency medical and security assistance. Coverage is arranged on a group basis, which Ingle International will write for.

A website gives further information on the product.

NAME

LEAVING

JOINING

NEW POSITION

Richard Payette

BDO International, Americas Region

Manulife Financial Corporation

President and CEO of Manulife Quebec

Martin Thompson

N/A

RSA Canada

President and CEO

Kevin Morrissey

N/A

Sun Life Financial

Senior vice president and chief actuary

Alexander Ankel

Ankel currently heads Khazanah Nasional Berhad as group CEO

Ergo International

CEO

Markus Nordlin

Zurich Insurance

QBE Insurance

Global chief information officer

James Burns

Burns steps down from his senior partner role at Clyde & Co

Clyde & Co

Head of the Americas

Owen Ryan

Deloitte Advisory

AEGIS

President and CEO, director

Phil Hibbert

Allianz Global Assistance New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia

Allianz Global Assistance Canada

CEO

James Shea

AIG

Zurich Insurance

Commercial insurance CEO

Marc Cohen

Hub East Canada

Hub International

President

Catherine Rogers

Western Financial Group

Rogers Insurance

Director of finance

Lorie Phair

ingenie Canada

Canadian Broker Network

Managing director

John Wilcox

Risk Strategies Company, McKinsey & Company

The Hartford

Chief strategy and ventures officer

Christopher Schaper

Montpelier Re

Marsh

CEO, MGA

RSA Canada formalizes president and CEO appointment

RSA Canada has announced that it has appointed Martin Thompson as president and CEO. He was approached to serve as president and acting CEO in July 2016 when former president and CEO Rowan Saunders stepped down. Before serving as acting CEO, Thompson was senior vice president of commercial insurance and global specialty lines at RSA Canada. He has been with the RSA group since 1997. “It’s an exciting and challenging time for our business and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to lead RSA Canada and continue to drive our transformation to be best in class,” said Thompson.

Sun Life Financial names SVP, chief actuary

Sun Life Financial has appointed Kevin Morrissey as senior vice president and chief actuary. As chief actuary, he will handle enterprise-wide corporate oversight of the company’s actuarial practices. He succeeds outgoing chief actuary Larry Madge, who has served in the role since 2013. Morrissey has been part of Sun Life since 1988. He became vice president, asset liability management in 2005, initially for Canadian operations, but then for the rest of North America. He became senior vice president in 2013 and the company’s first global leader of asset liability management.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

MGA UPDATE

Is the MGA sector for sale?

Several independent MGAs have either been looking to sell or have merged with others

MGA acquisitions have been a serial occurrence lately, with many insurers snapping up MGAs to bolster the distribution of their products.

HUB International is this year’s biggest buyer, having acquired 1st Alaska Insurance LLC in June as well as New Dimensions Underwriters of Alberta in September.

However, other companies have followed HUB’s lead, looking to get a piece of the MGA pie.

Aviva Canada - which had just acquired

NEWS BRIEFS

RBC General Insurance Company appointed Leclerc Insurance and Financial Services as MGA in Quebec last July to distribute Aviva’s recreational insurance products for liabilities such as motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, mobile homes, RVs, and even trailers by leveraging RBC’s motor insurance business.

In September, perhaps the most notable acquisition was made when Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agreed to purchase Lloyd’s of London platform Ascot

P&C industry reports combined ratio

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) reported that the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry in Canada posted an aggregated combined ratio of 96% in 2015. In 2014, it was 99%.

The P&C industry (not counting mortgage insurance) reported $5.1 billion of net income in 2015—an improvement of 13% from last year’s results, OSFI said.

OSFI also noted that net investment income declined 10% from the previous year partly due to the low interest rate environment.

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Underwriting from AIG in a $1.1 billion deal. Ascot is a Lloyd’s of London syndicate and a global specialty insurance underwriter with expertise across multiple lines of business, and launched its own MGA, Azur Underwriting, earlier this year.

Another major deal in September involved pay-per-mile auto insurer Metromile which purchased Mosaic Insurance with plans for the latter to help with the underwriting of the former’s policies.

The MGA sector remains a developing segment, fueled by entrepreneurial efforts to provide carriers with access to specialist insurance markets. Its rapid growth is also sparking a competitive environment.

“The MGA market is becoming more material to the overall market . . . representing 14% of all commercial lines business,” commented Conning vice president of insurance research Matt Sternat.

“However, with year after year of high growth rates relative to the rest of the industry, a cautionary note should be sounded about the underwriting profitability associated with growth in this market.”

“In our surveys and discussion with MGA executives it was noted that competition is intensifying, and new entrants, not having as deep an expertise in a class of business, are pricing irrationally,” added Conning head of insurance research Steve Webersen.

“However, experienced MGAs and insurers should be well-suited to adapt to changing environments by maintaining focus and underwriting discipline.”

Eagle Underwriting expands its specialisms

Eagle Underwriting Group announced that it has expanded into fine art insurance. “We are excited to launch this new division which further strengthens our position as Canada’s leading provider for insurance for Things That Move™,” said Eagle Underwriting Group president Mike Wills.

Eagle has brought in 12-year insurance veteran Veronica Piñon-Standen.

“With the rapid growth of Eagle’s product lines, Veronica brings the perfect combination of energy and expertise to the team,” Wills remarked.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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Q&A

Nick Kidd

What’s happening with Canadian MGAs?

CEO APRIL CANADA

Phil Baker CEO CREECHURCH UNDERWRITERS

How is the MGA space changing in Canada?

Nick Kidd: The biggest influence on our business is around service, efficiency and ease of doing business.

The world is changing and we all need to change with it.

Our industry is behind the curve in this regard, and needs to adapt better to technology – it dramatically changes the risks we insure, and how we go about insuring them.

Phil Baker: In Canada we continue to see MGA consolidation. In particular we’re seeing large retail broker chains or groups acquire MGAs. This results in less choice for brokers, as they are often reluctant to place business with an MGA owned by one of their competitors.

What new areas of coverage are becoming more commonplace?

NK: Cyber is the most obvious – but is certainly not the only coverage that is in demand. We also see a growing demand for new coverage from short-term rental exposure, such as Airbnb, and for business exposure to product recall risk or food contamination.

PB: Retail brokers now use Creechurch more for standard small commercial risks as they seek placement options that offer an alternative to large domestic insurers that may not be able to provide the rapid turnaround that Creechurch can. Our fastest growing segment is standard small commercial P&C business.

What are some of the challenges facing MGAs? NK: We work in a heavily regulated industry, which will begin to impact even greater on MGAs who operate between insurers and brokers. We are preparing for this and are fortunate to have the scale to make this happen.

PB: We’re seeing larger brokers move away from the MGA model, or use only their owned MGAs or in-house binding authorities. At the same time, we’ve seen the consolidation of large global insurers. While it is a challenge for MGAs to stay ahead of this trend and remain relevant, it’s also a chance for MGAs to add value to the market by providing access to capacity that smaller regional brokers may not have access to directly.

ACTA looking to implement accreditation

The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies is working with the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada to create a course to serve as the basis for travel health insurer accreditation.

The course has chapters on insurance contract, product suite, pricing and underwriting, sales and distribution, claims and assistance, compliance, ethics and fraud. The plans come after the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators published an issues paper on the complexity of the travel health insurance market.

What makes your organization stand out?

NK: Firstly, we are part of a global organization, but with a large local and independent presence in the Canadian market with no ownership by any broker or insurer.

Secondly, our scale in Canada is such that we can underwrite a huge spectrum of risks in all provinces and can be a real destination for our broker partners.

PB: Creechurch has an in-house claims department with significant claims authority, which is not often the case with other MGAs. Similarly, Creechurch has broad underwriting authority, referring less than 1% of our business to our insurance partners for approval.

Metromile raises millions to acquire insurance carrier

Pay-per-mile auto insurance provider Metromile announced that it has raised about $253 million in funding to use in purchasing insurance carrier Mosaic Insurance. Canada’s Intact Financial was one of Metromile’s investors. Metromile is looking to have Mosaic handle underwriting, which would help expand the provider’s business across the US. “For the time being, our focus is on the huge opportunity for per-mile insurance in the US but we’re excited about exploring global opportunities,” said Metromile CEO Dan Preston.

Cook named president of ENCON

One of the leading managing general agents in Canada, ENCON Group Inc, has announced the appointment of a new president.

Starting on November 01 this year, David Cook will step into the role, succeeding Jean Laurin who is moving into retirement.

Cook is a 24-year veteran with ENCON and boasts extensive industry experience.

Currently, he is chief underwriting officer at ENCON and has been responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s underwriting management division.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

MATCH OF THE TITANS Chubb executive vice president Paul Krump discusses the revamped company’s efforts to bring the best of two businesses together IT WAS the largest deal ever seen in the insurance industry and resulted in the creation of the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurer.

In January, ACE Limited announced it had completed its acquisition of the Chubb Corporation, a transaction worth approximately $37 billion; the combined entity adopted the Chubb name. In the new leadership team, Paul Krump, formerly COO of Chubb Corporation, became executive vice president of the new Chubb Group and president of North America commercial and personal lines.

Krump says that since the completion of the transaction a “breathtaking” amount of progress has been made in integrating the two companies.

“We did an enormous amount of work pre-close … a tremendous amount of planning so we could hit the ground running and not be too inwardly focused at close,” he says.

“We were in the market on day one after closing, bringing out new capabilities such as cross-selling and upselling of each other’s products, making certain of the strengths of the combined firms – for example, the different market segment expertise and the expanded geographic footprints. We brought all that to customers and agents.

“I’d say that our work to synchronize hundreds and hundreds of processes, procedures and systems continues, but we are methodically tackling those issues every day.”

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Back to the beginning Krump began his insurance career with Chubb in 1982 as a commercial underwriting trainee.

