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YOUNG GUNS 35 of the Canadian insurance industry’s most promising young superstars
THE SHIFTING SANDS OF INSURTECH Carriers have gone from battling insurtechs to embracing them
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THE WINNERS’ CIRCLE
A behind-the-scenes look at the Insurance Business Canada Awards
SMALL TOWNS, BIG REACH How one brokerage found its niche in small-town Ontario
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ISSUE 7.01
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CONTENTS
24
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UPFRONT 04 Editorial
It’s time for brokers to get back to basics
06 Statistics
FEATURES
40
THRIVING IN SMALL TOWNS
Kelly McKinney explains how McDougall Insurance has found 73 years of success by focusing on small communities
Companies agree that political risk is increasing – so why aren’t they insuring themselves against it?
08 Head to head
What challenges are in store for the industry in 2019?
10 News analysis
The insurance industry has woken up to the value of insurtechs
12 Intelligence
This month’s big movers, shakers and new products
14 MGA update
The recipe for a successful MGAinsurer partnership
16 Technology update SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
Move over, baby boomers – these 35 young professionals are quickly climbing to the top of Canada’s insurance industry FEATURES PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
Christopher Croft, head of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association, discusses the modern challenges facing the world’s oldest insurance market
20 2
42 40
WINNERS REVEALED
Find out who won big at this year’s Insurance Business Canada Awards
Which tech innovations are best suited to insurance brokerages?
18 Opinion
Narrowing your clientele can help you increase your bottom line
PEOPLE 70 Career path
From law school to London, Matt Shulman has always relied on his leadership skills
71 Other life
Say “I do” with broker and wedding celebrant Audra Jacombs
66
FEATURES 72 Expert advice
How brokers can get a handle on the ever-changing construction industry
FEATURES
HOW TO GIVE FEEDBACK EFFECTIVELY
Five steps to delivering criticism that’s well-received
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UPFRONT
EDITORIAL
Brokers’ biggest challenge in 2019
T
he insurance industry has been dominated by a handful of themes over the last few years: updating legacy technology to meet client demand for round-the-clock service, finding new talent to replace rapidly retiring employees and genuinely embracing a diverse workforce that clients can relate to. Alongside those key challenges have been regulatory changes and a push for transparency. But amid it all, have we lost track of what was once the raison d’etre of a broker’s service: choice? Where to place a risk is one of the vital elements of a broker’s business proposition – they bring expertise to the table to help clients with unique needs, especially if that client’s risk doesn’t fit the appetite of a traditional insurer. In this regard, brokers have the option to turn to lesser-known insurers or MGAs to expand choice for their clients. Indeed, the changing nature of risk has only made this role more important.
This may be a time of great change, but it’s also one in which it’s vital to remember what has made insurance thrive: having solutions for customers’ ever-changing risk needs Yet the insurance market has changed, too. Regulation has had an impact on many capacity providers; today, the possibility that a claim might be severe or occur frequently could lead some insurers to walk away from risks altogether. Market practices are also changing. Some smaller brokers have been squeezed out as insurers choose to transact by electronic means only – indeed, some prefer to only work with the big-name brokerages that can offer significant levels of commercial support. In 2019, perhaps the biggest challenge facing brokers is not so much about battling insurtechs, broadening their workforce or even falling in line with regulation; rather, it is in providing that most basic of broker benefits: capacity. It’s a challenge that both the broker and the insurer need to work together to address – the insurer by improving access, and the broker by making their value proposition more appealing. This may be a time of great change, but it’s also one in which it’s vital to remember what has made insurance thrive: having solutions for customers’ ever-changing risk needs. That’s something that can only be achieved when brokers and insurers work together.
The team at Insurance Business Canada
www.insurancebusiness.ca EDITORIAL Managing Editor Paul Lucas Writers Lyle Adriano, Tom Goodwin, Alicja Grzadkowska, Libby MacDonald, Bethan Moorcraft, Joe Rosengarten, Ryan Smith, Ksenia Stepanova, Heather Turner Copy Editor Clare Alexander
CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Edwards, Aytekin Tank
ART & PRODUCTION Designer Joenel Salvador Production Manager Alicia Chin Traffic Manager Ella Dayandante
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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 desiree.mccue@keymedia.com
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Rowan Saunders, President and CEO, holding Economical’s first policy
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property | auto | business Economical Insurance includes the following companies: Economical Mutual Insurance Company, Family Insurance Solutions Inc., Sonnet Insurance Company, Petline Insurance Company. ©2019 Economical Insurance. All Economical intellectual property belongs to Economical Mutual Insurance Company. All other intellectual property is the property of their respective owners.
