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ISSUE 5.01

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CONTENTS

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UPFRONT 04 Editorial

As confusion reigns, insurance can win

06 Statistics

FEATURES

44

FAR FROM THE MUNN-DANE

COVER STORY

26

Munn Insurance’s CJ and Adam Nolan reveal the unique challenges of doing business in Newfoundland

10 News analysis

The rise and rise of cyber insurance

12 Intelligence

New appointments, new products and the latest acquisitions

14 MGA update

Preparing for the pending legalization of a cannabis industry

18 Opinion

Learn to be a fintech lover, not a hater!

FEATURES

AGCS’s Ulrich Kadow talks about the challenges he continues to thrive on in a career that has spanned the globe

Is insurtech a threat to brokers?

High-tech benefits and the growing threat of ransomware

From hundreds of nominations that poured in from coast to coast emerge these truly elite brokerages. Find out who they are and how they made it

INDUSTRY ICON

08 Head to head

16 Technology update

TOP 10 BROKERAGES

PEOPLE

The new opportunities offered by insurtech

46

THE ART OF THE DEAL The keys to success at the negotiating table

FEATURES 50 Sharing the video love

How to make social media videos that just scream out to be shared

56 Condo living

Tips for securing the right insurance for condominium buyers

PEOPLE 54 Career path

Martin Thompson, president and CEO at RSA Canada

55 Other life

20 2

FEATURES

52

KEEPING IN THE LOOP

How to better your business by creating a culture of feedback

When not at work, Claire Tannett leads a very high life

INSURANCEBUSINESS.CA CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

Confusion reigns and insurance wins

W

hat single noun would you pluck out to describe the current environment in which we’re living?

Confusion? Disorder? Maybe even chaos?

Chances are the vast majority would pick a word that reflects the unstable landscape in which we’re attempting to not only live, but also do business.

There is, of course, the arrival of a new president south of the border – one who amassed 2.5m fewer votes than his rival. Of course, to those who did vote for President Trump in the USA, there is renewed hope and belief that America can rediscover its foundations. However, among the naysayers there are genuine fears about what lies ahead.

The uncertainty seems to grow even greater across the “pond”, where Europe has found itself submerged in vitriol over its handling of immigration; where Britain is attempting to stabilize after a decision to pull out of the European Union; and where France and Germany, both subject to recent acts of terror, face their own imminent elections.

So where does this leave insurance?

For brokers who are able to quickly capitalize … there is potentially a new area of business to reap rewards from Insurance is designed to provide reassurance in times like these – and as fears grow there are emerging opportunities for the industry. The Allianz Risk Barometer 2017 pinpointed that cyber risks, for example, have risen to third place among the chief concerns for businesses globally, only narrowly behind business interruption and market volatility. For brokers who are able to quickly capitalize by understanding the businesses they work with and presenting a cyber product that genuinely meets their needs, there is potentially a new, relatively untapped, area of business for them to reap rewards from.

Yet the insurance industry, it seems, faces its own state of confusion with a leap in mergers and acquisitions as smaller brokerages struggle with digital innovation and new players emerge; a recent Willis Towers Watson survey put the percentage of insurers looking to score acquisitions directly driven by the desire to acquire digital technologies at 49%.

In times like this, then, it is vital to learn lessons from those who are not just coping in this complex environment, but thriving in it. That’s why this month we shine the spotlight on Canada’s top brokerages to learn about how they are continuing to supply that individualized service that only a broker can provide, while simultaneously addressing the needs of a new, more demanding consumer base.

The lessons their success can teach us are, arguably, more important than ever.

The team at Insurance Business Canada

www.insurancebusiness.ca MARCH/APRIL 2017 EDITORIAL Managing Editor Paul Lucas Writers Lucy Hook, Libby Macdonald, Tim Garratt, Joe Rosengarten, Lyle Adriano Copy Editor Bruce Pitchers

CONTRIBUTORS

Georgia Murch, Josh Masters, Marcus Seeger, Philipp Kristian Diekhöner

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Joenel Salvador Production Manager Alicia Chin Traffic Manager Monica Lalisan

SALES & MARKETING National Account Manager Eric Langille Associate Publisher Trevor Biggs General Manager, Sales John Mackenzie Marketing and Communications Melissa Christopoulos 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.

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Insurtech and consumers

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS Accenture’s survey divided insurance consumers into three groups based on their behaviours and preferences: Nomads, who are very interested in shifting to online-only activity; Hunters, who seek value, expertise and advice from people; and Quality Seekers, who prioritize integrity regardless of the channel.

Insurtech is altering the consumer journey – and opening up new opportunities for insurers ADVANCES IN digital technology, combined with shifts in consumer behaviour, have opened up a world of opportunity for insurers looking to enhance their relevance and value. That’s the message of a recent survey released by Accenture, which identified three main groups of consumers – Nomads, Hunters and Quality Seekers – each of which have distinct preferences about how they want to interact with insurers.

Of key concern are Nomads, who are interested in shifting to online-only activities.

This group is highly digitally active and ready for a new model of delivery. They place a high value on innovation and want new ways of accessing service and advice. For this group, which typically represents about half of consumers, increased digital connectivity is key to going beyond the traditional insurance value proposition.

14% US CONSUMER BREAKDOWN Hunters

Quality Seekers

40%

29%

Percentage of consumers willing to buy insurance from online service providers

38%

Percentage of consumers who would consider peer-to-peer auto insurance

32%

Percentage of consumers who would consider peer-to-peer homeowner’s insurance

46%

Nomads

30%

Percentage of consumers willing to buy insurance from a retailer or supermarket

Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

ONLINE INFO IS OPTIMAL

CONSUMERS ARE ROBO-READY

The share of consumers who prefer to use online channels (including websites, mobile, email, chat/IM and social media) to look for information about insurance has gone up markedly in just three years.

Consumers who look for insurance information online 2013

2016

The vast majority of consumers are willing to receive computer-generated advice about various aspects of their financial affairs – almost three out of four are willing to take this kind of advice on what type of insurance to purchase.

7% Willing

19%

Not willing

Don’t know

5%

8%

17% 24%

74% 78%

54%

68%

Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

6

Insurance

Investment asset allocation

68%

Retirement planning

Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

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How they seek advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

52%

Online

How they seek advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

51%

Agent

How they purchase insurance 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

51%

Online

How they seek advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

58% 38%

Online

Agent

How they purchase insurance 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

51%

Agent

Most valuable source of insurance advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

QUALITY SEEKERS

HUNTERS

NOMADS

29%

30%

Online

Agent

35%

Online

Agent

How they purchase insurance 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

57% 40%

Online

Agent

Most valuable source of insurance advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

62%

33%

37%

Online

Agent

62%

34%

Online

Agent

Most valuable source of insurance advice 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

42% 25%

Agent

Online

Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

OK WITH P2P

FASTER AND EASIER

Peer-to-peer insurance is increasingly seen as an acceptable alternative to conventional models, especially among younger consumers.

Of those willing to receive computer-generated advice about the type of insurance to purchase, most are swayed by the speed of delivery and greater convenience of online platforms.

50%

Millennials who would consider P2P insurance

Reasons for seeking computer-generated advice 40% 35%

43%

Gen Xers who would consider P2P insurance

30% 25% 20%

Baby Boomers who would consider P2P insurance

32%

15% 10% 5%

Seniors who would consider P2P insurance

27% Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

0%

Think it will be faster and more convenient

Think it will cost less

Think it will be more impartial

Source: Financial Providers: Transforming Distribution Models for the Evolving Consumer, Accenture, 2017

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UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Does the surge in insurtech activity threaten brokers?

As insurtech moves from the fringes to the mainstream, brokers caught in the oncoming wave are grappling with change

Daniel Schreiber

Donna Peeples Chief customer officer Pypestream

Managing director, commercial intermediary AXA Insurance UK

“Short answer: there’s enough room for everyone. The surge in insurtech is beneficial for those who are underserved by the traditional carriers.

These are folks who look to self-serve in every field: they’ll book an Airbnb over a hotel and swipe for an Uber instead of calling a cab. When insurance shopping, they’ll go for a user experience that is instant and hassle-free.

“However, there are those who prefer buying insurance from brokers and look to storefront agents to discuss their policy in length before committing to coverage. So while insurtech seeks to accommodate those self-serving customers, it does not threaten brokers.”

“The broker advice model will continue to evolve and has an opportunity to improve with insurtech. Change is here.

Insurers are embracing intelligent automation and the use of chatbots to provide 24/7 real-time support in mobile messaging, allowing brokers to focus on higher-level tasks and support.

“To redesign the customer experience, brokers and agents must understand how their customers and carriers want to engage and what pain-point areas they can make a positive impact on, or what passion points can be amplified.

It’s about moving from transactions to relationships. Maintaining a human element is always important.”

“Brokers are used to being challenged by advances in the market, especially in the personal lines space. The rise in price comparison sites challenged the position of brokers long before insurtech arrived on the scene.

“New technology threatens to do parts of the broker’s job in a much quicker and slicker way, allowing people to buy cover in the same way they would order a taxi from Uber.

“Brokers can’t be complacent and must evolve, and should also look at ways of partnering with, or even investing in, insurtech firms to ensure that they stay relevant and to safeguard their future.”

Co-founder and CEO Lemonade

Jon Walker

INSURTECH GOES MAINSTREAM One of the key findings of a study released in mid-2016 by PricewaterhouseCoopers was the fact that 74% of insurance companies believe that some part of their business is at risk of disruption. The same study reported that 90% of insurers were afraid of losing some part of their business to new tech initiatives. So where does this leave brokers? In a recent report, global ratings agency S&P Global warned that “traditional insurance brokers’ business models may be considerably altered by technological changes”. While the report posited that the high cost of entry would protect the industry for longer than other financial services fields, insurtech is clearly a tide that won’t be turned back.

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UPFRONT

OPINION

Delivering on our promise is the very essence of why we’re in business.

Rowan Saunders, President and CEO

I’ve spent my entire career in this industry. So, like many of my colleagues, I’ve taken notice of the extraordinary things happening at Economical. From being Canada’s first P&C insurer to pursue demutualization, to investing in world-class technology, Economical has a bold vision for the future. It’s their commitment to growth and innovation, and to you — our valued broker partners — that compelled me to join this great company.

Get ready for the future, with us. economical.com property

|

auto

|

business

Economical Insurance includes the following companies: Economical Mutual Insurance Company, The Missisquoi Insurance Company, Perth Insurance Company, Waterloo Insurance Company, Family Insurance Solutions Inc., Sonnet Insurance Company, Petline Insurance Company. ©2017 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 affiliates and are registered and/or used in Canada. All other intellectual property is the property of their respective owners.

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UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Cyber boom on the horizon As the industry enters what’s predicted to be a benchmark year for cyber insurance, how will the landscape change, and what challenges lie ahead?

THE COMING year looks set to be the biggest one yet for cyber insurance. Just a few days before the new year, Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale revealed that the London insurance market is bracing for a surge in the sales of cyber policies in 2017, after seeing a 50% rise in sales during 2016. Global firm CFC Underwriting also reported that the number of cyber claims it received had shot up 78% in 2016 compared to the previous year.

But with increasing take-up set against a backdrop of rapidly developing risks, is the market prepared to evolve?

“Cyber insurance will transition into a mainstream product with significantly increased penetration among small and mid-market clients, both in the US and internationally,” predicts Graeme Newman,

“We expect to see greater clarity introduced to policy wordings and a shift away from the liability constructs that dominate current forms, toward the constructs found within more traditional crisis management classes like kidnap and ransom, crime and terrorism.”

High-profile cyber attacks were in no short supply over the past 12 months. Tech giant Yahoo had two enormous data losses come to light during the year, and its second reported hack – revealed in December – became the largest known data breach in history after more than a billion user accounts were compromised.

But the archetypal data loss event is just one of the many cyber risks that companies are now facing. Ransomware – malicious

“I don’t think we can say that there’s one industry or another that is more at risk – I think they are all at risk” Michelle Lopilato, HUB International CFC Underwriting’s chief innovation officer.

The focus will shift from cyber being a privacy breach product to a more allencompassing cyber incident response solution, he adds.

“There will be a greater focus on incident response and the claims service that underpins the policy wordings,” he says.

10

software that allows hackers to block access to a system until a sum of money is paid – is becoming increasingly widespread, and the potential for business interruption to companies of all sizes is significant.

“It’s one of those types of events that is highly impactful and very successful,” says Michelle Lopilato, SVP and director

of cyber and technology solutions at HUB International.

HUB is seeing at least one ransomware event per month among its clients, Lopilato says, due largely to how easily attainable and inexpensive the software is.

“The availability is somewhat astounding,” she says. “The reality is that because they’re so available and so successful, we are going to see a lot more of these types of ransomware families being developed and used.”

As cyber products respond to these diversifying risks, solutions are likely to become increasingly tailored to both the size and type of business.

“At the SME/MM scale, we will continue to see cyber being incorporated into other products, whereas for larger risks, standalone products that cover all cyber perils are the obvious evolution,” says Alessandro Lezzi, international technology, media and business services team leader at Beazley.

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CYBER INSURANCE

BY THE NUMBERS

$20bn

Projected amount of global written premiums for cyber insurance by 2025

15

Different types of cyber cover introduced

by Lloyd’s in 2016

23,000 to 35,000

There are signs in the market of a move toward industry specialization, Newman adds, “with a growing recognition that you can’t sell the same cyber insurance product to a bank as you can a hospital or a school.”

significantly from a cyber event, even going out of business in some cases.