He’s since held many positions within the company in both the US and Europe.

Looking back over his years with Chubb pre-integration, Krump says it’s difficult to identify a standout moment.

“There was a good number of successes and disappointments,” he says. “There were new products and ventures … new offices and

As for the most challenging times during his three-decade-long career at Chubb, Krump says two instances quickly come to mind.

“Early in my career, I was sent to Germany to help turn around a failing operation,” he says. “It took the team several years and lots of experimentation and changes, but we truly reimagined our role as a market in the country, and then altered our course dramatically. We went from being what I would call a me-too carrier, with mediocre results, to one that

“We were in the market on day one after closing, bringing out new capabilities such as cross-selling and upselling of each other’s products, making certain of the strengths of the combined firms” new market segments. Some of these were absolute home runs and some of them were, frankly, duds.

“I think what stands out for me is putting the good of the firm above my own personal interests, persevering through the challenges when others gave up, and simply being fair and decent to employees, customers, claimants, and agents and brokers. It’s been incredibly rewarding … I take tremendous pride in having helped build a wonderful company with an outstanding reputation for integrity.”

was innovative and bringing cutting-edge new products to the market and earning an underwriting profit.”

Krump also mentions the task of leading Chubb out of the soft market of the ’90s.

“I believe that effort took a lot of courage and deftness,” he says. “We had to overhaul our underwriting and pricing; we had to do it largely with a generation of people who had only experienced the soft market, and we had to do it with urgency and optimism. And it took real leadership.”

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PROFILE Name: Paul J Krump Company: Chubb Group Title: Executive vice president and president of North America commercial and personal insurance Years in the industry: 34 Fast fact: Krump also serves on the executive committee of the Council of Insurance Company Executives and the board of trustees of St John’s University

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

The new Chubb So what can brokers and customers expect from the new Chubb?

“We now have a much larger suite of products, deeper expertise and more specialists by industry type and by product – all of this wrapped in a larger balance sheet and a rich tradition of long-term and very local relationships,” Krump says. “Just in North America, legacy Chubb adds 40 new branch locations and thousands and thousands of customers, and hundreds and hundreds more agent relationships to the combined company.”

product offerings and pricing at a much more granular level, and it’s really going to enhance our ability to compete.”

Talking technology, Krump says there’s no doubt the pace of change requires the company to think about how it relates to customers.

“We are making significant investment in our digital strategy and capabilities to enhance the claims process, with our goal to be a user-friendly and flexible carrier without diminishing in any way the exceptional service that customers have come to expect from the Chubb service brand,” he says.

“Web applications, mobile apps that estimate auto damage, drones for estimating property damage and even robotics that will speed processing are all examples of technology that is changing the way we conduct business” Krump also touches on the strengths of each company and how they complement each other.

“When I think of legacy ACE, they bring deep expertise and products such as cyber, aviation, environmental, healthcare and accident and health, and they’re really well regarded for large global accounts,” he says.

“Legacy Chubb brings renowned industry expertise in such segments as life science and technology and clean energy.”

In addition, he points to the 2015 sale of Fireman’s Fund’s high net worth portfolio to ACE as another considerable asset.

“On the personal lines side, we now have the data and customer insights on the high net worth customer from three of the leading writers in that space,” Krump says. “All three of them are being combined, and we believe it’s going to allow us to tailor our services and our

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Krump adds that combining a best-inclass claims experience means adapting to customers’ diverse preferences.

“This includes leveraging digital capabilities, which we have in place and continue to expand globally,” he says.

“Many customers want information instantly, at any time of the day and without making a phone call. Web applications, mobile apps that estimate auto damage, drones for estimating property damage and even robotics that will speed processing are all examples of technology that is and will be changing the way we conduct business.”

It’s perhaps an understatement to say that Krump is enthusiastic about the possibilities that the combined ACE and Chubb will offer.

“We’re creating something more powerful, exciting and enduring together than we would have ever done as separate companies.”

CHUBB BY THE NUMBERS

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The number of countries and territories in which Chubb has local operations.

31,000

The approximate number of Chubb employees worldwide today.

$37bn

The approximate value of the ACE/Chubb acquisition transaction

$40bn

The approximate value of Chubb’s annual gross written premium.

$199bn

The approximate value of Chubb’s assets.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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ENCO

What makes an underwriter stand out in a crowd?

In today’s virtual sea of options, we believe “standing out” has a lot to do with relationships— the ones we have with you and those you have with your clients. Thinking outside the box, responding quickly and providing effective long-term solutions for your clients...

That’s what gives ENCON a warm glow.

Tap into ENCON’s 50+ years of experience in specialty insurance today.

www.encon.ca/outofthebox Professional Liability, Commercial General Liability, Construction and Environmental Insurance Marketed through licensed insurance brokers.

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

SPOTLIGHT ON MGAs

Brokers: some key considerations when choosing an MGA After ENCON Group Inc announced that a transition in leadership would take place on 1 November 2016, we sat down with Jean Laurin, outgoing president, and David Cook, incoming president, to discuss the role of MGAs in the Canadian insurance market and ask how brokers can go about selecting a suitable MGA with which to do business

MANAGING GENERAL agents play a key role in helping brokers provide insurance coverage for individuals, professionals and businesses across Canada. By the way they are structured, MGAs typically have the flexibility to develop insurance programs that are underwritten by carriers with a track record of reliability and success. By carefully selecting the insurance carriers with which they transact, conscientious MGAs help Canada’s brokers provide their clients with stable, established markets.

“MGAs exist to provide expertise in areas where insurers simply do not,” explains Laurin. “In focusing on a specific class of business or line of products, MGAs offer so much to the broker community.

“MGAs find their genesis in identifying a need that is underserviced in the marketplace. As new opportunities develop or existing carriers fall out of the space, MGAs find a way to fulfil a need in the marketplace that is often unique.”

Developing a strong relationship with a good MGA enables a broker to improve their client service and increase their product offering. But what should a broker look for

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when deciding on an MGA with which to partner? Laurin and Cook identify six key areas that brokers should evaluate: • Stability • Knowledge • Product offering • Broker service • Claims service • Authority of the MGA

Stability “A broker has to look at how long the MGA has been in the business, writing a specific class or product line,” Laurin says.

“Also, look at the longevity and experience of the underwriting staff: does the MGA have a proven track record; when it is time to deliver the promise, will they be there? Brokers should also look at how the MGA’s carriers are rated – an A rating is like a gold star.”

Knowledge Cook believes that MGAs are most successful when they focus on a specialized product and refrain from operating as a generalist business.

“Strong MGAs possess expertise that is not widely available elsewhere,” Cook says.

To adequately assess the depth of an MGA’s knowledge, Cook advises brokers to ask two important questions: Does the MGA understand the specialized nature of your client’s business so that your client will not need to educate the claims team representing them should a claim occur?

Does your client feel confident that the claims management team has the right expertise to get the best outcome for them in a claims scenario?

1

2

Product offering The specialist knowledge that MGAs possess enables brokers to add value to their client relationships by providing products that are tailored specifically for their industry or line of business.

“For example, the roots of our company are in the architects and engineering business,” says Laurin. “In offering these products for over 50 years, we’ve been able to tailor much of our service specifically to these industries.”

As well as helping a broker ensure their

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“Most MGAs are nimble and able to act quickly and efficiently. In many cases, large companies with multiple layers of management cannot react as fast.”

Claims service

clients are properly covered, working with a reputable MGA allows a broker to safeguard their own reputation and business, too.

“From a broker’s perspective, partnering with an MGA is the best solution to protect their own E&O exposure when they’re placing business and representing it as adequate and appropriate,” says Cook. “A specialized product gives a superior protection to a general product, which is more likely to have potentially damaging coverage gaps.”

Broker service Cook finds that forward-thinking MGAs that focus on individual brokers within a specialty space tend to build two types of long and mutually beneficial relationships. The first is with brokers who are already in the space and with whom business can be transacted smoothly. The second type of connection is with brokers

who are trying to learn the specialist class in order to either service their existing clientele more effectively or begin to build a new client base.

“Any MGA that wants to participate in the market should be providing knowledge and educational opportunities to brokers to help them better service their clients,” Cook says. “A good MGA will also be responsive to service standards and communicate those effectively and, importantly, be available: there should be no ignoring of calls or hiding behind voicemail.”

MGAs are typically smaller in nature than most insurance companies, and Laurin is in no doubt that this is a positive for brokers.

“It really helps add to the service element.

Most MGAs attempt to create the ease of doing business, and are generally more successful at achieving that than larger companies,” he says.

Laurin believes this is one of the most critical aspects for a broker to consider in an MGA. The broker should take the time to discover who exactly is responsible for managing the claims, as some MGAs have internal specialists, others let the insurer deal with claims directly, and others hire a third party to manage this aspect of the business.

“A broker should look for an MGA whose service element on the claims side is immediate,” Laurin says. “In any claim situation, the insured is going to be stressed, so immediate contact by whoever is managing the claim is an important factor.”

Other items that MGAs can and should offer are risk-management services and resources related to the products. An effective MGA will provide contract review services or risk-management education to brokers and insureds, to reduce exposure to risk and help clients understand their risk profile.

“A collaborative relationship between underwriting and claims is critical, and because MGAs are usually smaller, tighter organizations, these departments talk to each other much more than in larger insurance companies,” Laurin says.

“This collaboration helps ensure the broker has access to the technical knowledge that supports the insured’s coverage needs.”

Authority of the MGA Brokers should look for MGAs who have the proper authority to underwrite on behalf of an insurer. If an MGA has to refer everything back to the carrier, the entire process is slowed down considerably.

“Does the MGA carry E&O coverage in limits that reflect the size of accounts underwritten in the event of a claim against them?” Cook says.

“If they do not, the broker is liable in the event of claims issues with their client, which no broker wants. A good MGA will support the broker in the event of a claim and not just tell them to call the carrier.”

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs

FIVE-STAR

MGAs IBC unveils the MGAs that brokers feel stand out above the rest FROM ONCE playing a small role to now being vital players in the Canadian insurance market, MGAs are shaping the future of the Canadian insurance industry.

The 20 Five-Star MGAs on our list are a testament to the market’s increasing underwriting appetite as the market expands with new entrants and growing opportunities.

FOREWARD BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE AAMGA As president of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) – an organization dedicated to underwriting expertise and integrity – I’m fortunate to have a seat at the table when discussing the issues and opportunities facing the wholesale insurance industry. As these issues and opportunities change, all of us – managing general agents, brokers, program administrators, aggregators, managing general underwriters and others in the wholesale/specialty

24

insurance space – have to improve our understanding of what is changing and how those changes reshape expectations.

Insurance Business Canada’s annual survey of MGAs is one tool we can use to help improve our individual businesses and the wholesale insurance marketplace. It highlights areas where MGAs need to improve, and it examines the benefits retail producers can realize working with an MGA. When you get right to it, MGAs and program professionals are focused on the underwriting techniques and practices necessary to improve the delivery and service of our offerings. That is central for us all: responding to what the market demands, improving our products and services, understanding and addressing the underwriting of emerging risks, and incorporating digital technology and other best practices to enhance our services to provide efficiencies.

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BRO K

WHAT ASPECTS OF MGAS ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO BROKERS?

HOW WELL DID MGAs PERFORM ON AVERAGE?

Underwriting responsiveness/turnaround time

Underwriting responsiveness/turnaround time

4.73 Claim responsiveness/turnaround time

4.55 Premium pricing

4.46 MGA reputation

4.42 Range of carriers

4.10 Automation

3.82 Marketing support

3.8

The industry has made great strides in a number of areas, many of which were made by our members. From the AAMGA heat map of vital industry challenges to the examination of the issue of drones, from underwriting boot camps to white papers on climate change, it is the AAMGA’s wholesale insurance and program professionals who are counted among those who have taken the lead on these and other vital issues.

By giving their time and expertise, AAMGA members continue to advance the industry. For example, a number of members travelled recently to Portland, Oregon, for the AAMGA’s Under Forty Organization’s annual meeting – the largest in the UFO’s 25-year history. They attended presentations on a range of emerging issues and trends, shared lessons of perseverance and commitment in business and provided examples of the importance of relationship building with colleagues and peers. In January, a delegation of our members will

4.41 Claim responsiveness/turnaround time

4.19 Premium pricing

4.28 Range of carriers

4.20 MGA reputation

4.51 Automation

3.86 Marketing support

3.92

travel to Lloyd’s to report on the state of the North American wholesale insurance marketplace. They’ll advocate with the Corporation of Lloyd’s on simplifying the processes in doing business together worldwide, hold dozens of meetings with our UK members and then share their findings with all AAMGA members on their return.

At first hand I’ve seen these industry advancements come from our members, who give their time, their talent and their energy to AAMGA’s many education, networking and advocacy efforts. We need wholesale underwriting insurance specialists willing to work together to continue to advance the industry for the benefit of the entire marketplace.

Ed Levy president American Association of Managing General Agents www.insurancebusiness.ca 25

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S ON ER

FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs WHICH MGAs EARNED FIVE-STAR RATINGS? CLAIM

MGA

REPUTATION

PREMIUM PRICING

RANGE OF CARRIERS

UNDERWRITING RESPONSIVENESS RESPONSIVENESS/ /TURNAROUND TURNAROUND TIME

AUTOMATION

MARKETING SUPPORT

TIME

AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance APRIL Beacon Underwriting Burns & Wilcox Cambrian Special Risks Insurance Services Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Encon PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Premier Canada South Western Group Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Totten Insurance Group HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Respond more quickly to phone calls, endorsements and handle claims more efficiently” “Offer more specialized products tailored to specific industry needs for certain segments of the market” 26

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BRO K

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S ON ER

FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs

MGA PERFORMANCE-OVERALL RANKING

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Provide more detail in their policy coverage and offer payment plans”

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AM Fredericks

4.56

Creechurch

4.65

ABEX

4.10

Encon

4.07

Anderson & McTague Associates

4.25

PAL

4.20

Angus Miller

4.32

PLUS

4.85

APRIL

3.73

Premier

4.02

Beacon

4.50

South Western

3.66

Burns & Wilcox

4.10

SRIM

4.31

Cambrian

3.94

SUM

4.07

Can-Sure

4.16

TCIM

4.20

CHES

4.38

Totten Group

3.69

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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12/10/2016 11:41:51 PM

BRO K

HAS MGA PERFORMANCE CHANGED? Across all categories, survey respondents rated the performance of their MGAs higher than they did in 2015.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

MGA reputation

Premium pricing

Range of carriers

Underwriting 2015

The presence of MGAs has been growing nationally and internationally as their role in the broker community expands – managing general agents are far from general nowadays.

Insurance Business Canada asked hundreds of brokers to rate the importance of seven key aspects they look for in an MGA using a scale of one (not at all important) to five (very important):

MGA reputation Premium pricing Range of carriers offered Underwriting responsiveness and turnaround time Claims responsiveness and turnaround time Automation Marketing support We then asked brokers to rate the performance of their MGA(s) in each category on a scale of one (poor) to five (excellent) and we asked them to specify how MGAs could improve in those areas.

So how did MGAs fare? The results of the survey were encouraging. Out of the hundreds of responses we received, only 20 MGAs gained top marks, scoring a four or higher in at least one category. We awarded these companies our five-star rating for their superior service to brokers. Overall MGA performance vastly improved from last year, with

Claims

Automation

Marketing support

2016

ALL-STAR MGAs These six MGAs got top marks from brokers across the board, earning a five-star rating in each category.

AM Fredericks Underwriting Management Beacon Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Plus Underwriting Managers Special Risk Insurance Managers

this year’s MGAs outshining the performance of last year’s MGAs in every category. Some MGAs rose above the rest, with six scoring a five-star in every category – a huge improvement from only one MGA receiving five-star marks across the board last year.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Being able to think outside the box when new/ different scenarios come up”

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Send us updates to new products or changes in wording” www.insurancebusiness.ca 29

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs UNDERWRITING RESPONSIVENESS/TURNAROUND TIME FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance Beacon Underwriting Burns & Wilcox Cambrian Special Risks Insurance Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Encon PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Premier Canada Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing As they did last year, survey respondents rated underwriting responsiveness and turnaround time as the most important aspect to look for in an MGA. One broker wrote that a quick underwriting response is “very important in today’s fast pace of insurance”.

Overall, brokers rated the importance of underwriting responsiveness and turnaround time at 4.73 out of a possible five, signifying its high importance to the broker community.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“It’s all about the turnaround on applications. The faster the better” MGAs performed fairly well in the category. Overall, underwriting responsiveness and turnaround time was MGAs’ second best category, scoring an overall 4.41 out of five.

This is an improvement from last year, when the category was only MGAs’ third best performing area. This year, 17 MGAs received top marks in the category, more than double last year’s total.

30

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

1st

2nd

AM Fredericks

4.75

ABEX

4.45

Anderson & McTague

4.36

Angus Miller

4.57

APRIL

3.89

Beacon

4.75

Burns & Wilcox

4.43

Cambrian

4.20

Can-Sure

4.24

CHES

4.40

Creechurch

5.00

Encon

4.50

PAL

4.41

PLUS

4.83

Premier

4.24

South Western

3.50

SRIM

4.70

SUM

5.00

TCIM

4.40

Totten Group

4.54

AVERAGE

4.41

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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12/10/2016 11:42:05 PM

WELCOME TO CHES SPECIAL RISK INC.

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24-39_Five star MGAs Subbed v2.indd 31

OTTAWA OFFICE | T 613.745.6100 E quotemehappyOttawa@chesspecialrisk.ca TORONTO OFFICE | T 416.452.7850 E quotemehappyToronto@chesspecialrisk.ca

www.insurancebusiness.ca 31

12/10/2016 11:42:09 PM

BRO K

WE HAVE MADE OUR MOVE

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs CLAIMS RESPONSIVENESS/TURNAROUND TIME FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance Beacon Underwriting Cambrian Special Risks Insurance Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Premier Canada Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Right behind underwriting responsiveness, claims responsiveness and turnaround time was rated as the second most important factor in an MGA for the second year in a row. Overall, brokers rated claims responsiveness at 4.55 out of five.

However, MGA performance did not match up with the category’s level of importance. MGA performance in the category dropped compared to last year, falling one slot as their fifth best performing area. Overall, MGAs scored 4.19 out of five in the category – and it seems that brokers have noticed MGAs’ decline in service with claims.

“I’ve had issues with claims service,” one survey respondent said.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Quicker quote turnaround” While some brokers were pleased with their MGA claims experience, most brokers mentioned that they have not yet had claims with their MGAs to properly assess them. But as some brokers mentioned, there is plenty of room for improvement. “Not great on the claims end – you need to follow up,” one broker said. Another respondent mentioned their “claims service has been declining, hoping it improves”.

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Importance to brokers

MGA performance

2nd

5th

AM Fredericks

4.67

ABEX

4.09

Anderson & McTague

4.24

Angus Miller

4.57

APRIL

3.89

Beacon

4.50

Burns & Wilcox

3.89

Cambrian

4.00

Can-Sure

4.13

CHES

4.25

Creechurch

4.50

Encon

3.75

PAL

4.22

PLUS

5.00

Premier

4.00

South Western

3.50

SRIM

4.13

SUM

4.75

TCIM

4.20

Totten Group

3.54

AVERAGE

4.19

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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12/10/2016 11:42:13 PM

BRO K

PREMIUM PRICING FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance APRIL Beacon Underwriting Burns & Wilcox Cambrian Special Risks Insurance Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Premier Canada Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Bumping up in level of importance from last year, premium pricing ranks third this year for brokers on a scale of importance. Falling not too far behind claims responsiveness, premium pricing scored 4.46 out of five with brokers.

Although MGA performance in the category dropped to third place this year from second in 2015, overall broker feedback was positive. Many brokers exclaimed “very competitive” and “very good pricing”. One even said that their MGA’s premium pricing is “phenomenal”. On average, MGAs scored 4.28 out of five in the category, with 17 MGAs receiving five stars, a vast HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“More timely renewal processing and less delay once policies are placed” improvement from only 10 five-star MGAs in the category last year. Although a few brokers expressed their dissatisfaction with their MGAs’ pricing – for example, one broker stated their interest in “more flexibility on pricing to compete with domestic market niche divisions” – most are happy with their MGAs’ performance.

“No complaints when they do their best to give the best premium.”

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

3rd

3rd

AM Fredericks

4.25

ABEX

4.18

Anderson & McTague

4.40

Angus Miller

4.29

APRIL

4.11

Beacon

4.44

Burns & Wilcox

4.18

Cambrian

4.20

Can-Sure

4.32

CHES

4.60

Creechurch

4.83

Encon

3.50

PAL

4.53

PLUS

4.83

Premier

4.17

South Western

3.88

SRIM

4.42

SUM

4.50

TCIM

4.20

Totten Group

3.79

AVERAGE

4.28

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12/10/2016 11:42:21 PM

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BRO K

FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs REPUTATION FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance APRIL Beacon Underwriting Burns & Wilcox Cambrian Special Risks Insurance Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Encon PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Premier Canada South Western Group Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Totten Insurance Group MGA reputation fell right in the middle on the scale of importance for brokers – they scored it 4.42 out of five. Although it is important to brokers, they simply didn’t consider it as vital as other benefits of MGAs. In fact, brokers didn’t seem to think MGA reputation was as important as they did just last year, when they rated reputation as their second highest priority in an MGA. HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“More timely renewal processing and less delay once policies are placed” Overall, MGAs performed better in this category than in any other.

A common response among survey takers was how great their respective MGA’s reputation was in the industry. Every one of our five-star MGAs earned a five-star rating for reputation, earning an average score of 4.51 out of five. Topping last year’s performance by 8%.

34

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

4th

1st

AM Fredericks

4.25

ABEX

4.45

Anderson & McTague

4.64

Angus Miller

5.00

APRIL

4.11

Beacon

4.81

Burns & Wilcox

4.54

Cambrian

4.20

Can-Sure

4.48

CHES

4.60

Creechurch

4.83

Encon

4.50

PAL

4.47

PLUS

5.00

Premier

4.17

South Western

4.25

SRIM

4.61

SUM

4.50

TCIM

4.40

Totten Group

4.33

AVERAGE

4.51

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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BRO K

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Can-Sure Underwriting Can-Sure specializes in bespoke underwriting of commercial and personal risk placements. Our experienced underwriters will tailor coverage to suit your customer’s specific needs. Can-Sure offers expertise in the following lines and segments of insurance: Property (All Classes Standard and Non) Casualty (CGL, XS, Umbrella, Wrap-up) Builders Risk (COC and Blanket) Trucking (Cargo and Warehousing) Contractors Equipment (All Types) Vacant Risks Professional Services (A&E, Medmal, Tech, Misc.)

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www.beacon724.com www.insurancebusiness.ca 35

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs RANGE OF CARRIERS FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management Anderson & McTague Associates Angus Miller Insurance Beacon Underwriting Burns & Wilcox Can-Sure Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers South Western Group Special Risk Insurance Managers SUM Insurance Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Totten Insurance Group Although a range of carriers was not the most important factor with brokers, they still felt that it was a significant aspect in an MGA. Brokers felt that access to a broad range of carriers was a fairly vital benefit of MGAs, rating its importance at 4.1 out of five.

The overall response from brokers was their satisfaction in the carriers offered via their MGAs. “All excellent carriers,” one respondent said. “They offer all insurance carriers,” another said. Altogether, MGAs earned a score of 4.2 out of five, making the category their fourth best performing area.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“More timely renewal processing and less delay once policies are placed” With all the compliments MGAs received regarding their range of carriers, they were not short of criticism. Many brokers commented on how MGAs lack relationships with carriers that offer niche specialty cover.

“Wish sometimes they would offer some coverage in areas like restaurants,” one respondent wrote. “Would like more specialty offerings,” another replied.

36

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

5th

4th

AM Fredericks

5.00

ABEX

3.91

Anderson & McTague

4.33

Angus Miller

4.29

APRIL

3.89

Beacon

4.38

Burns & Wilcox

4.21

Cambrian

3.60

Can-Sure

4.16

CHES

4.20

Creechurch

4.42

Encon

3.75

PAL

4.12

PLUS

4.83

Premier

3.93

South Western

4.25

SRIM

4.25

SUM

4.25

TCIM

4.20

Totten Group

4.00

AVERAGE

4.20

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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12/10/2016 11:42:46 PM

BRO K

AUTOMATION FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management Beacon Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Encon PAL Insurance Brokers Plus Underwriting Managers Special Risk Insurance Managers Automation capabilities were simply not as important to brokers as other MGA aspects. Raked sixth in importance among brokers with a score of 3.82 out of five, the category was also MGAs’ poorest performing area. The general consensus among brokers was that not much could be expected from an MGA in terms of automation. “As good as expected for an MGA,” a survey response said. Many brokers cited slow websites and portals as well as the lack of modernized processes, such as e-signature, as their reason for offering a low score. That is not to say that all MGAs scored poorly.

Eight MGAs received a five-star in automation, a huge leap from the two five-star scores on the list last year, and many were regarded for their fast, efficient and modern automation technologies.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Quoting should be faster, as it doesn’t matter how long it takes to produce the policy, but it is crucial to give a quote when a client is shopping. If we can’t give a quote in time, they go somewhere else” But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Although MGAs might not presently be at the level desired by brokers, a significant number of brokers commented on the gradual improvement in their MGAs’ automation capabilities. “There could be more automation, although they are taking significant steps to address this,” one broker said.

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

6th

7th

AM Fredericks

4.50

ABEX

3.64

Anderson & McTague

3.95

Angus Miller

3.71

APRIL

3.00

Beacon

4.19

Burns & Wilcox

3.61

Cambrian

3.80

Can-Sure

3.89

CHES

4.20

Creechurch

4.58

Encon

4.25

PAL

4.33

PLUS

4.67

Premier

3.98

South Western

3.13

SRIM

4.04

SUM

2.50

TCIM

3.80

Totten Group

3.50

AVERAGE

3.86

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: FIVE-STAR MGAs

S ON M ER

MARKETING SUPPORT FIVE-STAR MGAs AM Fredericks Underwriting Management ABEX Affiliated Brokers Beacon Underwriting CHES Special Risk Creechurch Underwriters Encon Plus Underwriting Managers Special Risk Insurance Managers Trans Canada Insurance Marketing Similar to last year, marketing support was the least important area for brokers when choosing an MGA, rating the category 3.8 out of five in importance. MGA performance in the category was also lacklustre, although there was improvement over last year. As this year’s sixth best performing area, nine MGAs gained five stars in marketing support, a vast improvement from last year, when only three MGAs earned five stars in the category.

HOW CAN MGAs IMPROVE?

“Be more creative in packaging different coverage into one single policy. Work on the application forms to be interactive, so that it makes the life of the client easy” For the most part, brokers were indifferent about their MGAs’ marketing support, with many scoring their MGAs in the middle of the scale with a three and commenting on the category’s low value of importance to them, or the lack of a marketing relationship with their MGA. That is not to say that MGAs did not receive high marks. Several brokers mentioned the “excellent support” and the possibility of receiving support when giving high scores to their MGAs. “I have not asked them to help with marketing but, if need be, I am confident they would be available,” a respondent said.

Although there is always room for improvement, MGAs’ overall performance increased over 10% compared to last year in marketing support.

38

Importance to brokers

MGA performance

7th

6th

AM Fredericks

4.50

ABEX

4.00

Anderson & McTague

3.81

Angus Miller

3.86

APRIL

3.22

Beacon

4.44

Burns & Wilcox

3.89

Cambrian

3.60

Can-Sure

3.96

CHES

4.40

Creechurch

4.42

Encon

4.25

PAL

3.95

PLUS

4.83

Premier

3.68

South Western

3.13

SRIM

4.06

SUM

3.00

TCIM

4.20

Totten Group

3.17

AVERAGE

3.92

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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12/10/2016 11:43:01 PM

SUM I

BRO K

Thank You Empowered with broad underwriting authorities, the SUM Insurance team strives to service your placement requirements in real-time; the only time that matters in today’s competitive environment.

Thank you for the support and opportunity you have offered us, and for recognizing us in the Insurance Business MGA Survey again this year!

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10/3/16 3:59 PM 12/10/2016 11:43:06 PM

S ON ER

PEOPLE

BROKER INSIGHT

Oracle RMS Co-founders John Ferraro and Michael Di Nardo tell IBC about how keeping a laid-back and fun environment has propelled their brokerage to success IBC: Tell us about Oracle RMS – how did the firm get its start?

Michael Di Nardo: John and I met at another brokerage 10 years ago and became friends over the years. We decided to leave that firm and start our own.

John Ferraro: The firm we were at was highly structured with a lot of micromanaging and we had a different approach to how we would want to structure our own brokerage if we ever had the opportunity. We wanted it to be a fun environment and challenging while keeping everyone engaged with less micromanaging.

That’s why we partnered in 2011 to create a brokerage in our vision, thus Oracle RMS was formed.

IBC: What is Oracle RMS doing to grow and attract new talent?

MDN: A lot of it is word of mouth and referrals from existing employees. We rely heavily on our core staff to help us grow our staff internally through good referrals. We’re truly advocates of the broker channel and we want to continue to support the broker channel and industry. A lot of the other professions, such as lawyers and doctors, are doing a great job recruiting new and young talent. We would like to see the insurance industry lead the way on that as well. There is a huge age gap and we want to bridge it.

JF: We created a bit of a buzz out there and a lot of people want to come and work here, that’s for sure. We really want to attract as many new young people to this industry as

40

possible. This is a fantastic industry and, as a new brokerage, it is important for us to attract the new talent in the market. We believe that in order to achieve that, you have to change with the times and create a culture that younger generations can see themselves working in, and I think Oracle accomplished that. As a result, we attract a lot of young talent and much of our workforce are at the inception of their careers, so they are ambitious to grow and contribute to the growth of Oracle as we develop as a company.

IBC: How did you build your different lines of business?

MDN: It started with prospecting new business and forming relationships within those sectors to grow those niches. For example, we are now developing our specialty in the pool and hot tub industry. A few years ago, we wrote a few new pieces of business in that sector and we enjoyed our success, so we decided to develop a program and specialize in that industry.

We also hired a gentleman a few years ago

and he’s been instrumental in building our surety division, which has been experiencing great growth along with our other services.

Having a surety division allows us to complement our commercial business with the opportunity to offer surety and, more importantly, attract new clients.

IBC: What makes Oracle RMS unique?

MDN: Our culture here at Oracle is like no other that I have seen at any other brokerage.

We have over 40 employees now and are a very close-knit family. It is a very relaxed environment where no one is micromanaged.

The culture is very much laid-back but the work always gets done. We handpick our staff and one of the things we look for is if they fit into our unique culture.

JF: It’s been said by many of our insurance carriers that our office is like the Google of insurance. We are a retro-fitted office with an open concept, no walls or doors and no hierarchy. We like to hang out here after work and, in the end, it’s a really fun place to

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Largely due to founder John Ferraro’s personal connection to the cause, in 2013 Oracle RMS partnered with Autism Speaks Canada, North America’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, and the firm became a major corporate sponsor of the Harvest Moon fundraiser in support of the organization. In addition to its partnership with Autism Speaks, Oracle RMS regularly sponsors golf tournaments for other causes, such as the Zareinu Golf Tournament, in support of Toronto-based Zareinu Educational Centre, a school and treatment centre for children with physical and developmental disabilities. “We understand what our social responsibility is and we try to give back as much as we can,” says Ferraro.

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“Our office is like the Google of insurance. It’s a really fun place to work. We work hard but we play even harder” John Ferraro, Oracle RMS co-founder

work. We work hard but we play even harder.

IBC: What are the future goals and plans for Oracle RMS? MDN: We want to continue our momentum.

We’ve added some great people to our team and we want to continue adding the right people to complement us while we continue to grow. The success we have enjoyed over the past few years has been tremendous and we look forward to continuing sharing that with our people.

JF: We are also looking to expand our online call centre and are maybe looking at perhaps opening an office in a different territory – like Michael said, we want to keep the momentum going.

ORACLE RMS – FAST FACTS TOP AREAS OF BUSINESS: Small to midsize commercial insurance

Year founded 2011

Transportation

Headquarters Concord, ON

Construction

Number of employees Started with 4, now at 43

Surety Personal lines Financial services

Territory ON, BC, NS, ALB, QC and Man Leadership Michael Di Nardo and John Ferraro, co-founders and managing partners

www.insurancebusiness.ca 41

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12/10/2016 9:47:22 PM

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

SPORTING SPECIALTY

Players facing exceptional risk need exceptional coverage Insurance Business takes a look at the complex nature of insuring hockey players and asks industry experts how brokers can up their game in the space of the market 42

HOCKEY IS a high-collision, high-impact sport. Insurance brokers specializing in providing coverage for hockey stars have to be at the top of their game to ensure they deliver match-winning policies that allow their clients to perform at full throttle.

“Professional athletes are very unique in that they earn nearly all of their lifetime income in the first third of their life,” says Chris Moynes, managing director for ONE Sports and Entertainment Group. “(They) generally earn high income in those years relative to other professions and then have a very long time horizon in which to draw upon their savings.”

Moynes – who has put together a book to help clients avoid the “land mines” faced by professional athletes – has seen the coverage change substantially in the past decade.

“With the contracts that are being signed by professional athletes these days, the numbers are astronomical,” he says.

“With those huge numbers comes huge risk so, from my standpoint, it has evolved greatly.”

Beyond the rink, Moynes cites examples where injury or medical conditions have

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affected coverage.

“The guys realize that disability insurance is a key component to the risk mitigation that we talk about,” he says.

“I know that Chris Lack, partner and head of Exceptional Risk Advisors’ sports and entertainment division, talks about the situation where Teppo Numminen was employed by the Buffalo Sabres and had a disability insurance policy, and thank goodness he did, because he had a heart ailment pop up in one of his physicals. If he didn’t have that policy in place, the last year of his contract would have been negated without any kind of remuneration.”

Changing attitudes In the past, many insurance professionals noticed a reluctance among their athlete clients to purchase these vital policies; policies that have the potential to safeguard financial futures. But for Dan Beechey, the president/ owner of Sands Financial Inc, the coverage is an easier sell these days.

“Most players have it now, on a private basis,” he says. “They see the value in it, most

definitely. Incomes are going up, so it is more of a concern.”

Beechey says something else that has changed is the language in the contracts, which is definitely a positive for the players.

“Part of what I do is to look at market quotes,”

start somewhere; there is always going to be a beginning,” he says.

“You can start developing a relationship with the hockey players’ parents or with a financial advisor who has a player for a client – from there you can start to build your career.”

It is more about the connections and cultivating those relationships, says Lack, noting that you don’t have to start trolling junior hockey rinks handing out business cards to build your book.

“What typically happens is one player leads to another player, as you do a great job with that first client and he recommends you to everyone in the dressing room,” he says. “They are always willing to give advice on who their fellow teammates should be working with.

“The players end up policing themselves, making sure they vet people that they are dealing with – so if you do a good job for one of them, word of mouth travels pretty quickly.”

When starting out, the league will provide funding for players to buy insurance, which creates what Lack calls “good habits”, so players understand that they have a valuable skill set that requires insurance.

“It starts a process where they will buy insurance throughout their career,” says Lack.

“We’re just one part of that service – providing insurance – that does lead to investment advice.

“ Players police themselves; they vet people – so if you do a good job, word of mouth travels quickly” Chris Lack, head of sports and entertainment, Exceptional Risk Advisors he says. “I usually place coverage through five or six syndicates; most of our contracts are Lloyd’s contracts. There may be subtle differences in the language, depending on which syndicate it is, and some small differences in rates.”

Building relationships For brokers who want to become known as experts in this specialized niche coverage, starting out can be difficult, says Lack.

“It can be challenging, and everyone has to

But insurance is what we focus on.”

Although the common perception of an athlete is one of strength and durability, a sports career is a delicate and risky occupation.

In order to safeguard these unique, high net worth individuals, insurance professionals must possess the ability to underwrite and bind high-limit specialized disability policies.

No NHLer with a bright future can afford to leave “money on the table” due to a career-ending injury.

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FEATURES

AN UNDERWRITER’S LOT

A day in the life …

In a special guest article, CEO at April Canada Insurance Nick Kidd gives an insight into the day of an April underwriter THERE SIMPLY is no such thing as a typical day for us, with so much variety in the types of solutions we are asked to find for your clients. Our day will normally start by looking at the submissions we’ve received overnight or the previous afternoon. Triaging these submissions is key to our process – to make sure they are logged and also to check our market reservation system to see if we’ve received a particular risk in previous years or indeed from a different broker. From there, we want to establish as quickly as possible whether we can offer a solution for any given submission and try to decline as quickly as possible where we can’t help.

Assuming we may be able to quote, the submission is then channelled through to the most appropriate underwriter, and this information is given back to the broker so that they know what’s happening. Triage is such a small and often forgotten part of the process – but for us, it’s absolutely critical and an area where we’ve invested a lot of time and resources to continually improve.

Over the past couple of months, since we implemented our new commercial lines platform, we’ve had some great feedback on the improvements you are experiencing.

Reviewing the submissions From there, one of our underwriters will open and begin reviewing the submission.

If it’s a class of business that falls into our homogeneous fast-lane process, then it’s usually a case of ensuring all the necessary information is available in the application, researching the particular risk from a few perspectives, and then building a quote using our rating tool and returning it to

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you as quickly as possible with financing options. If the client is a little out of the box then, of course, the process can be a little more in depth, with more questions around particular aspects of a risk. In many of these cases, and depending on the risk, our underwriters will typically try to call the submitting broker to get a better sense of the client, and expectations around terms and conditions. Quite often, this can involve a discussion about some specific risks relating to the client’s business, and how we can tailor various insurance solutions to fit the needs of the client.

The more complex the account, the more ways that we can build up the right insurance solution. I take great pride whenever I receive feedback from a broker about the efforts that one of our underwriters has

gone through to solve a complex problem for a client, as this orientation toward solutions is absolutely what we’re looking for in our team. I recently attended a Meet the Underwriter night in London, Ontario, and it was fantastic to receive feedback like this from several fantastic partners in that region.

And also …

Of course, all of this is simply related to quoting for a new submission. Mixed in with this is the regular back and forth of questions and answers on other submissions, multiple phone calls, policy endorsements, issuance and, most importantly, renewals! A typical day for us is a busy day, but that’s how we like it, and we’re always grateful for the opportunities that come our way.

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12/10/2016 9:48:53 PMPM 11/10/2016 10:56:47

INSURANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2O16 FINALISTS

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE 2016

FINALISTS

Wednesday November 30, 2016 The Liberty Grand | Toronto Insurance Business Canada is proud to present the individuals and organizations who have made this year’s list of finalists. Together with our publisher, KMI Publishing & Events, we would like to thank all of those who took the time to submit nominations this year and all of the sponsors who have made this event a success.

Best of luck to all of the finalists for this year’s Insurance Business Awards. We look forward to celebrating your success at The Liberty Grand on Wednesday, November 30, 2016. For more information about the event and to book your table, visit www.ibawards.ca.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

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AWARD SPONSORS

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yy Jason Yarmuch Blanket Insurance Ltd. yy Scott Bryson Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd yy Michelle Topping HUB International yy Glenn Murray Jones DesLauriers Insurance yy Jeff Rodin Condominium Insurance yy Michael Di Nardo Oracle RMS yy Joe Palmer Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd. yy Shawn Graydon Rempel Insurance Brokers Ltd. yy Sam J. Feldman Renfrew Insurance yy Bryce Kumka Rogers Insurance

yy Neil Bryson Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd

yy Andrew W. Bradley AndrewWBradley.ca Financial Services yy Jamie Wilson BMO Nesbitt Burns yy Gavin Mosley Palladium Insurance yy Chris Gory Insurance Portfolio Inc. yy Samuel Waxman Milliennial Financial Group yy Paul Crossdale Morrow, Crossdale & Associates Inc. yy Rosanna Donnelly RBC Life Insurance Company yy Aviva Huberman Sun Life Financial yy Jason Pereira Woodgate Financial

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INSURANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2O16 FINALISTS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF THE YEAR

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FINALISTS yy Karen Costain Allianz Global Assistance yy Andrew Ali Aon Canada yy Mitzy Gail Aviva yy Jodie Kaufman-Davis Burns & Wilcox Canada yy Cheryl Hobbs Creechurch International Underwriters yy Susan Rutherford HUB International yy Jeff Walker Intact Insurance Company yy Kelly Hopkins RSA Canada yy Debbie Arnold Sound Insurance Services Inc. yy Danielle Rioux SSQ Financial Group

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yy Bev Margolian Manulife yy Claude Accum Sun Life Financial yy Danielle Harrison The Co-Operators yy Ed Martingano Oxford Properties Group yy Linda Stojcevski Magna International Inc. yy Louisa Leonard Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada yy Sean Brett TransCanada yy Tracey Jacquot Colliers International yy William Bonnell National Bank of Canada

yy Desjardins General Insurance Group yy Empire Life yy Industrial Alliance yy LaCapitale Financial Group yy Manulife Canada yy RBC Life Insurance Company yy SSQ Financial Group yy Standard Life yy Sun Life Financial yy The Great-West Life Assurance Company

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INSURANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2O16 FINALISTS

Brought to you by:

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yy Bene-FIX Global Service yy Bullfrog Insurance yy Desjardins General Insurance Group yy EasyInsure yy Instinctive Insurance Technologies Inc. yy Lowest Rates yy Nuera Insurance yy OPTA yy Sharp Insurance yy Surex Direct yy Trillium Mutual Insurance Company yy ZipSure.ca

yy ProBenefits Consulting Inc. yy Bedrock Insurance Brokers yy CM Steele Insurance Brokers yy Hatton Insurance Agency Ltd. yy Jones-Dooley Insurance yy Louis Meier Insurance Brokers Ltd. yy Sussex Corporate Risk

yy ALIGNED Insurance Inc. yy Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers Ltd yy Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers Ltd yy Hubbard Insurance Group yy Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers Ltd. yy Oracle RMS yy Platform Insurance Management Inc yy Reith & Associates Insurance and Financial Services yy Sharp Insurance

yy Canadian Broker Network yy DPM Insurance Group yy GTI Broker Group Inc. yy InsureBC yy Intergroupe yy PROLINK Broker Network

yy Wilson Insurance

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INSURANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2O16 FINALISTS SPECIAL RISK INSURANCE MANAGERS AWARD FOR

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yy Bullfrog Insurance yy Conestoga Insurance Brokers Limited yy Erb & Erb Insurance Brokers Ltd. yy James W. Kloepfer Insurance yy KnightArcher yy McDougall Insurance & Financial – Cobourg yy Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers Ltd. yy Sharp Insurance yy Verge Insurance Group

yy ABEX Affiliated Brokers Exchange Inc. yy Anderson McTague & Associates yy Angus-Miller Insurance Ltd. yy April Canada yy Burns & Wilcox Canada yy Can-Sure Underwriting Ltd. yy ENCON Group yy IDC Worldsource Insurance yy South Western Group yy Special Risk Insurance Managers Ltd. yy Chess Special Risk Inc.

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yy Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers yy Fox Wealth Management yy Henderson Insurance Inc. yy Eileen Greene HUB International yy Nicolet Insurance Ltd yy Peter Carr Preferred Insurance Group yy Sharp Insurance yy Silvercrest Insurance Group yy Special Risk Insurance Managers Ltd. yy Aviva Canada yy Economical yy Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company

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ouT of The box insuranCe DesigneD for Brokers CoMMerCial . residenTial . TransporT *. Marine .

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INSURANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2O16 FINALISTS

MARKEL AWARD FOR

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13/10/2016 1:45:30 AM

I am your building.

Protect me.

I was once a blueprint but am now multiple stories of solid steel.

I am being built by world-class design, engineering and construction firms.

I rely on bulldozers, pipe layers and tower cranes to work every day.

I want more than insurance.

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A level of protection and personal service that only Chubb provides.

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Š2016 Chubb. Coverages underwritten by one or more subsidiary companies. Not all coverages available in all jurisdictions. ChubbŽ, its logo, Not just coverage.

Craftsmanship.SM and all its translations, and Chubb. Insured.SM are protected trademarks of Chubb.

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12/10/2016 9:50:06 PM

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY

The changing face of professional liability coverage We caught up with Dave Alexander, product line leader of professional risks at Markel International, to get the inside scoop on recent changes in the professional liability space CANADA’S INSURANCE industry is evolving rapidly and the professional liability space is no exception. This evolving nature does create challenges for brokers operating in what can be a highly lucrative area and, as with all parts of the industry, a commitment to continuous education is of utmost importance.

One of the biggest changes that has occurred in the professional liability arena in recent years is the number of occupations that now come under the professional umbrella. This has increased the demand for the coverage and individuals who were not considered professionals (in the insurance policy sense) five or 10 years ago – such as specialized consultants, contractors, people who put on sales seminars – are now in the

56

market for professional liability policies.

“Anyone offering any type of service, regardless of how soft or innocuous it may seem, is being asked to provide some kind of professional liability policy in order to secure contracts,” Alexander says.

“The limits of liability being requested have also definitely increased. It’s not uncommon now for a contractor providing any kind of professional service – especially those with a provincial or regional government – to ask for $5 million and sometimes $10 million worth of E&O capacity, as opposed to $1 million or $2 million, which we were accustomed to seeing three or five years ago.”

The increased demand for professional liability policies – and higher limits – is putting pressure on brokers to secure

greater capacity, which is not always easy.

When an underwriter receives a file for a sales or communications consultant who earns $700,000 a year but is asking for $5m in liability coverage, their first response is always going to be, “Why?” “It’s definitely placing more pressure on the broker,” Alexander says. “Brokers are being forced to deal with more complicated contracts and agreements – accounts are becoming increasingly complex.”

It’s not just the type of client requesting professional liability coverage that’s changed in recent years: the policies themselves have evolved. The most significant change has been the broadening of these policies, in terms of the coverage they provide.

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“It’s common for professional liability policies – at the broker and insured’s request – to be tailor-made to cover certain nuances that might be specific to a certain type of professional,” Alexander says.

Alexander gives the example of a practising psychologist who wants to secure a malpractice policy for their practice, but who is conducting 25% of their counselling online or via Skype. The counsellor will want the assurance that their medical malpractice policy is explicit in its ability to provide coverage for those off-site sessions.

“The insurer might be asked to amend a policy to say the definition of professional services includes those sessions conducted by digital means,” Alexander says.

“Brokers are being forced to deal with more complicated contracts – accounts are becoming increasingly complex” These policy revisions are directly impacting on brokers who work in the space. What might have been a typical or regular policy in the past is now much more complicated and requires significantly more time. It requires more effort and specialized knowledge from the broker in order to ensure the client has the right coverage for the service they’re offering.

“I’d advise brokers to find underwriters who understand their portfolio and the

types of things they are going after,” Alexander says.

“Look for an insurer who’s willing to – and has the ability to – do some tailoring to customize coverage. That will enable the broker to present the would-be insured with something that fits their specific needs.”

In an attempt to help brokers navigate this changing space of the market, Markel has launched a portal that allows brokers to complete miscellaneous E&O risk

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY

applications online. The tool is designed for straightforward risks that would typically demand a lower premium ($2,500 for $1 million in liability and under) and provides the broker with a quick quote that they can then relay to their client.

“We have people who oversee the portal and if something is complex or comprehensive, it’s taken over by an underwriter who contacts the broker to talk about a standalone quote, instead of a standardized one generated by the portal,” Alexander says.

“If all of the information on the application is filled in properly, brokers can have a quote in as little as half an hour. Because an underwriter’s time is not being used, savings are being made, which are passed on to the brokers and the insureds. The premiums are more attractive across the board.”

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“Having online portfolios and program business automated and a little more fluid increases convenience for members.

It also enables us to be more nimble” As well as servicing individual clients, the portal is also extending its capabilities to offer quotes and policies for program business and professional associations.

Increasingly, professionals are using these associations to get together and boost their professional liability buying power. Using the example of the psychologist once again, Alexander explains how a psychologist association may approach a broker in order to request a package from a carrier that is tailored specifically to their needs.

“We are keen on utilizing our portal for

brokers to build those types of portfolio,” Alexander says. “Having online portfolios and program business automated and a little more fluid increases convenience for members. It also enables us to track the group more effectively and be more nimble.

“We do have some insurance programs here and we’re going to start placing them on the portal and make that the first point of contact. At all times a program would be assigned to an underwriter to oversee. It’s not a one-size-fits-all scenario, but it does help increase convenience.”

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Open minds.

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At The Sovereign General Insurance Company, we recognize the importance of providing risk solutions thatInsurance enable businesses to we adapt and thrive change.

At The Sovereign General Company, recognize thethrough importance of Bringing together a diverse set of capabilities Breakdown providing risk solutions that enable businesses through to adapt our andEquipment thrive through change. operations and Risk Engineering practices we focusour onEquipment delivering Breakdown innovative Bringing together a diverse set of capabilities through coverage riskRisk management solutions for our anddelivering clients. Weinnovative are proud operationsand and Engineering practices we brokers focus on to be a trusted partner focused on achieving success for Canadian businesses. coverage and risk management solutions for our brokers and clients.

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FEATURES

SUCCESSION PLANNING

SUCCESSION PLANNING When it comes to mapping out an exit strategy, a broker is ‘in tough’ if they ignore the basics of maximizing business value for prospective buyers

MOST BUSINESS owners go into business planning to maximize the value of the business and extract that value (most often by selling) when they exit. But the research tells us that most don’t have a plan or strategy for how to do this and therefore often fail to either maximize or extract the value or both.

Achieving a successful outcome centres around both internal and external factors.

Internal areas When it comes to internal areas, the question to ask is, “what are the key things we can focus on to ensure our business is valuable, attractive and saleable?”

In my experience, there are eight key areas to focus on when answering this question:

1

2

Business model

Is your business operating under a boutique or scale model and, even more importantly, is every aspect of your business aligned with your model? This includes:

customer service online presence the people you employ your pricing strategy your marketing materials: I recently met a financial advisor who was looking after high-net-worth individual clients. He was extremely good at what he did and as a result charged a premium. But then he gave me a business card on very flimsy paper that looked like it had been printed as cheaply as possible

sales without relying on either your or a key person’s skill and sales ability. All businesses need a sales and marketing machine.

Size

Simply put, size does matter. There is plenty of research supporting the fact that businesses with a turnover of $5 million or more nearly always sell at higher multiples than their smaller counterparts.

While I am not in favour of growth for growth’s sake, designing your business to grow to at least this level of turnover will maximize value.

3

Revenue

4

Sales and marketing

Recurring revenue is vital. Do you have clients on long-term retainers, extended contracts, or some type of residual income trail?

Your business needs to be able to generate new business, leads and, ultimately,

5

Systems

6

Employees

Save yourself time, effort and money: not only are systemized businesses far simpler to run, far less stressful and generally far less risky, but they are also more valuable.

Do you have an employee incentive plan whereby employees are rewarded based

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on performance? This could either be a profit share-based plan, or ideally an employee share ownership plan. This substantially reduces one of the key risks for buyers – that your employees will exit when you do!

7

Corporate governance and compliance

Corporate governance and compliance is often ignored by business owners as either something only large firms need to worry about or something that’s simply too hard and far too boring. Focusing on this area can

The business must be able to run independently of your involvement add considerable value (particularly when we look at attracting the right type of buyer), as well as reducing risk.

8

months for a holiday in Europe without contacting the office, while the business maintains, continues and even improves its performance in your absence.

Owner dependence

The business must be able to run independently of your involvement. For example, you must be able to leave for two

External areas When it comes to external areas, the question to ask is, “what do we need to prepare to

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FEATURES

SUCCESSION PLANNING

attract the right buyer (who will pay more)?�

Having bought and sold a number of businesses over the last 15 years, there are several factors that stand out to me when answering this question:

1

Strategic buyer

2

Information memorandum (IM) document

For every business there is a strategic buyer who will pay more for your business simply because they benefit more than most other buyers. The most common example of this is buyers with complementary products and services.

It is amazing to see the number of businesses, which are otherwise quite valuable, whose owners are prepared to sell up on the basis of a cheap, home-made flyer-style document.

A well-prepared IM will be able to attract and convince the right buyer.

3

Tax planning

Every exit has several different elements of taxation. Inadequate planning in this area can cost you a large percentage of the sale price in taxation.

4

Due diligence and documentation

Many transactions fall over at this point, but this can actually be used to assist in improving the value of the business. If all of your documentation is complete, accurate, up to date and demonstrates a wellmanaged business, it will support your value proposition, not detract from it.

5

Negotiation

Being in a position to create some competitive tension by attracting several of the right buyers is a good start, but the

conduct of the negotiations and discussions leading to the actual sale is a very important aspect of the process.

6

Legal agreements

Often business owners are concerned that legal agreements will scare off the buyer, but this is very rarely the case. Far more importantly, legal agreements need to be structured to protect you after the sale – particularly around the key issues of any warranties, assurances provided, and also any event or finance included as part of the sale terms.

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automatically positions your business in that category. Importantly, post-exit, you also need assistance with asset protection, estate planning and ongoing investment planning.

The change from business owner to selffunded retiree is substantial.

Key outcomes The correct implementation of the items outlined above will achieve two key outcomes: maximize the value of the business and successfully extract that value upon exit.

Corporate advisors

Business owners should not try to sell without the best advice. Wellrepresented businesses are generally taken far more seriously and are perceived to be far more valuable than those without representation.

A corporate advisor who has a reputation for selling good-quality businesses

Craig West is president of the Exit Planning Institute and a strategic accountant with over 20 years’ experience in advising business owners. His practice, Succession Plus, provides mentoring, advice and strategy for clients looking to prepare their business for a successful exit. He is currently working on a PhD in Business Succession and Exit Planning.

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Helping You Look Good Anderson McTague’s Team 24

In today’s fast paced world, new technology has changed client’s expectations and fast, consistent turnaround time is a must.

Team 24 accepts the challenge of supporting our brokers in satisfying those demands.

As a result of our broker’s overwhelming support and our continued commitment to provide 24 hour response to quote requests, Team 24 has expanded to ensure our second to none service levels continue to set the standard in the market.

When it comes to Vacant Properties, Rented Dwellings or Seasonal Risks there is no easier solution than Anderson McTague’s Team 24.

It’s our way of making you look good.

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FEATURES

BRANDING

WHY BRANDING STRATEGIES FAIL Far too often a company’s shiny new branding strategy fails to live up to hopes and expectations.

Jean-Luc Ambrosi explains the common reasons for failure, and what companies can do to get their branding strategies right IT FINALLY happened: the new brand strategy was launched with pride and with the hope that it would reinvigorate the organization’s image. But a few months went by and the hopes didn’t materialize.

It all looked like a waste of money and effort.

It’s not uncommon for brand strategies to not deliver – or to be perceived as not delivering – concrete outcomes. The reasons for this can be varied, with the usual suspects being poor strategy or poor implementation.

But there is more to it than that, and often it comes down to the root cause of how brands are managed within the organization.

No matter how big or small your organization, whether you are a large financial services provider or a boutique firm, one of the most fundamental reasons for success or failure is the fact that branding is

often considered separately to the business.

Brand strategies and their implementation should not be confined to the ability of the brand manager, the executive sponsor or the founding partner. Brand strategy is holistic by nature; it includes all areas of the organization, from communication to products and service delivery.

And this is the crucial point. Brand strategy does not sit on its own, in some remote corner office, nor does its implementation. It is required to be worked on throughout the organization and at all levels.

Differentiation The brand strategy is what allows your organization as a whole to differentiate itself from the others: what you stand for, how

you deliver value-add to your customers, what makes you special, and how you go about delivering it today, tomorrow and the day after.

So how do you build a successful brand strategy? There are five key elements to consider:

1. A clear definition of vision and purpose.

2. A leadership and culture that promotes the vision and purpose. .

3. A structure that supports the delivery of the vision.

4. The integration of business intelligence to support the decision-making process.

5. An image and communication strategy and implementation that truly reflect the brand difference and speak the language of customers.

These five points cover how the brand is managed internally and how it is expressed to customers. It starts by defining a clear vision, a reason for being; defining what difference and value proposition the brand is bringing.

It must be set in concrete terms, understood by everyone involved, unambiguous and achievable. This is not about a mission statement; this is about being clear about who you are (and are not), and where you are going.

The leaders of the organization must then share this vision, embody its value concretely and ensure that their teams are fully on board, irrespective of the size of the teams. This really means that the first aspect of branding communication is about internal communication, to create internal buy-in.

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But this alone does not suffice. For the message to work throughout the organization, the structure must be supportive. People’s roles must be aligned to the brand promise; training and support must be provided in key areas, and effort allocation clearly defined. For example, if your value proposition is to provide the best-quality products and services in your category, your client services team must not be driven by the objective of closing all calls within three minutes!

Execution OK, but where is the branding execution in all this, you may ask? Where is the new logo, the advertising campaign, the new collateral?

To be able to embark on the communication aspect, you must not only be clear about your own vision and road map but you also need to understand your customers.

This is where insights and business intelligence play a role: the more you understand your customers, the more you can appeal to them.

In a boutique environment you are likely to have a clear idea of how customers come to you and why. In larger organizations, market research and customer behaviour analysis will help frame a vision of who your customers are, where they come from and why they buy from you.

Once you are able to build an image of your customers, understand their purchase behaviours and understand their attitudes, you are able to shape your go-to-market strategy.