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UPFRONT
STATISTICS
Talking politics Political risk is infrequent but can be catastrophic – so why don’t more companies carry coverage for it? Political risk is a fact of life for companies in today’s globalized world. Thirty-five percent of companies surveyed by Willis Towers Watson have suffered losses due to political risk in recent years – and for companies generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue, that figure was more than half (55%). Despite the awareness of danger, only 25% of companies (or 41% of companies with more than $1 billion in revenue) said they use
35%
of companies have suffered a political risk loss
60%
of companies believe political risk has increased over the past year
political risk insurance. For those who hadn’t secured coverage, the top reason for forgoing it was a focus on other methods of risk mitigation, such as avoiding investment or scaling down operations in particular countries. Other reasons for not purchasing political risk insurance included the perception that the coverage offered wasn’t sufficient or that the company’s exposure to risk wasn’t high enough to warrant insurance.
15%
28%
of companies do not account for or quantify political risk
of companies conduct scenario analysis to determine political risk
NORTH AMERICA
63% 25%
WHERE IS POLITICAL RISK ACCELERATING? One of the two top regions where respondents felt political risk was increasing was Europe, possibly due to the populist governments that have risen to power in several countries. As for the regions where risk is increasing dramatically, Russia and North America topped the list; respondents were particularly concerned about recent trade policies in the latter.
Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
THE DAMAGE DONE
WHAT’S ON THE RISK RADAR?
More than two-fifths of companies reported political risk losses in excess of $100 million. The top three causes of loss were exchange-transfer losses, political violence and import/export embargoes.
Willis Towers Watson asked companies what geopolitical threat currently causes them most concern. Among the top responses were tensions in the Middle East, US sanctions policy, protectionism and populism, along with the political risk implications of economic crises in emerging markets like Turkey. NUMBER OF MENTIONS One RUSSIA/CENTRAL ASIA
Emerging market crises
Protectionism and trade wars
Creeping exportation
ASIA-PACIFIC
6
INTERNATIONAL
US sanctions policy
Disruption from rising China
Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
Three
Populism and nationalism
Succession in Central Asia
More than $100 million 43% $100 million to $50 million 0% $50 million to $10 million 29% $10 million to $1 million 28%
Two
Regional tensions in the Middle East
Sovereign default wave
MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
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RUSSIA/CENTRAL ASIA
50% 27% EUROPE
70% 11% MIDDLE EAST
73% 23%
AFRICA
48% 9%
ASIA-PACIFIC
38% 5%
LATIN AMERICA
Percentage of companies that believe political risk is increasing
59% 14%
Percentage of companies that believe political risk is increasing dramatically Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
RESPONSES TO RISK
WHY NOT INSURE?
An overwhelming majority of companies said they deal with political risk via “exposure minimization” – that is, avoiding or scaling back operations in countries that they believe present the biggest risk. That strategy is most prominent among companies with more than $1 billion in revenue; 82% of companies in that category report scaling back their operations in risky locations, while 86% said they avoid them altogether.
Despite a keen awareness of the costs of political risk, most companies prefer to employ risk mitigation strategies rather than purchasing political risk insurance.
100%
ABLE TO MITIGATE IN OTHER WAYS
38%
80%
COVERAGE IS NOT BROAD ENOUGH
28%
60%
INSUFFICIENT EXPOSURE TO HIGHER-RISK COUNTRIES
40%
28%
20% 0%
75%
68%
Have avoided investing in a country as a result of political risk concerns
Have scaled down operations in a country as a result of rising political risk concerns
41%
25%
Use political risk insurance Use political risk insurance ($1 billion+ companies only)
Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
PREFER TO SELF-INSURE AGAINST THESE TYPES OF RISKS
15% COSTS OF COVERAGE IS TOO HIGH
13% Source: 2018 Political Risk Survey, Oxford Analytica/Willis Towers Watson
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UPFRONT
HEAD TO HEAD
What will be insurance’s biggest challenge in 2019? From cutting-edge technology to evolving customer expectations, the industry will have no shortage of challenges this year
Tina Osen
President Hub International Canada “The biggest challenge also presents the most opportunity: meeting the needs of today’s changing client. This is the era of the individual. Clients want to be able to engage how and when they want, and they demand information at their fingertips. An omni-channel/multi-channel service approach is best to create a seamless experience for clients. Also, as the market becomes more sophisticated, clients expect a broker to understand their unique risks and tailor an insurance program; specializing is the way to do that. If we place clients at the centre of the equation, our industry will thrive into the future.”