But in some respects, Lopilato says, companies are on an equal footing: “I don’t think we can say that there’s one industry or

“Cyber insurance will transition into a mainstream product with significantly increased penetration”

$209m

Amount paid to ransomware criminals in the first quarter of 2016 Sources: Allianz, Lloyd’s, Symantec, CNN

Graeme Newman, CFC Underwriting Small- and medium-sized businesses represent the biggest growth potential in the purchase of cyber policies, according to Lopilato, who explains that many hackers will target them as “the lowest-hanging fruit”. Without the resources – particularly financial ones – of their larger counterparts, smaller companies are more likely to suffer

The average number of ransomware infections per month in 2015

another that is more at risk – I think they are all at risk.”

So what should brokers and insurers focus on in terms of cyber insurance in the coming year?

“Cyber exposure and the nature of the risks change very rapidly, so the challenge for the industry is to keep abreast of the

changes in order to identify new ways to assess risk,” Lezzi says.

For Newman, the handling of claims is a more pressing issue. “Many insurers have not developed an appropriate internal or external claims infrastructure to support the products they are selling,” he says, “and this should be the biggest area of concern.”

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UPFRONT

INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER

TARGET

PRODUCTS COMMENTS

Archway Insurance

Alliance Assurance

None of Alliance’s employees will lose their jobs; company’s offices to continue to operate as Archway locations.

Chelsea Avondale

MAX Canada

Following acquisition, MAX Canada announced that it “will continue to serve faith-based and Anabaptist communities”, as well as continue donations.

CMW Insurance Services

Capri Insurance Services

Company formed from merger set to be one of the largest insurance brokerages in Western Canada.

Economical Insurance

Western Financial Insurance Company, Petsecure

Western Financial to change name to Petline Insurance Company following buyout; Petsecure brand to remain the same.

Fairfax Financial Holdings

Allied World Assurance

Allied World is the “largest and the best company Fairfax has purchased over 31 years,” says Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa.

Hub International

Mainline Insurance Brokers

Acquisition is part of Hub’s strategy to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen the firm’s industry and product expertise.

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services

Groupe PPP

Buyout expands iA’s distribution network; Groupe PPP’s activities to integrate with iA Financial Group’s Dealer Services division.

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services

HollisWealth

iA’s acquisition of the advisory firm makes it one of the largest non-bank wealth management firms in Canada.

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Ironshore

Global specialty lines insurer Ironshore has about 800 employees in 15 countries; management team to remain following purchase.

Zurich Insurance

Cover-More

Buyout of travel insurance provider Cover-More makes Zurich one of the three biggest providers of travel insurance worldwide.

IOMA, Lloyd’s offer journalist insurance

The International Federation of Journalists has partnered with a specialist insurer to create an insurance scheme for all media workers.

The product was created in response to firms refusing to cover for journalists. IFJ will offer coverage to members of IFJ affiliates who work on assignments in any region in the world, including war zones and hostile areas. Each policy covers for accidental death, disablement, emergency accident and sickness evacuation and repatriation from any place to the policyholders’ country. IOMA Insurance and Lloyd’s of London will underwrite the policies.

Chubb expands cyber services suite

CMW and Capri merge operations

CMW Insurance Services and Capri Insurance Services announced on 9 January that they had merged, effective 1 January. The resulting company is one of the largest insurance brokerages in Western Canada.

Both companies are independent and employee-owned. The two have also collaborated for years, and are both Canadian Broker Network members.

The new company will have more than 400 employees across 14 offices in BC and Ontario. It also hopes to use its doubled negotiating power to secure optimum rates, terms and conditions from insurer partners for clients.

12

Chubb has launched an expanded suite of cyber loss mitigation services to help US and Canadian policyholders reduce the impact of cyber incidents.

The expanded suite of services for loss mitigation includes password defence, online cyber education, and premier cyber partner network. “Our expanded suite of cyber services – particularly the password defence and online security awareness training for all cyber policyholders – underscores our commitment to continuing to innovate and improve the experience for our clients,” said Chubb executive vice president of North America financial lines Michael Tanenbaum.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE Aviva introduces sports-branded insurance coverage

P&C insurer Aviva Canada has formed a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the company behind ice hockey team the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors basketball team.

Under the partnership, fans will be able to purchase branded insurance coverage for both teams across home and auto – the first of their kind in Canada.

Coverage will be delivered through an easy-to-use digital experience at a competitive price, a release said, and will “provide unique engagement opportunities that connect fans with the Maple Leafs and Raptors like never before.”

iA and Celliers Intelligents brew wine insurance

Alfred/Celliers Intelligents have collaborated with Industrial Alliance’s La Zone unit to create the world’s first digital insurance product for wine.

As wine is not subjected to any specific assessment in regular home insurance and its value appreciates over time, the Alfred Secure product was designed to properly assess wines for their true, updated value and set the most appropriate premium.

Alfred Secure coverage includes fire, theft, vandalism, water damage, wine degradation caused by broken equipment and even breakage of bottles; a clause makes corked wine coverage possible, as well.

Foresters launches non-participating whole-life products

Foresters Financial has launched three new non-participating whole life products: non-par whole life, simplified non-par whole life and child non-par whole life. The products were introduced as part of the company’s new strategy to grow its product portfolio over the next decade. “There’s a great energy around the organization’s future,” said Foresters Financial Canada vice president of sales Rob Baboth. “We are committed to providing our distribution partners with competitively priced products to help them meet the protection needs of Canadian families.”

NAME

LEAVING

JOINING

NEW POSITION

Rob Bentley

Marsh & McLennan

Guy Carpenter & Co

President, Global Strategic Advisory unit

Traci Boland

N/A

Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario

President

Alexis Faber

N/A

Willis Towers Watson

Global head of financial lines

Emma Griffin

N/A

Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services

Member of the board of directors

Henning Haagen

N/A

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Northeast zone executive for North America

James Kent

N/A

Willis Towers Watson

Global deputy CEO

Gord Rider

Chubb

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance

Senior marine underwriter

Matthew Rider

N/A

Aegon

CFO, member of the executive board

Andrew Robinson

The Hanover Insurance Group

Crawford & Company

Global chief operating officer

John Salmond

N/A

Group Medical Services

President and CEO

Maurice Tulloch

N/A

Aviva Insurance

CEO, international insurance

Vinko Markovina

N/A

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Global head of MidCorp, regional head of corporate underwriting

Allianz names North America operations execs

Allianz Group specialist corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has appointed Henning Haagen (pictured) as northeast zone executive for North America, in addition to his current role as global head of aviation.

He takes over the previous role of Vinko Markovina, who has been appointed global head of MidCorp and regional head of corporate underwriting. Both will be based in New York and will report to AGCS North America president and CEO Bill Scaldaferri. “Henning and Vinko’s extensive management background will be of great benefit as we continue to strengthen and evolve our business,” said Scaldaferri.

Aegon appoints new CFO

Multinational insurer Aegon has announced that it has retained the expertise of Former ING chief finance officer Matthew Rider (pictured). Rider assumed his role as CFO and member of the executive board on 1 January, succeeding Darryl Button. Rider was once a member of ING’s Management Board Insurance until 2013, having previously served as chief financial officer for ING Insurance and as head of product development for the company’s retail annuity business in the US. “He brings a broad range of experience, including managing finance and risk functions and developing a Solvency II framework,” said Aegon supervisory board chairman Rob Routs.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:39:24 AM

UPFRONT

MGA UPDATE

Cannabis legalization: are MGAs ready?

Marijuana’s pending legalization could offer another area of expertise for MGAs to dabble in

and physical risks to the dispensary. Recently, a number of armed robberies occurred across Toronto dispensaries in which employees and customers were injured. Of the 13 robberies, only six were reported by the owners of the dispensaries themselves, as some owners refuse to report crimes out of fear of prosecution.

This fear of law enforcement is not unsubstantiated; some owners have reported that they have been raided on a semiregulated basis by police, who have seized merchandise and charged employees.

“We’re on the precipice of something big, this is a market you want to be taking a look at”

Interest in the legalization of marijuana is growing in Canada, especially following the increasingly relaxed stance on the drug in the US. Already, a few dispensaries have opened in major cities, carefully treading the line of what is legal. In response, the Canadian government has plans to regulate the production and distribution of the drug outside of medical purposes. Cannabis’ legalization could open the door to a lucrative

NEWS BRIEFS

market for the insurance industry.

“We’re on the precipice of something big, this is certainly a market you want to be taking a look at,” said Brian Vicente of US-based cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg.

Like any business, a cannabis business could use commercial insurance, but one specialized for the industry’s specific needs.

Coverage will be needed for the equipment used to cultivate the plants, crop coverage

The Edge Benefits secures national distribution deal

The Edge Benefits, a member of The Co-operators Group, has a new national distribution deal with five MGAs: Customplan Financial Advisors, Financial Horizons, Hub Financial, IDC Worldsource and PPI Solutions. The new distribution partnership expands The Edge Benefits’ reach to more than 75,000 advisors. The agency says it looks forward to working with the advisors due to “the growing number of contract workers, small business owners and self-employed people who are not eligible for a traditional employee benefits plan.”

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Dispensaries have also commented that although they have commercial insurance, their insurers had marijuana exclusions.

Fortunately, some insurers have stepped up to the plate. San Diego-based Next Wave Insurance is entering the Canadian market within three months and has plans to partner with a local company. Senior vice president of commercial programs Charles Pyfrom revealed that the company even has coverage for when a business owner’s product is confiscated by the authorities.

Next Wave believes it will deliver where other insurers fail – treating cannabis like another perfectly legal and insurable product.

Palliser insurance buys out five MGAs

Palliser Insurance Company Ltd announced January that it has acquired the businesses of five MGAs that all offer crop hail insurance. Butler Byers Hail Insurance Ltd, Farmers Hail Insurance Agencies Ltd, Henderson Hail Agencies Ltd, McQueen Agencies Ltd and Wray Agencies Ltd all help farmers in Western Canada. Palliser’s acquisitions are a “part of a growth strategy that will get the crop insurance company closer to the farm customer and enable product innovation along with enhanced risk management services.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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Q&A

John Barclay President and CEO

South Western Group’s forward-thinking initiatives

SOUTH WESTERN GROUP

Fast fact South Western Group is a wholesale insurance intermediary/managing general agent offering a broad range of insurance solutions for specialty, niche, program and hard-toplace business. Since 1961 it has proudly provided underwriting expertise to independent insurance brokers across Canada.

What is South Western Group doing to stand out from other MGAs? SWG is working on two initiatives. The first is to continue to develop products that fit specific industry segments and complement our core strengths so we can leverage the talent of our team. The second is an investment in our IT platform to improve our broker service levels. This investment will position SWG to work digitally with our brokers, as they change their business models to meet customer shopping and buying preferences.

What changes are you anticipating in the MGA market this year?

We’re anticipating more consolidation, much like the broker channel. This will, in turn, make for an even more competitive marketplace, as the combined firms will be able to expand and deepen their product offerings.

We are also expecting new entrants into the Canadian marketplace from a combination of insurer-backed venture capital (based on digital business models) and foreign MGAs setting up in Canada. This dynamic mirrors what is going on in both the retail/broker and insurer segments. The secondary market is not immune.

What are your thoughts on the consolidation of the Canadian insurance industry?

It is a natural outcome of low interest rates, generally positive insurer financial results and the accelerating

Beazley expands Canadian presence

International insurance group Beazley has acquired a specialist MGA with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – expanding the firm’s presence in Canada – it has been announced. Creechurch Underwriters, which offers specialized insurance solutions for risks including high technology, life science, health and sports, will be taken over by Beazley. The MGA’s team of 30 will remain in their three existing offices and will continue to be led by Phil Baker, Beazley said in a release.

movement of consumers (personal and commercial lines) to look to an on-line environment and rely less on bricks and mortar. For all segments in the chain, this disruption calls for stronger balance sheets and scale to keep up with the investments required to stay on the forefront. This consolidation creates the space for new entrants (imported from other countries or start-ups and spin-offs) that create the competitive vibrancy of the market and provide for a very healthy industry.

What specific challenges has your company faced and how did you deal with them?

The biggest change SWG has been grappling with is our history. We are one of the oldest wholesale brokers in Canada (55-plus years old) and the movement from less wholesale to more underwriting has been an important challenge to meet. This change was driven by: digital, consolidation, market/product position.

As a business, we’d not be viable if the core value simply remained market access. Broker consolidation drives increased retail market access while, at the same time, insurers are changing their distribution models to reach a broader range of brokers for their products.

To face that, we have focused on business process, product delivery and, crucially, people. SWG had a very good staff, and we have worked very hard to develop and recruit an expanded team to meet the underwriting and product goals we set for ourselves to support the broker community we serve.

Financial Horizons expands in the east

Financial Horizons Group has announced that it has strengthened its presence in Eastern Canada by acquiring an established MGA in the area. Estate Financial Inc., based in New Brunswick, has operated in Eastern Canada since 1999. Under a deal between Financial Horizons and Estate Financial that closed Feb. 1, the former purchased 100% of the latter s shares. Following the transaction, Estate Financial president Andrée McLean and director of brokerage Joe Daley will remain in their current positions.

Burns & Wilcox expands in Quebec

Managing general agent Burns & Wilcox Canada has acquired Quebec-based XN Financial Services’ high-value homeowner’s insurance practice, the companies have announced. XN, a managing general agent, is a subsidiary of The Henner Group – one of France’s leading insurance specialists.

Its arm for providing high-value homeowner coverage is XN Canada Private Client Services (XN PCS), which will become part of Burns & Wilcox Canada. Burns & Wilcox will move into Quebec for the first time as part of the move.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Diagram launches, to invest in fintech start-ups

Venture capital fund Diagram recently launched, with the goal of retaining potential tech talent in Canada.

The fund hopes to nurture potential tech start-ups, particularly those in the insurance, financial services and healthcare sectors. Diagram offers as much as $5m in seed financing, and is backed by fintech venture fund Portag3.

Around 50 angel investors have also pledged their support for Diagram.

Paul Desmarais III was tapped to serve as chairman of Diagram, in addition to his responsibilities as vice president at Power Financial Corp and holding company Power Corp.

Blockchain Insurance Initiative set to expand

More members are anticipated to join the Blockchain Insurance Initiative, which currently counts Swiss Re, Munich Re, Zurich, Aegon and Allianz as members.

Although specific company names were not mentioned, a Reuters report found that more members will soon be added as the insurance sector looks to capitalize on blockchain technology.

An executive told the media outlet that an organization could be established around the blockchain initiative by 2018, serving an executive role not unlike the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication for banks.

Report finds energy firms at high risk from cyberattacks

A classified Canadian Security Intelligence Service document reveals that the country’s energy firms are at risk due to cyber espionage.

Reuters recently retrieved a confidential

16

document from the CSIS under accessto-information laws, which detailed a briefing by the CSIS to energy and utility stakeholders (names withheld). The CSIS representative identified a threat from foreign state-owned firms looking for confidential information about investments or takeovers.

“You should expect your networks to be hit if you are involved in any significant financial interactions with certain foreign states,” the official said.

League to offer insurance products in the US

Fintech company League announced that it would soon offer its insurance products to clients in the US; the move is expected to follow League’s complete rollout in Canada. The company allows businesses to provide their employees with customized healthcare benefits through its proprietary app; no forms are involved in the process.

League CEO and founder Michael Serbinis confirmed that the company is considering overseas expansion and broadening its services this year.

BTL works with finance sector on blockchain

BTL Group announced that it is working with financial companies and banks on a pilot blockchain system. The developer recently completed a project for a major global energy company.

“We’ve had a fantastic start to 2017 and are very excited to have built credibility that allows us to continue to make ground-breaking progress in the financial space,” said BTL cofounder and CEO Guy Halford-Thompson.

Utilizing the Interbit platform, BTL hopes to “[prove] the concept of how a blockchain based interbank payment network can reduce costs”.

Cyber risk to double in 2017 The growing threat of ransomware should put your clients on on high alert The year 2017 could be the one where cases of data breaches and hacks get out of hand.

A report recently published by specialist insurer Beazley suggests that this year would see a significant increase in cyberattacks.

According to the report, ransomware attacks in 2016 were over four times higher in 2016 than 2015. The company suggested that this increase foreshadows an even larger spike in data breaches for 2017 – possibly double the number of attacks from the previous year.

“The threat from ransomware is not only growing, but evolving to allow hackers to target vulnerable organizations and their most valuable data files and adjust ransom demands accordingly,” said Beazley Breach Response Services global head Katherine Keefe.

Beazley detailed in its report that its breach response services unit managed 1,943 data breaches in 2016, up from 1,247 in 2015.

“The sustained increase in these threats in 2016 indicates that even more organizations will be attacked in 2017 and need to have incident response plans in place before they get a ransomware demand,” Keefe noted.

As threats increase, the insurance industry will be forced to adapt in ways that could disrupt businesses.

“The cyber insurance market will dramatically disrupt businesses in the next 12 months,” Forcepoint principal security analyst Carl Leonard told Insurance Business last year.

“Insurance companies will refuse to pay out for breaches caused by ineffective security, while premiums and payouts will become more aligned with the actual cost of a breach.”

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Leonard added that the requirements for cyber insurance will become as significant as regulatory requirements, affecting businesses’ existing security programs.

Cyber risk is not a make-believe bogeyman the tech industry is trying to play up; it is a real problem that has big companies worried.

Another Allianz report found that business interruption is the most feared risk among Canadian companies in 2017. Although natural catastrophes have been identified as factors for business interruption, cyberattacks have been mentioned in the same breath.

“Each of these issues at times may be an unknown or hidden risk exposure, but an exposure that could create potentially both short- and long-term consequences to a company’s bottom line,” said Allianz Risk Consulting regional manager for Americas

“The cyber insurance market will dramatically disrupt businesses in the next 12 months” Thomas Varney in the report.

Last year saw a number of big data breaches. Dating website Beautifulpeople.com was the target of data theft in May; in November, First Nations resort casino Casino Rama was made aware of a data breach on its systems; and Yahoo confirmed that it had uncovered signs of a data breach in September.

Insurers, too, were not exempt from the data breaches. In June, Empire Life reported that it had responded to a data breach that may have affected some of its clients.

Cyber risks will continue to hit the vulnerable as hackers devise more elaborate means to steal data.

Insurance producers and distributors will want to brace themselves for the coming storm.

Q&A

Tony Cid Global head of commercial insurance

The benefits of going high tech

INTELLECT SEEC

What technologies should the industry be using?

Fast fact Intellect’s clients have included Allianz, Starstone and Anthem Insurance.

Insurers have more access to customer data than ever before. On the property and casualty side, for example, wearable devices can tell how many steps a warehouse employee walks in a day and telematics can measure not just how far a sales rep drives in a month, but also how they drive. That’s just the tip of the data iceberg.

Having access to customer data is only part of the equation. If insurers hope to drive customer loyalty and improve their loss ratio, they need to go one step further and analyze the data. This is where technologies like AI and machine learning can be a game changer.

These technologies can analyze mountains of data from various sources, and enable carriers to make more informed decisions – in turn freeing up human capital to focus on higher-value tasks.

What are the benefits of these technologies?

It has long been known that insureds are willing to pay a higher premium for better service. Yet despite this, carriers have continued to neglect the customer experience. Increased adoption of technology, along with big data and AI, is changing this mindset.

Much of the information needed to complete an application for insurance is easily available from a variety of data sources.

By applying technology, carriers can lessen – and in some cases, eliminate – customer friction at new policy and renewal time. If carriers are strategic in how they continue to leverage technology to reduce such redundancies and streamline intra-organization communication, the benefits will extend beyond simply improving the customer experience and will also drive renewed customer loyalty.

What role does technology have in the broker channel?

While there’s fear in the agent and broker community that technology will dilute their value, the situation is quite the opposite. Technology can empower agents and brokers to provide better counsel.

You can see this in how the distribution process currently works.

Like their carrier partners, agents and brokers still primarily rely on manual processes to search various sources for customer information. If effectively leveraged, agents and brokers can streamline this entire process using technology.

Not only can data-gathering tools mine traditional data sources, they can supplement results with data gleaned from social media and the IoT. Once the data is in-hand, agents and brokers can use AI and machine learning to dissect the data and recommend products that fit their customers’ risk profiles. No more one-size-fits-all approach.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:44:17 AM

UPFRONT

OPINION

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

A match made in heaven?

If the customer experience is the bottom line, then it’s time for the industry to start working with insurtech instead of fighting it, writes Philipp Kristian Diekhöner A GAME DESIGNER, a hipster and a digital nomad meet in a boardroom. No, this is not a joke. Insurers are increasingly bringing in customer-experience-focused talent from start-ups and major tech giants to work in their newly established digital and innovation functions. In essence, they are building pockets of inspiration into a heritage structure. It’s a two-way street – many insurtech start-ups are founded by industry veterans who have left their safe, well-paying jobs and are looking to introduce a breath of fresh air into the industry.

The same can be said of start-ups and corporations. According to a recent report, a large chunk of venture capital funding volume comes from corporate VCs. While these are most likely involved in more late-stage deals, there is an evident trend of corporations getting more involved. Start-up accelerators (however critical we may want to be of them) have done much to foster this proximity.

In my view, fintech start-ups and financial institutions are increasingly coming to realize that they benefit more from collaborating than competing. It paves the way for innovative operating approaches, such as institutional licence-sharing with start-ups.

In some fintech verticals, the risk exposure that comes with running a financial services business serves as a perfect rationale for forming symbiotic relationships between disruptors and established players. Insurtech is a great example – take Slice and Munich Re, or Lemonade and their liaison with Berkshire Hathaway and Lloyd’s of London.

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The more start-ups explore creating actual financial (especially insurance) products, the more potent and widely prevalent these mutual beneficial partnerships will become.

They can serve as an effective strategy for managing regulation and reaching scale quickly via large existing pools of customers who have already been through KYC.

usually only solving one small wedge of customers’ overall needs. Most of us would need a variety of fintech services provided by different start-ups to take care of all our financial needs – a great user inconvenience and a tremendous market opportunity, which I believe will be solved by new types of service aggregators for fintech, covering a range of functionality in one digital-native experience and customer proposition.

Life insurers would be in an excellent position to provide such a holistic value proposition, given that wealth management and life insurance both have a mandate to take into consideration a person’s overall financial health. A financial planning one-stop-shop would be a very ownable territory for them, but it would require incumbents to rethink the nature of their business. If we were to reframe their purpose from being a financially stable and dependable provider of long-term, big-ticket financial products to being a single place for people to take care of their present and future financial health, the industry would future-

“Fintech start-ups and financial institutions are increasingly coming to realize that they benefit more from collaborating than competing” The extent of collaboration occurring at the moment is almost antithetical to what public perception has made of banks in the years after the global financial crisis. Goldman Sachs estimates that financial institutions globally represent a $5trn industry in danger of being disrupted by Fintech companies, so the enthusiasm to collaborate may be driven in part by a well-developed survival instinct.

Insurance, a vertical within finance that has been a little late to the innovation party, is possibly facing the most fundamental threats and opportunities. According to CB Insights, the insurtech domain attracted in excess of $1bn in venture capital funding in the first half of 2016 alone.

Perhaps the biggest discrepancy between corporations and start-ups is that the latter focuses single-mindedly on a specific customer problem, which means they are

proof itself in a highly effective and relevant way. It would involve curating and working proactively with start-ups that are already providing the individual bits and pieces.

Overall, we should be highly optimistic about interactions between start-ups and financial institutions, especially in the domain of insurtech. Both sides have a long way to go in terms of assimilating. Tremendous potential awaits progressive entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs who are resourceful and realistic about finding natural connection points that create mutual benefit.

Philipp Kristian Diekhöner is an emerging fintech thought leader in Asia and a pre-eminent voice in the Singapore start-up and innovation ecosystem. His vision is to shape the future of finance through customers’ eyes.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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UPFRONT

Wynward’s Umbrella Liability

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9/02/2017 3:40:35 AM

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

Risk and reward Ulrich Kadow, chief agent of Canada for AGCS, talks about overcoming significant challenges, leveraging new technologies and partnering with start-ups

ULRICH KADOW’S career with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has seen him trek from Germany across Europe, to Asia and to North America.

He says it’s given him everything he’d hoped for in a career.

“I was always … interested in a career in a global company where I’d have the ability to pursue an international career,” he says.

“I’m very happy to be with Allianz.”

Kadow has been head of AGCS in Canada since 2015. Previously, he was global head of Package & Multiline for the commercial insurance giant. Tasked with growing a new line of business for middle-market clients, it was a time in which he experienced a standout career event.

“That originally was a very small portfolio the company had acquired – about €10m ($14m) in size in Asia,” Kadow explains.

“I was asked to … take on the responsibility of growing that infant into something meaningful for the company globally. That was a big challenge because the company, at that point in 2012, was mainly focused on larger, commercial risks and specialty types of risks, and a broad appetite middle-market line of business, to that point, had not been part of the organization.”

Within two and a half years, the portfolio had grown in size to €50m and encompassed several markets, including South Africa, Australia, Denmark and Canada.

Kadow regards the project as both his

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greatest achievement and biggest challenge.

“I think the two go hand-in-hand,” he says.

“I think if you want to start something new and be successful, it’s a tremendous amount of work. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered … and, to be honest, there are moments where it becomes so difficult that you just want to give up; where you face tremendous headwinds and don’t, right away, see the path to success.

“I think the biggest challenge is to persevere [through] these situations, being resilient when the going gets tough, and if you’re able to do that, then I think you are able to overcome a tremendous challenge.”

wider digital ecosystem through the establishment of digital partnerships,” he says.

“We’re trying to complement the innovations of insurtech businesses and trying to partner up with them for specific projects.”

Kadow references Allianz’s partnership with California-based Praedicat, one of the world’s first liability catastrophe modelling companies, which is aimed at more thoroughly understanding liability risks. He also discusses Allianz X, the insurer’s own accelerator for start-up companies.

“Allianz X is trying to build and scale new

“Digitalization, automation, artificial intelligence, data analytics [and] drone technology are all key to ensuring that we, as a commercial insurer, are competitive and meeting our changing customer needs” Dealing with digital In the ever-growing insurtech space, start-ups are emerging across the world, creating new technologies with the potential to transform the insurance industry.

Kadow says, globally, Allianz is closely monitoring insurtech activities.

“We, as a company, participate in this

businesses that are evolving in the insurtech space,” Kadow says.

But he emphasizes the centre of this current activity is Allianz SE’s headquarters in Munich.

“We, of course, follow … what’s going on, and if there was a great partnership or an emerging technology that may be of use in

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PROFILE Name: Ulrich Kadow Company: Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Title: Chief agent of Canada No of years working with AGCS: 11 Fast fact: Kadow has an MBA from Columbia Business School and an MS in computer science from the University of Technology Munich.

Additionally, he holds the CPCU designation.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

Canada, or in any of the other markets that AGCS is in, then we would, of course, do that,” he adds.

Kadow says AGCS is exploring new technologies and how it can leverage those for the business.

“Digitalization, automation, artificial intelligence, data analytics [and] drone technology are all key to ensuring that we, as a commercial insurer, are competitive and meeting our changing customer needs,” he says.

He talks about the importance of using technology to better understand and manage

Taking opportunities Talking times ahead, Kadow says AGCS’ focus is on retaining and growing its market leadership position in specific segments.

“I think we expect increased government spending in infrastructure and once that happens then, of course, insurance is part of the game, and construction insurance is one of the areas of specialty Allianz here in Canada offers,” he says.

Kadow also mentions cyber insurance.

“The market’s developing quickly, and staying on top of that and growing with the market and making sure that we offer

“We want to ensure we’ve a very strong bench of talent – underwriters, market managers, operations technicians, the whole spectrum of employees – and invest in our talent, making sure they have a development path” risks, specifically citing supply chain risk and the connectivity of customers’ supply chains.

“Our commercial and corporate clients have, in many cases, well-thought-out and complex supply chains that are getting more and more connected. Helping the insured to develop an understanding of where the risks are in the supply chain is something that we can do a better job of by using technology and investing in our digital systems.”

Kadow says there are a number of key infrastructure investments AGCS is making.

“We want to make sure that everything we do has some digital touch to it, and that we stay on top of technology trends going forward. There’s a very significant budget of IT spend set aside every year, where we’re upgrading our systems globally and making sure we are ready for what is to come on the horizon.”

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solutions for risk management is key.”

He continues: “I’m hearing more and more that the mining industry in Canada is picking up a little bit, that there’s more investment in that space, and mining is one of our areas of specialty. So, we would expect some opportunities for growth there.”

International insurance solutions, manufacturing and aviation, Kadow says, will also be among the areas of focus.

Within the organization, Kadow says there’s a significant focus on talent.

“We want to ensure we’ve a strong bench of talent – underwriters, market managers, operations technicians, the whole spectrum of employees – and invest in our talent, making sure they have a development path.

“That’s a big internal focus of mine. If you get it right, many of the other things that I mentioned externally become easier.”

ALLIANZ RISK BAROMETER Released in January, the sixth annual Allianz Risk Barometer identifies the top corporate perils and potential solutions for 2017. The results are based on responses from over 1,200 risk experts in more than 50 countries. Here are the top five business risks for Canada, as selected by local respondents:

BUSINESS INTERRUPTION (including supply chain disruption and vulnerability)

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS (volatility, intensified competition/new entrants, M&A, market stagnation, market fluctuation)

NATURAL CATASTROPHES (eg storm, flood, earthquake)

MACROECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS (austerity programs, commodity price increase, deflation, inflation)

CYBER INCIDENTS (cyber crime, IT failure, data breaches, etc) Source: Allianz Risk Barometer 2017

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 6:07:24 AM

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9/02/2017 3:44:14 AM

FEATURES

CONDO INSURANCE

INSIDE THE CONDO As house prices continue to increase, more Canadians are being forced to purchase condos instead of family homes. For brokers, this creates an opportunity FOR AN increasing number of Canadians trying to get on the property ladder, condo ownership represents the only realistic move. Canadians – especially first-time buyers – are being priced out of major urban areas and, for those reluctant to rent forever, the condominium market is the last resort for property ownership. For the bulk of these buyers, purchasing condo insurance is most likely uncharted territory. As a result, brokers have a good opportunity to boost their book of business by servicing this upwardly mobile – and often uninformed – client base. Becoming well informed in this space of the market will help brokers forge long-term partnerships with Canadians whose wealth – and insurance needs – are going to grow as they move through their careers and start families.

RSA Canada’s newest campaign, called “RSA Gets Personal,” highlights the life cycle of your clients’ journey, and the various insurance products they should consider to protect their possessions, including condo insurance. Learn more at rsabroker.ca/getspersonal.

HOW MANY HOUSEHOLDS IN CANADA LIVE IN CONDOMINIUMS?

12.1%

live (either as owners or renters) in condominiums

1,153,580 are owners

461,215 are renters

Non-family households accounted for the highest proportion of households in condominium ownership, representing just under half of all condominium owners (45.5%).

Source: Statistics Canada

AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF A CONDO DWELLER

Average annual household total income in 2010

$140,000 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $0

74,615

87,384

69,191

80,112

90,297

125,458

Owner-occupied condominiums Under 35 years

81,096

113,422

Other owner-occupied dwellings 35 to 64 years

65 years and over

Total

Source: Statistics Canada

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www.insurancebusiness.ca

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INSURANCE BOOM COMMERCIAL CONDO POLICY VS PERSONAL CONDO POLICY

THE CONDOMINIUM TAKEOVER

1

Covered by a commercial condo policy

1

Upgrades: The insured is responsible for insuring any improvements or upgrades that have been made.

2

Covered by a personal condo policy

High–rise apartments represented more than half of condominiums in Toronto

Contents: Personal or specialty property inside the unit must be insured under the insured’s personal condo policy.

4

(67.4%)

3

Third-party liability*: Provides coverage if the insured’s actions cause damage to another unit or if somebody gets injured while in your premises.

2 3

4 5

Theft: Most condo insurance policies cover property lost due to theft.

Your locker: An insured’s private locker is considered to be part of your insured premises.

Any items stolen from it will be covered.

*Personal insurance policies can provide liability coverage related to the actions of the insured.

100% 80% 60% 40%

5

20% 69.5%

0%

64.2%

53.7%

Low–rise apartments represented more than half of condominiums in Québec (69.5%), Montréal (64.2%) and Victoria (53.7%).

Source: Insure Eye

TOP 5 MOST COMMON CONDO CLAIMS

Row houses represented more than half of condominiums in London (60.0%) and Hamilton (55.0%).

1

London

60%

Hamilton

55%

Water damage/ sewer back-up type losses

In Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa – Gatineau, no one structure type represented more than 50% of the condominiums.

Source: Statistics Canada

4

Mysterious disappearance

2

Smoke/ fire

5

3

Break and enter

Leakage/seepage of water in townhouse style unit

Source: RSA Canada

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

The results are in! IBC uncovers the nation’s top performing brokerages – and what they are doing right AFTER MONTHS of receiving nominations from coast to coast, it was time to narrow down hundreds of brokerages to just 10 that are worthy of the title of one of Canada’s top brokerages.

These brokerages should be applauded for having navigated through a tumultuous year marked by catastrophes, such as floods, storms and the wildfire that has been the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history, coupled with continuing industry consolidation, the running theme of cyber risk/insurance and the increased use of drones, all of which have made the insurance landscape more complex than ever.

For IBC’s Top 10 Brokerages special report, a handicap system

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ensured all brokerages – large and small – were placed on a level playing field. While the amount of written premium and revenue are obvious marks of successful performance, also considered were the extent of the brokerages’ growth in the past year in terms of new policies and clients, as well as retention rates and efficiency in their operations.

The efforts of participating brokerages to share with Insurance Business Canada readers details of their businesses and how they made them so successful makes pertinent reading indeed – so thank you to you all.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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THE METHODOLOGY Insurance Business Canada asked each brokerage to supply its own details in order to qualify for consideration. In total, we captured data for 2016 in 13 key business areas:

Revenue Revenue growth (2016 vs 2015, as a %) Revenue from new policies written in 2016 Revenue per broker New revenue per broker Brokers New brokers Clients Client growth (total clients in 2016 vs total clients in 2015, as a %) New clients New clients per broker Policies written Policy growth (policies written in 2016 vs 2015, as a %) Each brokerage was ranked according to these criteria, and their rankings for the categories were added up. The brokerages were then placed in order of who had the lowest overall score (think of it like a golf score). Higher ranking (i.e. lower value) in each section results in a lower overall score.

The majority of the criteria we used recognized business volume achieved per broker, rather than just considering critical mass, allowing us to fairly recognize brokerages of all sizes and not just the ones with large amounts of business.

As metrics such as revenue growth were expressed as a percentage of total business, it ensured that the very best performing brokerages were rewarded.

TOP 10 BROKERAGES

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10

Dalton Timmis Insurance Group

COMPOSITE SCORE

Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers

COMPOSITE SCORE

Ives Insurance Brokers

COMPOSITE SCORE

AP Reid Insurance

COMPOSITE SCORE

Surex Direct

COMPOSITE SCORE

ARC Insurance Brokers

COMPOSITE SCORE

Sharp Insurance

COMPOSITE SCORE

Platform Insurance Management

COMPOSITE SCORE

Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers

COMPOSITE SCORE

Oracle RMS

COMPOSITE SCORE

ALIGNED Insurance

COMPOSITE SCORE

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103

112

116

117

120

130

130

132

135

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017 TOP 5 RANKINGS It is no surprise that larger firms naturally rose to the top for criteria such as number of brokers or revenue, but we also wanted to give smaller firms the opportunity to shine. That is why we ranked brokerages on a sliding scale, where performance was ranked as a percentage of total business, such as client growth and revenue growth.

In that way, brokerages were ranked on a level playing field regardless of their size.

Although several of the brokerages listed in our Top 5 rankings did not make our overall Top 10 Brokerages list, they nevertheless deserve mention for their stellar performances in our various criteria categories

Client growth (%) TOP 5 AVERAGE: 152%

1 Platform Insurance Management 2 Collage HR & PDF Financial Group 3 Aligned Insurance 4 Mitchell & Whale Ins. Brokers

Revenue for 2016

New revenue per broker

TOP 5 AVERAGE: $17.6M

TOP 5 AVERAGE: $136,398

1 Rogers Insurance

1 ARC Insurance Brokers

2 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group

2 Avant Insurance Brokers

3 Munn Insurance

3 Platform Insurance Management

4 Levitt Insurance Brokers

4 Bryson & Associates Ins. Brokers

5 Ives Insurance Brokers

5 Heart Lake Insurance Brokers

5 Oracle RMS

New clients TOP 5 AVERAGE: 2,832

1 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group 2 Surex Direct 3 AP Reid Insurance 4 Mitchell & Whale Ins. Brokers 5 Ives Insurance Brokers

Revenue growth (%)

Brokers

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 340%

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 117

New clients per broker

1 Guardsman Insurance Services

1 Rogers Insurance

2 Platform Insurance Management

2 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group

1 Mitchell & Whale Ins. Brokers

3 ALIGNED Insurance

3 Munn Insurance

2 Surex Direct

4 Mitchell & Whale Ins. Brokers

4 Ives Insurance Brokers

3 ARC Insurance Brokers

5 Oracle RMS

5 Sharp Insurance

4 AP Reid Insurance

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 82

5 Bryson & Associates Ins. Brokers

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Revenue from new policies

New brokers (%)

TOP 5 AVERAGE: $2.93M

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 156%

1 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group

1 Platform Insurance Management

2 Rogers Insurance

2 Mitchell & Whale Ins. Brokers

3 Sharp Insurance

3 Surex Direct

4 Ives Insurance Brokers

4 Guardsman Insurance Services

5 Platform Insurance Management

5 Oracle RMS

Policies written TOP 5 AVERAGE: 44,321

1 Rogers Insurance 2 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group 3 AP Reid Insurance 4 Munn Insurance 5 Ives Insurance Brokers

Revenue per broker

Clients

Policy growth (%)

TOP 5 AVERAGE: $687,929

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 31,749

TOP 5 AVERAGE: 174%

1 ARC Insurance Brokers

1 Rogers Insurance

1 Collage HR & PDF Financial Group

2 Levitt Insurance Brokers

2 Dalton Timmis Insurance Group

2 Platform Insurance Management

3 Bryson & Associates Ins. Brokers

3 Munn Insurance

3 ALIGNED Insurance

4 CM Steele Insurance Brokers

4 AP Reid Insurance

4 Mitchell Sandham Ins. Brokers

5 Mitchell Sandham Ins. Brokers

5 Surex Direct

5 Oracle RMS

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:45:52 AM

IBC 5

EXECUTIVE HIGH VALUE HOME INSURANCE FROM SOUTH WESTERN GROUP Your client’s home is their castle and all castles need protection. At South Western Group, we offer flexible coverage options through two of the world’s leading insurers – Lloyd’s and AIG. We stand firmly committed to providing a high-quality solution to our base of over 3,000 brokers throughout Canada.

Visit: highvaluehomes.ca

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www.insurancebusiness.ca 29 Phone Number: 1-800-668-4275

9/02/2017 4:45:57 AMPM 6/02/2017 11:56:59

FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

10 ALIGNED INSURANCE Headquarters: Toronto, ON Year founded: 2014 Total number of offices: 4 Number of employees: 11 Specialty: Commercial insurance Head leadership: Andrew Clark, president and CEO Website: www.alignedinsuranceinc.com

What makes your brokerage unique?

ALIGNED was built upon 18 points of differentiation to deliver unmatched value to its clients. These include: our direct access to ALIGNED advocates, exclusive products, no sales people, our ALIGNED process, staff standards, our corporate responsibility program, 0% commission/fee option, 100% electronic policy issuance and e-storage option, tiered levels of service, service guarantee, only business insurance, priority claims response and 24/7 claims reporting, longer office hours

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and weekend hours, 100% Canadian owned, capped workloads, independence and, finally, clients all deal with owners of ALIGNED. The three points of most interest are our game-changing fixed fee/0% commission option, our bronze-, silver-, gold- and platinum-tiered client service packages, and the ALIGNED share plan, which makes all employees owners of the business.

Due to weakness in the economy in specific sectors across the country, we had a number of clients who ceased operating their businesses and stopped buying insurance as a result. These are tough loses, as they were completely outside of our control and were sad to see. But we worked hard to find new clients to replace the ones we lost and experienced considerable growth as a result.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

We’ve experienced considerable organic growth in small- and mid-sized clients across the country from all industries and across all lines of business.

What is a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

Three main things stand out for us: • Our considerable organic growth and interest in our business model • Completing two acquisitions within the first two years of operation • The recent launch of the ALIGNED share plan, which makes all employees owners of the business, was a milestone for our team, culture and positioning for future growth

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

Given how quickly we’ve grown, we spent a lot of time in 2016 creating, implementing and refining policies, procedures and best practice to ensure we could continue to deliver the best possible client experience. As that is working really well, 2017 is all about growth and continuing to execute on our existing strategy of delivering unmatched value to clients, while educating and informing others about insurance and risk management matters.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• The experience, expertise and strength of our team • Belief in our 18 points of differentiation • Clients’ excitement and appreciation of our business model • A passion for winning that exists across the organization • Good, old-fashioned hard work!

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9 ORACLE RMS Headquarters: Concord, ON Year founded: 2011 Total number of offices: 1 Number of employees: 53 Head leadership: John Ferraro and Michael Di Nardo, co-founders Websites: www.oraclerms.com www.insuremeonline.ca

Tell us about Oracle RMS: Oracle RMS is a full-service insurance brokerage, and we specialize in small- to mid-sized commercial business, surety, personal home and auto and financial services.

Having over 40 years of combined experience, our founding partners Michael Di Nardo and John Ferraro wanted to establish a brokerage that delivered a higher standard of professional advice and service. We opened our doors in 2011 with only four employees, and in a short period of time, we have grown our brokerage to over 50 employees.

What makes your brokerage unique?

Canada’s No.1 Elite Broker by IBC.

We are like the Google of insurance; we are a young and dynamic team that likes to work hard but play harder. We have a unique retrofitted warehouse office that is very modern, and our open concept promotes efficiency and fun at the same time.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

In what areas of business have you experienced recent growth?

We recently launched our online digital personal lines division – insuremeonline.ca – that has written over $1.5m within the first year. We also started a surety division, which has almost hit the $1m mark in under two years.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

Recently, we celebrated our fifth anniversary, going from four employees when we started to 53 today. Our original office in 2011 was just 1500sq ft, which we outgrew very quickly. In 2014, we purchased an old 16,000 sq ft warehouse and retrofitted it to a modern, open concept, Google-like facility. Last April, we were selected by IBC as one of Canada’s top 30 brokerages and then, in October, our co-founder Michael Di Nardo was ranked as

Sometimes with growth comes the challenge of keeping up and not sacrificing our service standards. We tried to stay on top of this and did a good job doing so, mainly due to the help of our staff, who are always willing to go above and beyond to help their fellow staff members and clients. Finding the right technology and CRMs to compliment what we are trying to accomplish to better the overall experience for the client.

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

For 2017, our plan is to grow by 25%. We are focused on our continued growth and the improvement of our new departments, as well as possibly opening an additional office this year.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• Technology • Great office environment • Excellent staff • Creating flexibility and encouraging innovation • Great relationships with our markets and clients

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

8

BRYSON & ASSOCIATES INSURANCE BROKERS Headquarters: Ajax, ON Year founded: 1981 Total number of offices: 2 Number of employees: 39 Head leadership: Tracy Makris, president Website: www.brysoninsurance.ca

What are your brokerage’s top specialties?

We have specialty niches in transportation, f ra n c h i s e s , commercial p r o p e r ty, construction, manufacturing and our personal lines elite insurance program.

What makes your brokerage unique?

We’re dedicated to providing an extraordinary client experience. We do this by maintaining extremely high ethical

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standards, operating with a strategic-partner mindset and deliberately developing our service model. We place business ethics high on our list of priorities. By maintaining business ethics and our core values, we’ve been able to form strong relationships with our clients, our insurance markets and their underwriters.

Also, we always try to have fun as an organization, while emphasizing our employees’ health and wellness by creating activities and initiatives internally to keep our people engaged.

In what areas has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

Recently, we have experienced growth in all aspects of the brokerage. Specifically, we have seen accelerated growth in our transportation division, where we have incredible transportation specialists and thought leaders who focus on this market.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

In 2016, we were named the No.2 Great Place to Work by Great Places to Work Canada for companies with 50 or fewer employees. Creating a good place to work is really what it is all about at Bryson. Since our founding in 1981, we have strived to maintain and evolve a culture of caring, business

ethics and service excellence that has allowed us to attract and keep our amazing talent.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

Technology and the use of web-based solution providers is an ever-growing challenge for us and many other brokerages.

We have made a significant distinction in our target market that is aligned with who we are as a brokerage. We’re dedicated to serving clients who value insurance expertise, integrity in solutions, extraordinary service and personalized meaningful interactions.

Technology is an ongoing challenge, but it also presents an opportunity on how to increase the specialized service we offer.

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

We plan to continue increasing the value our clients experience, and continue to expand what it means to be a good place to work.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• High ethical and moral standards • Exceptional support team • Consistent service expectations • Commitment to learning and development • A health-focused workplace environment

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:46:15 AM

It’s not what we do that makes us different... it’s how we do it!

Find out more about our industry leading specialty insurance and surety solutions at

www.trisura.com

a step above

Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company is a Canadian owned and operated Property and Casualty insurance company specializing in niche insurance and surety products. We are a proud supporter of the Insurance Broker’s Association of Canada.

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

7

(TIE)

PLATFORM INSURANCE MANAGEMENT Headquarters: Toronto, ON Year founded: 2014 Total number of offices: 1 Number of employees: 18 Specialty: Insurance and bonding in the construction and real estate sector Management team: Shaun McPherson, Charles Quenneville, Matthew Francis, Scott Beitel and Neil Morrison Website: www.platforminsurance.com

What makes your brokerage unique?

Our people are our greatest asset; we focus on creating the best possible work environment and culture we can imagine. By creating a more fulfilling experience for our employees, we have seen the impact it has on

34

their level of engagement, and the great results they in turn deliver to our clients.

Our culture and environment breeds a collaborative approach that keeps everyone on target. When everybody is coordinated and pursuing the same goals, our passion for success becomes contagious, and is a big factor in creating an enjoyable workplace.

We have confidence in what our growth will be 3-6 months out, so we act on our forecasts and bring in the resources ahead of time to ensure service levels never suffer.

This not only helps maintain a high level of customer service, it ensures our staff never get that feeling of being overwhelmed.

In what areas has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

We are midway through our third year of operations and have experienced rapid growth working with contractors and real estate developers, which has been our focus from day one. Specifically for developers, we have implemented some innovative client solutions and created a new product that has really helped us gain brand equity quickly and establish new client relationships with some of the largest developers in the country.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

While there are no shortages of challenges in the day-to-day operation of a brokerage, successfully managing our growth was, and remains, one of our top priorities. With our growth in 2016, both in volume and head count, we had to ensure we continued to exceed the expectations of our clients, employees and partner markets. We want to focus on growth while not neglecting the operational priorities associated with managing that growth.

To successfully meet this challenge, we have invested heavily in building the appropriate infrastructure. Hiring great people is only the first step. You must provide them with the tools and resources they need to be successful. This means bringing in the necessary technology that will allow them to be more efficient in their day-to-day job, and providing the kind of work environment that lifts people up. Ensuring resources and infrastructure are in place in advance of when needed is a key driver of our success.

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

Our goal is to continue strong growth, while not losing sight of what has made us successful to date. This year, we will hopefully see the expansion of our business geographically, as well as into other lines of business that complement our core focus.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• The team at Platform takes pride in the fact that we act with integrity in everything we do.

• We want people in the organization to know when their help is needed or when to ask for help, and when it’s best to let someone learn on their own.

• Our success wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of our team.

• Platform’s clients turn to us as their broker for expert advice on managing their risk.

To be an effective partner, we must have in-depth knowledge of their business and technical product knowledge on our business.

• Simply put, we love what we do and we work hard for our clients.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:46:24 AM

our clients signed up on our app, which is cutting down on our phone volumes and helping us to grow. We also released an internal software that helps us manage website, online and phone leads, making us more efficient, and allowing us to provide a whole new level of customer service.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

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Our biggest challenge moving into 2016 was, of course, the state of the Albertan economy.

We prepared and braced ourselves for a tough year. We were also very proactive in trying to mitigate the impact the economy would have on us. We did this through actively cross-selling, working on our

(TIE)

SHARP INSURANCE Headquarters: Calgary, AB Year founded: 2009 Total number of offices: 1 Number of employees: 60 Head leadership: Sherif Gemayel, president and Cathy Lip, vice president of personal lines Website: www.sharpinsurance.ca

What is your brokerages’ top area of business?

At Sharp Insurance, we specialize in personal lines insurance.

What makes your brokerage unique?

From our inception, we have always gone against the typical norm of the industry. We have worked really hard to carve out our identity and service positioning that centres on innovation and technology. Whether it was through developing our mobile app services, or going completely digital on an

From our inception, we have always gone against the typical norm of the industry.

We have worked really hard to carve out our identity and service positioning that centres on innovation and technology internal level, or through our investment on the latest digital marketing trends, we have always seen ourselves as forward-thinking, optimistic and innovative.

retention numbers, and promoting client loyalty. It was a tough year for us, and a lot of hard work went in to it, but it was worth it in the end as we continued to see growth.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

We have continued to see growth in our personal lines book of business, and we have recently been growing our commercial lines as well. We are also still growing as a brokerage, and are happy to say we are still actively hiring new brokers regularly.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

The proudest accomplishment for us has to be our technology. For the past year, through our work with Sharp Mobile, we have made amazing updates to our digital customer service tools offering. We have over 60% of

We are very excited for 2017, as we have a lot of exciting new projects that will be introduced. The new programs we will be launching within the next year will be unprecedented in the industry. We are expected to see strong growth through 2017, and we’re hoping it will be our best year yet.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• Our incredibly talented and hardworking team • Technology • Innovation • Our ability to anticipate our clients’ needs • Our strong company culture

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

6 ARC INSURANCE BROKERS Headquarters: Edmonton, AB Year founded: 2013 Total number of offices: 1 Number of employees: 11 Specialty: Personal lines and small business Head leadership: Jack Rao, director Website: www.arcinsurance.ca

What makes your brokerage unique?

We are a relatively small team, but we’ve invested heavily into technology that will provide better accessibility for our clients and enable us to scale up rapidly in the future. Many of the projects we’re currently working on will not truly pay dividends until we’re a bit bigger, but we believe in putting in the effort to build a strong foundation

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now so that expansion is easier down the road.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

The Alberta economy has been the biggest challenge, and this has been reflected in a significantly higher volume of work this year for our agents – more policy changes (such as moves), more cancellations, and more new clients shopping for insurance. We have had to make significant changes to our office processes and training procedures in order to accommodate the increased workload, while still maintaining the top-quality service that our clients expect.

In a year where Alberta has experienced more downs than ups, we have still been able to achieve 15% growth across our personal lines portfolio. It’s not the type of growth we were accustomed to the previous three or four years, but it’s a positive sign that in an economic climate where clients are more likely to shop around and be cautious about where to place their dollars, our team remains competitive.

What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

When each and every employee takes it personally that they are creating the best possible solutions for the problems that arise day-to-day, the rest is easy!

Our focus in 2017 is to make it easier for clients to do business with us, and to make it easier for our brokers to do their jobs. This means investing even more in technology and training, and we’re very excited about some of the recent innovations in insurance distribution and processing by some of our colleagues at other firms. I think 2017 will be a big year for many brokerages, and some significant projects will become proven as either home runs or strikeouts. Hopefully we have more of the former.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

• Our staff – when each and every employee takes it personally that they are creating the best possible solutions for the problems that arise day-to-day, the rest is easy!

• Narrow target market – we have recently expanded to small business, but our bread and butter has always been in personal lines.

• Ease of doing business – from quote to delivery, our brokers will do whatever they can to make insurance easy and painless for each prospective client.

• Adherence to our core values.

• Question assumptions – just because something’s been done a certain way a million times, doesn’t mean that it’s being done the best way.

Our employee retention has been phenomenal. When it comes to hiring, our belief in employee diversity means that we often hire recent university grads or professionals from unrelated fields. There is a bit of an expectation that this would mean higher turnover from staff who join to simply give insurance a try and eventually decide that a career in the insurance industry is not for them. Fortunately, this has not been the case. The majority of our staff who passed their general insurance licensing with us are still with us today. As a result, we now have a core team that is strong, diverse, but still shares a common vision for the company.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:46:34 AM

Open minds.

Understand Risk.

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

Bringing together a diverse set of capabilities through our Equipment Breakdown operations and Risk Engineering practices we focus on delivering innovative coverage and risk management solutions for our brokers and clients. We are proud to be a trusted partner focused on achieving success for Canadian businesses.

Michel Rivard (left) AVP, Equipment Breakdown Insurance Direct 514-798-6196 michel.rivard@sovgen.com Joe Alcaraz AVP, National Risk Engineering Services Direct 647-826-5232 joseph.alcaraz@sovgen.com sovereigngeneral.com

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9/02/2017 4:46:39 AM

FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017 Industry Employer of Choice Award and the KEAL Technology Award for Digital Innovation at the Insurance Business Awards 2016. Last year, our staff nearly doubled from 34 employees to 65, which means that we grew from a small business to a mediumsized business. We opened our second office exclusively for our customer support staff, also last year, and we purchased the space in Burlington, ON where our third office opened this February.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

5 SUREX DIRECT Headquarters: Magrath, AB Year founded: 2012 Total number of offices: 3 Number of employees: 65 Specialty: Auto, home and business insurance Head leadership: Lance Miller, co-founder & CEO and Matthew Alston, co-founder & COO Website: www.surexdirect.com

What makes your brokerage unique?

At Surex Direct, customers can get up to 10 offers on insurance, from competing companies, in five minutes. Our 100% transparent pricing model means the customer sees which company is willing to take on their business, and at what price. The personal broker assigned to that customer will then verify the price with the customer to make sure they’re getting all the discounts

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available to them. Customers can then sign their documents online, through e-signature, and have instant proof of insurance, and print their pink cards from home. The entire quote, review, purchase-to-active insurance process is done 100% online.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

Over the past two years, our revenue has gone up 304%. When we first started as a brokerage in 2012, we were only in Alberta for auto, home and business insurance. Now we’re in British Columbia (home and business), Saskatchewan (auto, home, business), Manitoba (auto, home, business), Nova Scotia (auto, home, business), Yukon (auto, home, business) and Northwest Territories (auto, home, business). In early February, we opened in Ontario (auto, home, business). Going from offering insurance in one province to offering insurance in six provinces and two territories has had a tremendous effect on our growth.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

In 2016, Canadian Business ranked us No. 30 on their Start-up 50 Canada list. We were also finalists for both the Insurance

Going from 34 to 65 colleagues in a year is a big jump for any company. Finding the right structure and way to scale the business and handle growth was a unique opportunity.

Certain aspects of the leadership structure needed to be changed, as well as coming up with training techniques and methods to on-board new colleagues.

What are your plans for 2017?

Opening in Canada’s largest market, Ontario, in February was an opportunity that excited us greatly. We want to create a larger footprint in the industry and know increased efforts in marketing and attention to detail – in all aspects of the business – will play an integral role in that. A large percentage of our revenue generated goes into our technology innovation and development. We will continue to work on new features and software improvements to strengthen our competitive advantage.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• Compensation model that allows us to hire motivated colleagues • Technology development and investing in innovation • Culture of urgency – presents opportunities and ensures that we are not stagnant • Strategic partnerships that help us scale the business • Long-term vision – we are just getting started; still plenty to achieve

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:46:45 AM

4

What are your brokerage’s top specialties?

Our top specialty areas are group home and auto insurance, personal lines home and auto insurance, commercial insurance and niche insurance products, such as online tenant insurance (www.ZipSure.ca) and 360-degree insurance programs for property owners and landlords (RealtyGuard).

What makes your brokerage unique?

We are the only national insurance broker in Canada that is family owned. Additionally, we are the only 100% Atlantic Canadian insurance broker providing services to clients in every Canadian province and territory. Also, we take pride in delivering products and services for a wide range of business clients, from craft sales to manufacturing plants, as well as a full range of personal insurance products.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

We’ve experienced great growth in our commercial insurance, group insurance and niche insurance programs, such as our online tenant insurance and programs designed for specific industries.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

AP REID INSURANCE Headquarters: Dartmouth, NS Year founded: 1980 Total number of offices: 11 Number of employees: 63 Head leadership: Jamie Reid, president and CEO Website: www.apreid.com

We’re proud to have begun a successful expansion in Ontario and Western Canada. In 2014, we acquired Robert C Davis Insurance brokerage in Ontario and, the following year, we purchased two group auto and home insurance portfolios and established an office in Edmonton, Alberta. In November 2016, we merged with Edmonton-based insurance brokerage Robinson Insurance Brokerage, and were able to expand our team in that area.

Now, we currently have client service centers located across Atlantic Canada and into Quebec and Ontario.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

We had a challenge related to personnel

resources. However, over the last two years, we’ve recruited and hired skilled employees who are contributing to the success of the brokerage, and helping us to take AP Reid to the next level.

We have set our sights on becoming a disruptor in the insurance community, and we plan to continue to introduce innovative products like ZipSure.ca. We also want to continue our national expansion plan that we started in 2014 What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

We have set our sights on becoming a disruptor in the insurance community, and we plan to continue to introduce innovative products like ZipSure.ca. We also want to continue our national expansion plan that we started in 2014, with more offices in Ontario and Western Canada. Finally, we want to continue the expansion of our group home and auto insurance programs.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• • • • •

Great leadership Dedicated employees Implementation of strategy Great customer service Continuous quality improvement

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017 open market placements. We were also one of the first in Ontario to develop captive insurance programs.

Our staff are required to obtain their CAIB, and many of them have CIP designations. We encourage them to pursue further education, and provide financial support for training and upgrading.

We also encourage our producers and staff to become specialists in their specific fields of business and try to not be a jack of all trades broker. We find that having specialists in a certain field can be a valuable resource for our clients.

3 IVES INSURANCE BROKERS Headquarters: Essex, ON Year founded: 1966 Total number of offices: 6 Number of employees: 62 Specialty: 70% commercial lines and 30% personal lines Head leadership: Jeff Ives, president Website: www.ivesinsurance.com

What makes your brokerage unique?

We are very specialized in our business segments and we have worked extremely hard to become the best at what we do.

We are Lloyd’s coverholders and have internal binding agreements as well as

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In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

We have seen significant growth in our specialty lines of business. This also includes our personal lines, where our personal lines employees are specialists in that market.

Our medium-to-large commercial sector is also seeing significant growth. However, we have seen the most amount of growth in our staff. Overall, the brokerage is seeing growth in all sectors.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

I think what has made us most proud is our ability to be agile in an industry that is rapidly changing – by remaining segmentfocused, going paperless, learning about new and exciting products, adding these coverages into our clients’ programs for their exposures, disregarding legacy issues that hold us back and staying ahead of the curve and, quite frankly, just managing to stay in business. These are not easy to achieve in an industry that is changing faster than we have ever seen in the past 30 years. Our staff are incredible and they not only buy into our systems, they create them and they run with them. It is difficult, yet very exciting and rewarding to be a part of all of this.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and

how did your team overcome them?

Last year was another year of rebuilding and realigning ourselves. This seems to be the same for the past few years. Everything changes so quickly – new computer systems, cyber cover, drones, driverless cars, paperless commercial files, constant downloading from our insurers, new competitors like Google, Lemonade, Microsoft and our insurers going direct. These are all challenges, yet we continue to grow and expand by finding ways to reinvent ourselves while addressing the needs of our clients.

Our team understands that our role is not to sell insurance; we are providers of important advice. As long as we can provide proper and correct advice to our insured and insurers, we will continue to survive and thrive in this industry as an integral advisor to our client base.

What has made us most proud is our ability to be agile in an industry that is rapidly changing What are your brokerage’s plans for 2017?

We are looking again at continued growth within our specific segments of business, and looking forward to creating new and exciting programs and opening new markets for our clients. We are enjoying expanding our coverage lines globally as our clients grow and our abilities and expertise expand.

2017 is going to be a great year!

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• • • • •

Incredible staff Ability to change Dismissing legacy issues Embracing technology Engaging with and listening to those around us

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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month continues to grow at an exceptionally rapid pace. We couldn’t do that without an awesome team. Our team has gone from nine people in April, 2015 to 32, and will continue to grow significantly in 2017. But we don’t just grow for the sake of growing; we pride ourselves on choosing team members extremely carefully, and have been able to build a family of employees. Industry recognitions, such as Innovator of the Year and Technology Leader from CSIO, and various other awards and accolades that we’ve received, serve as a very cool pat on the back for the hard work and many hours that our team puts into the company every day.

2 MITCHELL & WHALE INSURANCE BROKERS Headquarters: Whitby, ON Year founded: 1948 Total number of offices: 1 Number of employees: 32 Specialty: Personal lines Head leadership: Adam Mitchell Website: www.mitchellwhale.com

What makes your brokerage unique?

Our focus is in personal lines insurance, however we’re not your average personal lines brokerage. We specialize in using digital technology to grow our book organically and provide our clients with a digital experience they might get with a direct writer, but with the options and benefits of using a broker.

Our innovated business model mandates us to always be thinking outside the box and to challenge what has traditionally been done, with the goal of not just being the best

in the insurance space, but the best in class to any other business. We endeavour to always stay on top of the latest technologies, not just within the insurance space, and apply them to our business processes whenever possible.

In addition to technology, we place huge value on the importance of our culture and building a cohesive and winning team.

We work to ensure that all employees are given a chance to be heard, feel valued and grow in our fast-paced and constantly evolving environment.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

We’ve experience organic growth in our personal lines. We work tirelessly and meticulously to scrutinize every aspect of the sales process, from lead generation, to making the sale and completing documents.

By doing this, we’ve lowered our acquisition to less than 25% of the industry standard, increased closing ratios to three times the industry average and provided our clients with a seamless digital buying experience.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

Our growth and our team! Our brokerage grew by 66% in 2016 and month-over-

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

Retention was our biggest challenge in 2016; toward the end of the year we experienced some difficulties in this area. Our sales team had grown the book exponentially in a very short time, and our corresponding service team found itself struggling to keep up the pace. With a renewed focus on retention, the implementation of improved workflows, tools and some high-level coaching on customer service, we’ve already seen an 11% improvement to our retention, and we only see this number continuing upwards.

What are your plans for 2017?

Continued growth in all areas, with a particular focus on customer-facing technology. A large area of investment will be in our in-house software development team, in order to revolutionize the online purchasing experience, also continued relationship with our customers. We strive to provide the best customer experience, not only in insurance, but the best customer experience in any industry.

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

• Culture • Self-scrutiny • Adaptability • Diligence • Perseverance

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FEATURES

COVER STORY: TOP BROKERAGES 2017

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1 DALTON TIMMIS INSURANCE GROUP Headquarters: Ancaster, ON Year founded: 1941 Total number of offices: 6 Number of employees: 160 Head leadership: Greg Padovani, Brian Timmis and Domenic Tesone Website: www.daltontimmis.com

What are your brokerage’s top specialties?

At Dalton Timmis Insurance Group, longhaul trucking and motorcycle insurance are two areas that we specialize in. However, we have three major divisions at our brokerage: personal lines, commercial lines and transportation.

What makes your brokerage unique?

Our ability to innovate products and be on the leading edge of the industry in respect to technology, marketing and branding helps us

42

stand out above the rest.

In what areas of business has your brokerage experienced recent growth?

We have experienced growth in all of our divisions. Specifically in 2016, we experienced a 10% increase in growth overall, bringing us to $167m in GWP.

What has been a proud accomplishment for your brokerage and why?

was converting our Broker Management System from Applied TAM to Applied EPIC. It was a major project that had the potential to be a major disruption to the business during the process. We overcame the challenge by including all employees in the process, and setting up an in-house training centre, adding prizes and incentives to promote ideas and input for better solutions.

We completed the conversion in seven months, as opposed to the standard 12 months recommended by Applied. In the end, Applied referred to Dalton Timmis as one of their success stories.

Winning Brokerage of the Year from the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario was a great accomplishment for our brokerage. It brought together all of the efforts we have put into the company over the last several years.

Also, raising $250,000 for the Ronald McDonald House to build a serenity garden was a huge accomplishment for us. Our staff and management team worked together to raise these funds over a one-year period. The garden gives families staying at the house an outside area in which to escape the stresses that they are experiencing and enjoy a quiet retreat.

We have a comprehensive plan for 2017. Some of these plans include seeking out new acquisition opportunities, seeking out new talent in both production and service, relocating one of our offices, enhancing our digital platform and, of course, achieving double-digit growth as we have done for each and every year over the past 20 years.

What challenges did your brokerage experience last year and how did your team overcome them?

• Employee strength • Branding • Leading-edge technology • Innovative products • Strategic planning and thinking

One of our major challenges we faced in 2016

What are your plans for 2017?

What five factors have contributed to your brokerage’s success?

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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IBC 5

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www.insurancebusiness.ca 43

8/02/2017 5:21:56 AM 9/02/2017 4:47:11 AM

FEATURES

BROKERAGE INSIGHT

Far from the Munn-dane Managing partners, CJ and Adam Nolan share how Munn Insurance’s focus on customers and people has helped them grow in a challenging market

IBC: Munn Insurance has been around for over a century. Tell us how your brokerage got its start: Adam Nolan: Munn Insurance started in the early 1900s. At the time, many local merchants supported the fishing industry. We were one of those merchants specializing in cod liver oil.

We got our start in insurance by handling our own insurance needs – so we were our very first customers! We demanded value and as an insurance provider, we delivered. We soon started offering insurance to others. Our customer focus became part of our DNA and continues to guide the business to this day.

Today, we are one of Newfoundland’s largest independent insurance brokers, with about 100 employees across six offices, providing expert advice and services to over 30,000 customers.

IBC: What does your brokerage do to support the wellness of employees?

CJ Nolan: We have done a lot to establish a culture where health and wellness are promoted and encouraged. By fostering an environment where employees, and their families can thrive, we drive a more collaborative and engaging culture. So, we invest heavily in employee wellness. We provide the very best benefits program, which

44

includes a gym membership, and we organize family events that are related to active living, from softball tournaments to rock climbing.

Last year, we sponsored an employee instantiated Weight Watchers program in which 20 people collectively lost over 800 lbs.!

We also sponsor an annual 20k race called the Cape to Cabot, and encourage involvement from our employees.

IBC: How does Munn Insurance keep up a competitive advantage?

AN: In 2016, we created our five-year strategic plan called our 2020 Vision. It was a very collaborative and open process with our customers and employees. It was this planning that guided our top priorities of Customer-People-Results. As a result, we are focused on delivering for our customers, our people and then, and only then, driving results. We invested heavily into IT to add value for our customers, such as launching a

new digital experience and online quote capabilities. Munn also handles all underwriting and claims in-house for our personal lines book with Aviva, which gives us a unique advantage for our customers.

IBC: In what ways are you involved in the community?

AN: We have always been active in our community, and giving back to the communities in which we live and work. We are active in health care and the children’s hospital where we are major sponsors. We are big supporters of the Ronald McDonald House, the Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, and we sponsor events such as the Mount Pearl Frosty Festival and the Royal St John’s Regatta. Munn also sponsors the Future Goals Scholarship aimed at assisting youth associated with Mount Pearl Soccer with two $2,500 scholarship each year.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Munn Insurance has partnered with Gallup, a research-based, global performance-management consulting company, to measure employee engagement and develop a baseline to track progress. Resulting in a 98% survey response rate from employees, Munn plans to analyze the results and develop action plans around driving employee engagement. “We want to make this great place even better,” says CJ Nolan.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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MUNN INSURANCE FAST FACTS INSURANCE OFFERINGS Auto Home Leisure Business Affinity group

Head office: St John’s, NL Number of branches: 6 Number of employees: 100 approx Year founded: Founded in the early 1900s; incorporated in 1949

“We don’t wait for stuff to impact us. We get a head of it with a smart, well-reasoned strategic plan and execute it” IBC: How has Munn Insurance overcome recent challenges?

CN: We are strategic and forward thinking, so we don’t wait for stuff to happen – we anticipate and plan. We have a strategic plan that sets our course and points us in the right direction. For example, we see the impacts of big data and how all things internet are changing insurance. Munn has done a great job at being agile and staying ahead. We hire experts, people that understand this new

world, and we have partnered with leading businesses that know the digital world very well. We don’t wait for stuff to impact us. We get a head of it with a smart, well-reasoned strategic plan and execute it.

IBC: What are your goals for 2017?

CN: Our priorities are Customer-People-Results, so we are looking to continue to add value for our customers by delivering world-class service, and enhance the strong culture and employee

Executive leadership: John Nolan, president; CJ Nolan, VP of customer care and growth and Adam Nolan, VP of operational performance engagement at Munn so that our people are proud and love it here. And with those two priorities looked after, we want to drive the business results. Our strategic plan helps us reach those results. We are just moving into the second year of our plan, having outperformed our year-one targets. Last year, we focused on strengthening our foundation and 2017 is about testing and learning as we launch several new and exciting initiatives, while making incremental improvements along the way. With this, we are expecting our profitable growth plan to accelerate and we are all really excited for what 2017 has to bring.

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FEATURES

STRATEGY

How to be a better negotiator Contrary to what you might think, negotiation is not about winning at all costs. Josh Masters explains that if you approach negotiation as a process where all parties achieve the best outcome, you may well find that you achieve more success in your dealings with others

THE ART of negotiation is one that is truly underestimated in the corporate and small business world – many professionals fixate on playing either good cop or bad cop when it comes to sealing a deal. This turns what is actually a science into a gambling game where the high stakes don’t always pay.

The basic premise of negotiation is to work together with another party to achieve an outcome that works for you both. Rather than come from a traditional stance, where there’s a winner and a loser, it’s best to think flexibly.

In closing hundreds of deals throughout my career as a professional property buyer, I’ve learned a number of techniques to master negotiation that will have you getting what you need without damaging any relationships along the way.

46

Create a third position It’s important to remember that a negotiation is an exchange of energy. Place two people face to face, and they will feel confronted.

Pride, stubbornness and ego can get in the way because each person feels they’re being threatened personally.

Creating a third position, where both people turn to face the problem, diverts the intense energy of each person away from confrontation and focuses their attention on solving the issue. Separating the problem from the person avoids any personality clashes and reduces the chance of offending the other person. Rather than reacting harshly to the other party not wanting to budge from their original offer because they’re stubborn and unreasonable, you can instead focus

attention on the problem. Take personality out of the equation and focus on finding a solution, rather than becoming defensive and equally unreasonable.

Look for the why Most people will make a decision based on reason. Finding out what that reason is can be an invaluable strategy, as it gives you the opportunity to create a solution, often in return for what you want. For example, if a colleague has asked for a three-month extended vacation during the business’ busiest time, you can negotiate on whether they can work remotely via email during some of this period.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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Jeff Somerville, President of Strategic Underwriting Managers Inc. (SUM) is pleased to announce that Christina Roach has joined the Company as Senior Underwriter in our Toronto office.

Prior to joining SUM, Christina worked for a major specialty carrier in their casualty department. She brings over 15 years of CGL and Umbrella underwriting experience to our growing Primary Liability practice which includes General Liability, Security & Protection and Lifescience products.

Avoid getting personal No one likes to be attacked personally. Even when you’re negotiating through a third party, you have to assume that this third party may communicate your every word to the person you are trying to settle a deal with. So keep it polite and remember that you’re trying to get them to cooperate.

Playing the blame game or reacting negatively will work against your goals. Even when something doesn’t go your way, stay calm and be respectful, and remember that you may lose in the short term, but as long as your eye is on the prize, your long-term goals should come to fruition.

You also need to avoid thinking the worst

of the other party. For example, just because they request that you make an upfront payment before receiving the goods does not mean that they’re going to steal your money. This can be difficult, as you don’t necessarily know the background of the person you’re dealing with in a negotiation.

However, assuming the worst of the other person will rarely be productive – and remember, they may actually be thinking the same about you!

SUM Insurance is an independent and 100% Canadian Managing General Agent. Serving Canada coast to coast with offices in Toronto and Montreal, SUM Insurance works collaboratively with first class insurers and reinsurers to design, underwrite and deliver commercial insurance products to its customers - insurance brokers.

For information about SUM and to reach Christina, please see:

www.suminsurance.ca

Be flexible The more flexible you can be toward the other party, the more likely they will be willing to give you what you want.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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FEATURES

STRATEGY

If you can decide what you want before you go into the negotiation, such as your best offer and what terms you can and can’t waver on, you often can give the other party what they want without having to sacrifice your position.

Think of the other person At the end of the day, a negotiation, however brief, is a relationship. If you fail to consider the other person’s feelings or what they want, then it is unlikely you will have much success.

Use silence One of the most effective ways to negotiate is to stay quiet. This may not be appropriate in situations where there are five other parties all trying to win over your potential customer, but it can be invaluable when the other party is poised on a favorable outcome.

When you remain silent, you automatically get the ball in your court, so to speak, which leaves you with the power to make the next call. In the meantime, the other party waits in anticipation, hoping they may achieve

“Creating a third position, where both people turn to face the problem, diverts the intense energy of each person away from confrontation and focuses their attention on solving the issue” If they are resolute about particular terms of the negotiation, it can be beneficial to withhold your judgment and put yourself in their shoes. Is there a reason why they’re being so firm? Is there something important to them that you haven’t considered? After all, you might very well do the same thing if you were in their position.

Having some empathy for the other person will often ease the pressure in a negotiation – enough to get them across the line on the other things that are important to you.

Using ‘if’ One of the secrets to a successful negotiation is to never give anything up without asking for something in return, even if it’s small.

Using ‘if ’ through your negotiation is a good way to handle this.

If I give you … then I would like …

I’m happy to give you … if …

If you can … then I’d be more than happy to ...

48

their outcome. This can create the impression for the other party that the negotiation process may soon end with a good result and they can walk away happy. When you do come back to the table with a counter offer, their anticipation of closing the deal immediately will make the seller more willing to sacrifice items that they may have fought hard to get earlier, all because they’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

Silence can be useful for difficult negotiations, as it can give the time needed for both parties to cool off. Sitting back can give you the perspective you need to get a better understanding of the situation and provide you with a long-term view.

If you feel you’re approaching a level of information that you think you should be charging for, it can be handy to say things like: “Call me if you would like to work together on something,” or “This is the sort of information I often provide to my client base.” This way, you’re being clear on your expectations for the future without severing the lines of communication altogether.

Strike a pose While most of us have come across an overbearing tyrant trying to win power by force, an equally destructive force can be approaching a negotiation lacking confidence and presence.

Harvard’s Amy Cuddy has a wonderful presentation on conveying presence in front of peers, which shows that it can be as simple as the way you hold your posture before you enter the room.

Two minutes with your head up, shoulders back and hands on hips can really provide the confidence you need to stand your ground and muster the courage to ask for what you want.

T he big ges t misunders tanding surrounding the art of negotiation is in its actual definition.

It’s important to remember that negotiation is not used to get the best deal possible or get the most out of someone for the least amount of budget; it’s about coming to the most positive outcome for all parties involved.

The origin of the word negotiation comes from the Latin term negotiates, meaning “to carry on business”, and with the right techniques, you will carry on closing deals, securing clients and building relationships.

Avoid any confusion Sometimes it can be difficult to draw the line between offering help and asking for business, especially with people with whom you have developed a relationship within a casual setting.

Josh Masters is one of Australia’s most respected buyer’s agents and has more than 15 years’ experience. He is the author of a new book and investment guide, Why Property Why Now.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:46:30 AM

FEATURES

MARKETING

The key to creating shareable social media videos Your social media video doesn’t have to include babies, celebrities or dancing in order to become immensely popular, according to Marcus Seeger. Read on to find out how to lift your social media presence to greater heights SOCIAL MEDIA has grown rapidly over the last decade and, more recently, there has been a big growth in social media video. YouTube is the leading social media video platform, but now Facebook has stepped up to compete, along with others such as Vine and Instagram.

Social media videos are typically shared across a single platform, but recent statistics from YouTube reveal that 700 YouTube video links are shared on Twitter every minute, and that 500 years of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day. This demonstrates the increasingly highly shareable nature of social media video across different platforms.

There are many reasons why someone will elect to hit share, rather than simply like or comment on the video. They might want to be the first to share and be seen as having their finger on the pulse, or perhaps gain kudos by association, or maybe their sharing is coming from an altruistic perspective.

Almost half of video shares occur in the first three days after the video is posted, so it’s critical to promote newly published videos as much as possible in those all-important early days. As Seth Godin says, you need to get early adopters actively campaigning on your behalf to get the ball rolling.

When planning your content, it is useful to look at audience profiling to determine what elements are most likely to result in the video being shared. What are your audience’s preferences: do they like funny, cute or

50

inspiring? Much also depends on who your audience is sharing the video with. Who is in their network? What interests do they share?

Can you somehow tap into the zeitgeist?

One element popular videos have in common is that they hit emotions very hard. It’s not enough for a funny video to make you smile – you need to be laughing loudly before you even think about sharing it.

Think about the videos you share on social media, and ask yourself why you shared them.

This will help you gain insight into your own experiences, and that knowledge can help you identify triggers in others.

Here are five key strategies for creating popular shareable social media videos.

1

Educate your audience

The how-to genre is often overlooked, but it offers significant opportunities to create popular shareable content. Typical how-to videos are not hard to create and can offer a solid ROI, particularly if you focus on a topic that’s in high demand. The life hack sub-genre is a good example of a successful how-to niche.

A proven approach is to share significant insight and provide truly valuable content, as this is more likely to be shared. If you are concerned about protecting what you know, you must move on from this mindset and share some of your most valuable content if you are looking to create a popular video. By sharing your insider knowledge, you have a

good chance of standing out from the crowd.

2

Go for entertainment value

3

Engage with a story

Video that entertains will, in most markets, have a higher chance of being shared.

Can you think of a funny angle on your industry, or perhaps a clever parody or spoof that can be turned into a video? While these types of videos will have more of a hit-or-miss success rate, if they work, then they typically do very well.

But be prepared for an epic fail if it all turns pear-shaped. Can your business (and your ego) handle this?

Storytelling is powerful because it’s built into our DNA: early mankind used to communicate knowledge through storytelling.

Today’s digital campfire hasn’t changed all that much, and videos with strong narratives are predisposed to being shared.

Is there an element of your business or product that has a strong story behind it that would engage your audience enough to make them tell the world?

Keep in mind that the key to a good story is to be authentic. Don’t pretend that the story is something that it’s not. Online audiences are media-savvy and will notice if your story is a fake. And remember to make your story entertaining, so put some thought into your script. Your audience will appreciate it, and you’ll benefit from the results.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:46:50 AM

Jeff Somerville, President of Strategic Underwriting Managers Inc. (SUM) is pleased to announce that Sandra Lefebvre has joined the Company as Senior Undewriter in our Toronto office.

4

Be crystal clear on outcomes

Don’t be daunted when you see videos with millions of views or thousands of shares; instead, be inspired. You must have courage, because until you publish your video, you will not know how it will be received.

It’s important to set goals and determine how to measure ROI. You will need to set your own standards to measure the success of your video. For a small business start-up, just 100 shares might well offer unmeasurable business opportunities. What does success look like for your video?

5

Be remarkable

A video that stands out by going against the grain of audience expectations is often a recipe for success. The 2014 #likeagirl campaign from Always is a good example of developing a theme in a direction that is not immediately predictable. It also picks up on strategies 2, 3 and 4 outlined above. (Watch it at youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs.)

If you want people to share your video, it must be unique. Same-old, same-old content quickly gets stale and won’t be shared.

Creating shareable social videos is perhaps more challenging today, as there is an avalanche of content. We are experiencing content shock, which is why Facebook filters out content and serves only what is most likely to be of interest to us.

Your challenge is to create original, authentic, entertaining videos that inspire your audience to hit the magical share button.

It’s a challenge worth aspiring to, as the benefits of a popular social media video that is highly shareable can ultimately be extremely profitable.

Marcus Seeger is the author of Amazon’s No.1 bestselling Video Marketing for Profit: 14 Proven Strategies for Accelerated Business Growth. He is also the managing director of the video marketing and production agency Video Experts.

Prior to joining SUM Sandra worked in professional liability for a global carrier and major Canadian insurance company.

She brings more than 10 years to our growing Professional Liability practice which includes A&E, Medical Malpractice, Misc. E&O and Directors & Officers products.

SUM Insurance is an independent and 100% Canadian Managing General Agent. Serving Canada coast to coast with offices in Toronto and Montreal, SUM Insurance works collaboratively with first class insurers and reinsurers to design, underwrite and deliver commercial insurance products to its customers - insurance brokers.

For information about SUM and to reach Sandra, please see:

www.suminsurance.ca

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:46:56 AM

FEATURES

FEEDBACK

Feedback is broken Providing feedback is vital to improving performance, yet many people receive it – and deliver it – poorly. Georgia Murch explains how to create a culture of feedback that is beneficial to the employee and the company as a whole

MOST ORGANIZATIONS and individuals understand the value and power of giving and receiving feedback. We are aware that it builds trust and respect between our employees, customers and stakeholders. We know that great conversations lead to better outcomes and therefore productivity and profit. So we send our people to a training program in the hope that they will come back a changed person. Yet we find that our people – and, if we are honest, ourselves – still avoid feedback or handle it poorly.

The history of feedback The concept of ‘performance management’ was introduced about 60 years ago as a means

52

to determine the wages of an employee based on their performance. It was used to drive behaviours to generate specific outcomes.

When employees were solely driven by financial rewards, this tended to work well.

In the late 1980s, not all employees felt rewarded, or motivated by financial gain alone; many were driven by learning and the development of their skills. From here, performance management started moving into more frequent monitoring and reviews, with a focus on regular feedback outside the formal review process.

As organizations put more regular conversations into the mix, there was a notable improvement in productivity and employee

engagement when the conversations were handled well. In fact, the Corporate Leadership Council tells us that when informal feedback is delivered well, it can improve productivity by nearly 40%. Now that’s pretty compelling.

We are now seeing an emerging trend in high-performing organizations, in which all employees, not just the leaders, are being taught how to give great feedback and also how to receive feedback with equal candour and grace. Organizations that do this are in their ‘feedback flow.’

But there are far too few that are gaining this as their competitive edge. Many are still running training programs in isolation in the hope that it will develop their people and create a new organization, which is as likely as going to the gym once and expecting a body transformation. When done well, it is a start – and a good one – but just a start nevertheless.

Nelson Jackson was onto it when he said, “I do not believe you can do today’s job with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow.”

So, why aren’t all organizations focusing on improving the feedback skills of their people?

In a challenging economy, it’s getting harder to justify training without proving the value, both to the individual and the organization. This is not as difficult as you might think, but it does require planning up front to understand what you want to improve and how to measure it.

Another challenge can be getting traction after the training. It can be difficult to keep the momentum up when people are either not motivated or not supported to embed what they have learned. Unless we make people accountable for implementing what they have learned, it is likely to be forgotten. We also need to make it inspiring to do so. We want people to know they are gaining time, not wasting it, by focusing on improving.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:47:14 AM

We need to get comfortable with pushing through the awkwardness of changing habits and processes to move to a breakthrough in the capability of people and to create improved cultures. Otherwise we have a breakdown and go back to old styles, which often don’t serve us or the business. Many of my clients tell me they understand the need to push through the awkwardness, but are not quite sure how to do this. If we want the change to be sustainable and improve over time, then we should consider all the elements for creating a remarkable feedback culture. The following is a high-level guide that takes all of those elements into account.

STEPS TO CREATING A SUSTAINABLE CULTURE breakthrough

awkward Return on investment

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ire Rew

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rhymes’ so people can easily recall what they learned and put this into place.

STEP 1 Plan This phase is about setting the foundations for a successful rollout. What are the objectives?

How do we know the program will address what we need? How can this be measured?

Consider qualitative and quantitative measurements. What is the communication strategy?

Who are the key stakeholders? Consider pilot programs to test the design.

STEP 5 Rewire We need to understand what’s working and what’s not and then tweak the implementation and change direction if required. There is no point pushing something that is not at its optimum. In particular, we can do an ‘appreciate inquiry’ to understand what’s working well and amplify it across the business.

STEP 2 Learn

STEP 6 Sustain

For the training component to be successful, you need more than just great design. Hire remarkable facilitators and trainers. Make sure they suit your culture. Consider what methods outside the workshop you have to embed, such as coaching, mentoring, online tools, etc. Make the learning highly engaging and heavily pragmatic.

We shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking we’ve made it and then drop all of our good work. While sustaining suggests a holding pattern, it still requires careful planning to keep people motivated and supported.

STEP 3 Do It’s make or break time. Set up systems and processes in which people are accountable for delivering on what they have learned. In my space, it is about having the tough conversations. Create lots of space, in and out of the initial training, for practice. Create the right conditions, and this will help people move from awkward to an outcome. If we don’t, then the return on investment is lost.

STEP 4 Review Too many times, we implement without measurement. Based on the foundations we set in the planning phase, we should consistently measure progress, then report back to engage people and the business. We can also set up ‘remembering

If we want to create cultures of feedback, we need to put in place a program to embed the learning. Too often organizations miss this opportunity to improve their ROI after the initial training, then wonder why people are not being the change they are looking for.

Changing habits does not happen overnight. It is a planned and considered approach, and not as complicated as we think.

When we get clever about how to embed the learning, the change becomes effortless and the culture is able to self-sustain.

Georgia Murch is an expert in teaching individuals how to have tough conversations and create feedback cultures in organizations.

She is the author of Fixing Feedback and a highly engaging speaker. Visit www.georgiamurch.com or email georgia@georgiamurch.com.

Jeff Somerville, President of Strategic Underwriting Managers Inc. (SUM) is pleased to announce that Mary Maclaren has joined the Company as Senior Undewriter in our Toronto office.

Mary brings 38 years of industry experience, 33 in specialty lines, with an international carrier, to our growing Primary Liability practice which includes General Liability, Security & Protection and Lifescience products.

SUM Insurance is an independent and 100% Canadian Managing General Agent. Serving Canada coast to coast with offices in Toronto and Montreal, SUM Insurance works collaboratively with first class insurers and reinsurers to design, underwrite and deliver commercial insurance products to its customers - insurance brokers.

For information about SUM and to reach Mary, please see:

www.suminsurance.ca

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:47:18 AM

PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

SEIZE THE DAY

Martin Thompson knows that when opportunities appear, you either grab them with both hands or run away and live to regret it When recent UK graduate Martin responded to an ad for a claims handler job, he thought he’d only be doing it for six months. However, this initial position led to him joining the company’s graduate program, moving home and switching to underwriting, which he found he loved.

“I remember the first piece of business [I ever wrote] was for a fish and chip shop for £500; that was a fabulous feeling.”

1997 SEES A FATEFUL AD

2003

GETS FIRST NATIONAL POSITION Ever ambitious, Martin set his mind on acquiring the skills he needed to propel him to the next level early – a plan that landed him his first national role in his late 20s.

“Every new role, I thought about what I was going to learn, what new skill, what would equip me for the next role, and the next, and the next. I achieved my management group objective by age 27.”

2000 LEAVES HIS GRADUATE PROGRAM Martin felt his graduate program wasn’t accelerating his development, so he moved to managing brokers, a role that covered the whole of England and Wales. But after realizing that he was spending more time driving than working, and yearning to get back to underwriting, Martin relocated to London, where RSA was in the throes of creating a new underwriting team.

2008 MOVES TO CANADA Having built a reputation in the business as someone with talent, Martin was tapped by RSA to migrate to Canada to take the position of director of commercial insurance.

“All of a sudden, I had my eyes opened to the potential and possibilities [of Canada].

I was eager to bring my perspectives from my time working overseas to better our business in Canada.”

2010 EMBARKS FOR SCANDINAVIA Despite enjoying life in Canada, Martin was lured to join RSA’s Scandinavian operations as director of underwriting and risk.

“I was going to get a chance to see the whole business and how it works together, see all the different aspects of the business – it was one of the best things I ever did” 2016 BECOMES PRESIDENT AND CEO Given the chance to take the role on an interim basis, Martin stepped into the position of president and CEO this summer; a permanent appointment followed in the fall.

“We have to become more customer oriented and customer driven. Expectations are changing with technology and advances in analytics; internally, we want to become more collaborative. We’re looking at those two dimensions now and setting a high bar for the service we provide brokers.”

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2013

MOVES BACK TO CANADA When the opportunity arose to return to the Great White North to take up the job of SVP of global speciality lines, Martin jumped at it.

“RSA went through its difficult spell two months later, and we were plunged into crisis mode, but I think having to go through that taught me a lot about leadership, about leading people through adversity. I feel like I led the commercial business productively through that period.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 3:47:49 AM

PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

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

UP IN THE AIR When she’s not working as an associate insurance advisor, Claire Tannett can be found high above it all A PROFESSIONAL ice skater who at one time had Olympic aspirations, The Co-operators’ Claire Tannett started training as an aerialist three years ago after the retirement of her ice dancing partner, with whom she toured Europe and Africa for a year as part of a large ice show. A fateful video on YouTube led to lessons, the discovery of a natural aptitude and, before too long, work with a touring company, performing an act that combines her work as an aerialist with her skills as an ice skater.

A special rigging allows Claire to be lifted off the ice – skates and all – to perform a routine on various apparatuses: the Spanish web, the hoop, silks and trapeze. Since the tour wrapped up, Claire has taken her act off the ice, doing performances at such venues as Calgary’s Science Centre and Mount Royal University.

But what Claire really enjoys about her work as an aerialist is the challenge of an activity that demands more from her physically than even ice skating did.

“Everything about skating is easy,” she says. “I’m used to it; aerials are completely different. It’s very challenging.

You’re very high up – there’s just no room for error.”

200

shows in which Claire has performed her ice-aerialist routine

100

number of tricks Claire can perform as an aerialist

5,000

hours Claire has spent studying, practising or performing

Photo credit: Paulina Ochoa

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FEATURES

EXPERT ADVICE will know what coverage to purchase for their unit.

What’s in a name?

How does the condo corporation define a unit? This is important to know, as it will help your client determine what type of coverage they’re responsible for. Knowing this before they purchase can help your client determine if they need any additional coverage.

2

Special assessments Has there ever been a special assessment levied against the owners of the condominium complex? Special assessments are sometimes levied against all unit owners to cover the cost of unexpected damage or shortfalls in the reserve fund. Knowing if a special assessment has been charged in the past, and why, may give insight into the health of the reserve fund, the competence of the corporation and/or board, the general condition of the building and, potentially, give one an idea of the likelihood of another special assessment in the future.

3

Before your clients buy Amy Graham, property leader at RSA, gives tips that you can share with clients who are about to purchase a condominium CONDO OWNERSHIP is on the rise (see RSA’s infographic on page 24 for more details).

As a broker, you play a very important role in a major purchase in your client’s life. A broker’s role in their client’s purchase of a condominium is as a trusted insurance advisor, and is similar to how their client would view their salesperson and their lawyer.

As many new condo owners are entering the housing market as first-time buyers, it’s important to help them understand how much protection they will need.

For first-time buyers, they need to consider asking questions that will help them prepare for a worst-case scenario – a mindset that might be lost during the excitement of buying a property. There may also be a misconception that condo owners are covered by the corporation policy. Below are five tips for your soon-to-be-condo-owner clients to ask their real estate salesperson, lawyer or property manager before they purchase their unit.

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Is this my responsibility or my corporation’s?

It is important to refer to the condo bylaws and the corporation’s master policy, to confirm what coverage the unit owner needs to have in order to cover their unit. Most of the time, the master policy will cover the building structure, including the walls, floor, roof system, windows, doors, electrical, plumbing, landscaping, parking lots or garages, etc. This means, in most cases, the unit owner’s policy will need to cover their personal property, and any upgrades they have made to their unit, such as new flooring, paint, cabinetry, etc.

However, a corporation might decide that doors and windows are the responsibility of the unit owner. There are variations to how improvements and betterments are covered as well. The best thing for a prospective buyer to do is to read the bylaws and the master policy carefully. By understanding what is covered under the master policy, the buyer

1

Deductibles An awareness of the amount of the corporation’s master policy deductible is important, bearing in mind the amount might differ based on the type of loss. It is not uncommon, for example, for there to be a higher deductible for water damage claims than for other types of loss. One should also be mindful of when the unit owner is responsible for paying the deductible, and if the unit owner’s insurance policy will cover this loss, to what amount and under what circumstances.

4

Know your responsibilities It’s important for a condo owner to be aware of their responsibilities as a unit owner per the condo bylaws. Understanding when a unit owner will be held liable for damage they cause, or damage originating from their unit, will help in determining what insurance they need.

5

RSA offers a number of products for condominium owners, whether they occupy their units or rent them out. For more information, visit www.rsabroker.ca/ rsa-products/personal/condo-insurance.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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9/02/2017 4:44:44 AM

JUNE 6, 2017 | TORONTO CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

INSPIRING TALKS, REAL SOLUTIONS

CHRIS HADFIELD DAVID SUZUKI JIM CARROLL

A Landmark Event for Our Industry Fast Forward is an exclusive full-day forum to give our broker partners a forward look at the challenges of our rapidly changing industry. Astronaut Chris Hadfield, environmentalist David Suzuki and futurist Jim Carroll will share the stage with Gore Mutual to discuss issues such as climate change, disruptive technologies and economic uncertainty. Learn, explore and leave with real solutions to help you succeed.

FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT YOUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OR VISIT GOREMUTUAL.CA/FASTFORWARD

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