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FEATURES

BRANDING

Brand strategy is holistic by nature; it includes all areas of the organization This allows you to build a communication plan that both reflects your brand promise and is relevant and appealing to your prospects and customers.

This is the other point to remember: branding strategies must be relevant to your customers. It’s about them, not about you.

The communication aspect is the last component. The clearer the vision, the more aligned the organization, the greater the understanding of prospects and customers and the greater the ability to build an effective communication strategy.

So the communication strategy is about creating a clear message that reflects your entire organization, as big or small as it may be, and expresses it in a language and format adapted to your audience.

Holistic foundations Many organizations consider branding strategy to be a communication exercise and leave it to the marketing department or advertising agency to come up with the goods. While you should rightfully leave the communication techniques to the experts, the foundation, as we have discussed, must be comprehensive and holistic.

This leads me to one conclusion: the reason most branding strategies fail is that they tend to be treated like a beauty treatment. A change of name, a change of logo, a change of look and feel, a change of tagline – their effects are only skin deep and therefore do not last. These components are only the visual representation of what the brand stands for.

This leads to disjointed messages, with your advertising and website saying one thing, your sales people another, and the customer experience following yet another path. The result is a lack of consistency, a disparity between promise and delivery, and the negative impact this can create.

As brands are fundamentally a promise, the delivery of this promise must follow through to engender customer satisfaction, repeat purchases and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Customers have never had more options to choose between different brands and products than they do today. Therefore they have the ability to switch brands faster than ever before. So if your brand promise tells one story and your delivery another, your branding exercise is nothing more than a short-term sales effort and your brand will suffer over the medium to long term.

To succeed, branding must be viewed holistically throughout the organization and not as an isolated communication exercise. It needs to be embraced at every level, from top management to clientfacing staff, and, most importantly, the strategy must be based on a thorough understanding of what the brand stands for and how it impacts on customers.

Jean-Luc Ambrosi is an award-winning marketer and recognized expert in branding and customer relationship management. He is the author of the new book Branding to Differ: A Strategic and Practical Guide on How to Build and Manage a Successful Brand.

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

GRABBING THE OPPORTUNITIES Considering she had never been on a plane before she was 18, Mary Trussell has come a long, long way Bought up by teacher parents, Mary grew up aware of the importance of education at a time when studying could be done debt-free. Her impressive slate of 10 O Levels, 3 A Levels, and 2 AS Levels qualified her for entry to a Bachelor of Laws at King’s College in London.

“I got put under a lot of pressure to push myself – a law degree was seen as an elite program to get into”

1980s GRADUATES FROM LAW SCHOOL

1989

ENTERS WORLD OF INSURANCE The most formative experience of Mary’s career comes as a result of another significant event: the opening up of much of Eastern Europe. Overnight, economies not previously market-orientated are looking to enact change to thrive in a market economy -- and Mary is there to assist. Catapulting her from a position of ‘bag-carrier’ to the bleeding edge of global development, this marks Mary’s entrance into the world of insurance due to the work she does reforming Poland’s main insurer.

“If you see an opportunity, grab it” 2008 OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS IN NYC Mary moves to New York to work with a team examining the impact of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in a rapidly globalizing landscape. But the plan is upended by “a little inconvenience called the global financial crisis”.

“I moved to New York the week Lehman Brothers collapsed.

Six weeks later all the banks were being bailed out by the Fed, and nobody wanted to talk about IFRS”

2014 MOVES TO TORONTO Mary joins the KPMG team in Toronto and as part of her transition has to write a series of exams, a process she says is both grounding and “keeps you on your toes.”

“You might say it was more of a transition than working in China. Each and every country is different. You have to win people’s trust and show that you’re bringing value to the relationship” 68

1980s TAKES NEW PATH TO ACCOUNTING Mary dusts off her facility for maths and goes to work for an accounting firm.

“Somebody spotted that I could write. Being able to write reports in a clear and compelling fashion has helped propel my career.

At the time the UK was going through a big privatization program.

The economy was liberalizing and that got me great exposure to more senior people and to some of the big business issues and problems we could help solve for our clients”

1998 BECOMES PARTNER AT KPMG UK Already a rarity at the time by virtue of her gender – in an era less concerned with diversity and inclusion – Mary becomes a partner at KPMG UK “despite not fitting the model.” The other new partner that year is descended from the aristocracy.

“I’m always very conscious that my role is to make it easier for the people coming up behind me. That motivates me a lot in what I do now”

2009

HONG KONG CALLING An opportunity to work in Hong Kong comes about by chance: in the midst of the mushrooming global financial crisis, Mary is asked to work with a Hong Kong-based client who wants to transition to IFRS. True to form, she seizes the opportunity and ends up taking over the development of global thought leadership.

“You have to be resourceful; you have to go create your own success. I went for three weeks and stayed for three years. I had an absolute blast.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

Linda Bradley, Personal Recovery Coordinator, Advocate Insurance Group property

|

auto

|

business

“There is such satisfaction and relief when I know it’s a loss that’s going to be handled by Economical.”

In Linda Bradley’s work with claimants, it’s all about relationships. That’s why she’s especially grateful for the excellent connections she’s made with Economical, helping her to truly be an advocate for her clients. “Economical gets where we’re coming from and they get that we’re going to live out our name,” Linda says. “They look after people.”

Because their story is ours too. economicalinsurance.com/stories

The Economical brand includes the following property and casualty insurance companies: Economical Mutual Insurance Company, Perth Insurance Company, Waterloo Insurance Company, The Missisquoi Insurance Company. ©2016 Economical Insurance. All rights reserved. All Economical intellectual property, including but not limited to Economical® and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Economical Mutual Insurance Company and/or its subsidiaries and/or www.insurancebusiness.ca affiliates and are registered and/or used in Canada. All other intellectual property is the property of their respective owners.

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca

FIT AS A FIDDLE “It’s nice to have two jobs that are your passion,” says part-time fitness instructor Natasha Clyde RSA CANADA regional account manager Natasha Clyde dates her interest in fitness instructing as beginning with the quest to shed the baby weight following the birth of her twins and the fortuitous launch of a gym close to her home. Her attendance four times each week convinced her that she could do better than the instructors leading her classes.

“I’m not one to complain,” she says. “I’m one to do.”

Long into physical fitness and exercise, Natasha was able to get her certification as a fitness instructor in short order. That was almost 10 years ago. In the decade since, Natasha has worked as an instructor teaching a cardio class weekly and a muscle-sculpting class twice a week.

But the physical side of the job is dwarfed by the “sense of family” she has found.

“I’m an upbeat, positive person,” she says. “I love being able to share that with people who come to class.

“I see a wide range of people; people come in for different reasons. It’s amazing to watch them change – their physical appearance, their attitude. People who have never been to the gym before, and within six months they’re at the front of the class.”

2,000

Classes Natasha estimates she has led

70

5,500

Steps in a typical cardio class

36,400

Gym members Natasha has instructed

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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CA co

We are Markel.

Commercial general liability Directors and officers liability Environmental impairment liability Professional liability Property and inland marine Security and protection industry Umbrella and excess liability

Helping brokers with effective insurance solutions since 1966 Calgary Montreal Toronto Vancouver www.markelinternational.ca

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FEATURES

EXPERT ADVICE From a large commercial insurance perspective, it’s about working with our brokers and clients to tailor solutions that will protect them when needed. This is an ongoing process of evaluation, since an organization’s risks change with economic and social factors. Periodic risk assessments, ongoing conversations with our brokers and customers and a mix of preventative strategies, such as loss prevention and corrective actions, ensure that our clients are resilient after a loss occurs.

Working together to find solutions

A show of resilience after Fort McMurray Maha Hasnain, client relationship manager on the global specialty lines team at RSA, shares how she and her colleagues work with their commercial clients to help them be more resilient THIS YEAR we saw, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the costliest disaster in Canada’s history, in the form of the Fort McMurray wildfires. In September, four months after the wildfires began, risk managers, brokers and insurers met in Calgary for this year’s Canadian Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference. RIMS is the largest risk management conference of the year. For many insurers, RIMS goes beyond the conference. It’s also an important time to meet and speak with clients, discuss their individual issues and find them a complete solution.

The theme of this year’s event was resilience. To me, resilience means that you are still standing in the event of everything

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going wrong, like in a catastrophe.

Essentially, that is what insurance does. The right insurance helps people be resilient.

People buy insurance as a safeguard, so that if something does go wrong – despite them having done everything in their power to ensure that they have effectively managed the risks of a situation – they are protected.

Preparing for the worst

Being resilient doesn’t just happen.

Understanding risk and being prepared before disaster strikes allows us to be resilient. Part of that preparation comes from working with a skilled broker before a disaster.

RSA strongly believes in a tripartite relationship between us, as an insurer, our brokers and risk managers.

As the insurer of large commercial clients, we work with risk managers and brokers to ensure that they can be resilient when they need to be. Understanding that each situation in the large commercial space is unique, RSA has the ability to work with brokers and risk managers to customize their policies.

Leveraging the tripartite relationship, we work together to come up with suitable policy wordings, deductibles and exclusions for each individual client, which helps protect them from a wide variety of risks.

Asking the right questions For us, part of RIMS was having touch points with our brokers and risk managers. These meetings allowed us to work with broker partners and risk managers to understand each risk. Having this time to check in and ask simple questions – for example, how their business is changing and what more we can do – allows us to better understand clients and their day-to-day needs. It also allows us to continue to build our relationships and trust.

Building and maintaining strong relationships with partners and customers is extremely important. Having these relationships and a deeper understanding of the needs of large commercial clients allows us to effectively ensure that they are protected.

For more information on the areas within large commercial that we work with, please visit www.rsabroker.ca/rsa-products/globalspecialty-lines.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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