Denis Dubois
J. Patrick Gallagher Jr.
“The single biggest challenge is improving our relationships with customers. Our industry is lagging when it comes to customer experience, opening the door for new entrants who are more agile and more in tune with evolving consumer expectations. Improving customer relationships starts with the development of a customercentric culture – no easy task. The next step is smart investments in technologies to provide customers with choice and simplicity, while also improving organizational efficiency and agility. From there, evolving the relationship to focus on prevention and two-way communication is a natural step forward that will strengthen the long-term relationship even more.”
“In 2019, general increases across many lines of business can be expected, as the global economy remains robust, despite trade tensions. The biggest challenge in 2019 will be understanding that in an ever-developing, technologically driven world, risks are taking on new shapes and more complicated forms. For example, automotive vehicles are safer, and yet auto rates will continue to rise because of how expensive new vehicle accidents are due to the advanced technology contained within the car. In addition, in a data collection environment enabled by evolving technologies, cyber risks continue to rise, making cyber insurance more paramount.”
President and COO Desjardins General Insurance Group
Chairman, president and CEO Gallagher
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Insurance companies not already grappling with cutting-edge technology should prepare to get up to speed in 2019. A survey conducted by the Insurance Bureau of Canada last year zeroed in on consumers’ desire for a greater reliance on technology: 60% of Canadians (and 71% of Canadian millennials) would prefer to have digital access to insurance documents. “We are living in an age of disruption,” said the institute’s president and CEO, Don Forgeron. “Only by embracing innovation and new ways of thinking will we be able to keep the door open to new products and services and new ways of delivering them to Canadians.”
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UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
The insurtech bandwagon Global insurance companies are seeing sustainable, long-term value in insurtechs, and they’re putting their money where their mouth is
GROWTH IN the insurtech space might have happened later than similar developments in other financial services industries – it reached its peak in 2016 with the launch of 177 insurtech startups – but the drop to 88 launches in 2017 doesn’t mean the insurtech gold rush is coming to an end, according to a recent Deloitte analysis on the sector. Deloitte found that funding continues to flow into insurtechs – investments in 2018 are on track to meet the $1.83 billion in funds raised in 2017. Today, several insurance giants have their own investment arms focused on promoting insurtechs that add value to the industry and clients, and have helped usher in a major evolution in the contributions of these tech-
it was going to catch on,” Notaras says. “We started the fund after a lot of the distribution plays had already been created in terms of the aggregators, but at that time, nobody was really talking about that as being insurtech.” It was only when startups began proposing services aimed at personal lines (Lemonade was one of the fund’s early investments) that people started looking at insurtech as something unique in the insurance landscape. Since then, insurtechs have evolved to touch on commercial lines as well. “We’re starting to see a lot more companies that are handling commercial,” Notaras says, “and they’re not necessarily re-creating commercial insurance companies.” Attitudes have also transformed over
“We’re starting to see a lot more companies that are handling commercial, and they’re not necessarily re-creating commercial insurance companies” Martha Notaras, XL Innovate nology companies in recent years. Martha Notaras, partner at XL Innovate, a global insurtech venture capital firm backed by AXA XL, looks back on 2015, when the insurtech space was just beginning to boom. “Suddenly, people started talking about [insurtech], but it wasn’t quite clear whether
10
time. Notaras notes that in the early days of insurtechs, startups tended to regard existing insurers with contempt. Today, however, technology experts are identifying and addressing some of the limitations facing the industry – whether it’s in data or regulation – and their contributions are being welcomed.
In addition to investing in disruptive insurance models such as Lemonade and Embroker, XL Innovate has also created its own startups in-house, such as New Energy Risk, which uses insurance to enable deployment of renewable energy. In addition, it has invested in data and analytics companies that provide value to insurance applications, such as Cape Analytics, which gathers property intelligence based on AI and geospatial imagery, as well as GeoQuant, which quantifies political risk in real time. Argo Group is another insurer with its own investment outpost, Argo Ventures, which backs early- and growth-stage startups in financial services and insurance. The fund focuses on insurance technology, risk management, fintech, enterprise software and any other tech solution that has an insurance component to it, according to Oleg Ilichev, head of investments at Argo Ventures. “Whenever there’s a tech startup that touches insurance, we want to be front and
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INSURTECH FAST FACTS
Insurtechs focused on personal lines have drawn the lion’s share of investment dollars ($5.8 billion) over the past decade
In comparison, commercial lines saw just $1.3 billion worth of investment between 1998 and the first half of 2018
Venture capital funds remain the largest source of insurtech financing, accounting for 91% of investments in the first half of 2018
center on entrepreneurs’ minds,” Ilichev says, adding that for seed-stage companies, Argo Ventures’ experts will be “their eyes and ears and partners in insurance.” For growthstage insurtechs, Argo Ventures helps with continued expansion and figuring out the
be the winner,” he says. “I think there are a lot of companies that are just building features and are not really long-term, sustainable, disruptive businesses that are venture backable.” He adds that brokers need not worry
“Insurtechs that are actually building software to make the brokers much better at their jobs are going to be the successful approach” Oleg Ilichev, Argo Ventures next iteration of their businesses. Ilichev says all areas of the insurance value chain are seeing new entrants to the marketplace that are contributing something beneficial, though he notes that not all insurtechs are built for the long term. “The bigger question is who’s going to
about being replaced by technology. While some insurance products can be delivered directly to insureds, many insurance offerings become bespoke very quickly, depending on the type of class being underwritten. “We’ve found that the brokers are going to be here to stay,” Ilichev says, “and insurtechs
The US remains on top in terms of the number of insurtech startups created, boasting 51% of the companies launched in 2018, trailed by the UK (8%) and India (4%) Source: 2018 Insurtech Investment Trends and Insights, Deloitte
that are actually building software to make the brokers much better at their jobs are going to be the successful approach.” By now, it’s clear that insurtech isn’t just a fad, though what shape or form the sector will take in the coming years is anyone’s guess. For future investments, the XL Innovate team is looking for businesses that are addressing pain points in the commercial insurance process. “One of the defenses has always been that commercial lines are so complex that insurtech won’t make progress into that,” Notaras says, “but we’re seeing that actually there are data and analytics that drive the commercial lines, and also that there are certain operational efficiencies that you can drive into.”
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UPFRONT
INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER
TARGET
PRODUCTS COMMENTS
Aviva
Neos
The acquisition of the tech insurance provider is part of Aviva’s strategy to develop stronger bonds with customers via technology
BrokerLink
Challenge Insurance Group and Toronto Insurance & Financial Group
The brokerage network has welcomed two new member firms based in Edmonton and Toronto
CAA
Echelon Insurance
Echelon Financial Holdings has sold its insurance subsidiary to CAA for $175 million
The Carlyle Group
Sedgwick
The Carlyle Group has taken majority ownership of Sedgwick from KKR and other shareholders; a couple of minority investors remain
The Co-operators
Assurances Madelein
The purchase of the Laval-based brokerage will strengthen The Co-operators’ presence in Quebec
Credit Union Agencies Alliance Limited [CUAAL]
Envision
CUAAL, which is jointly owned by The Co-operators and credit union members, has taken over the BC firm’s book of business
BMS Canada
Navacord has snapped up the construction insurance book of business from the Vancouver-based firm
Navacord
a
Lloyd’s announces new marine initiative
Lloyd’s and six of its market syndicates will begin using supply chain data startup Parsyl, one of the members of the 2018 Lloyd’s Lab insurtech accelerator, to better manage risk for temperaturesensitive classes of business. Lloyd’s will use Parsyl’s Internet of Things quality assurance and risk management solution to offer crafted coverage for sensitive shipments, such as temperature-controlled foods and biological pharmaceuticals. