FEATURES
COVER STORY: ELITE BROKERS SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT ON A FEW OF THIS YEAR’S ELITE BROKERS
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BROCK LONGWORTH
THOMAS WATSON
LUKE HORCICA
Operations manager
Vice president
Principal
Cornerstone Insurance Services
Guardsman Insurance Services
Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers
Brock Longworth started in the insurance industry aged 15, wrote the CAIB 1 at 16 and got a level 1 licence a year later, and has moved up the ranks ever since. Recently, he’s taken on the role of operations manager for commercial and personal lines. He also spent some time developing an online platform for selling personal and commercial insurance. “It was a lot of work to get it in place, but that is probably my biggest, most exciting accomplishment,” he says. For Longworth, the key to his growth is his brokerage’s customer experience strategy: “At the end of the day, we want every interaction with every client to be worthy of a referral.” In his new role, he is looking forward to spreading the success through his brokerage.
When he’s not volunteering, Thomas Watson is dedicated to looking after his clients. A thirdgeneration insurance broker, he purchased Guardsman Insurance Services from his grandfather in 2013 and now serves as the brokerage’s vice president. He’s also an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, a lieutenant in the Navy. At his brokerage, he prides himself on finding creative, individualized solutions to his clients’ needs. Watson says a defining characteristic of an elite broker is dedication: “Dedication to your clients, co-workers and companies.” As for the secret of his success, he says it’s simple: “Insurance is fast-paced. It’s only by staying proactive that you can deliver the peace of mind your clients expect.”
Hoping to be “the one to call” when it comes to his insurance specialty, Luke Horcica learns his clients’ businesses inside and out in order to build a strong partnership. Arriving at Lloyd Sadd in 2000, he quickly found his niche: hospitality, construction and real estate/ property management. “A broker today can’t be everything to everybody – we need to be sector specialists … clients should be confident their broker is bringing advice/ solutions for trends and emerging risk specific to their industry,” he says. Despite a challenging market in 2016, it didn’t slow down his business. “2016 gave me the chance to learn more about my clients’ businesses. Despite the economic slowdown, I was the busiest I remember,” he says.
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31/05/2017 6:01:22 AM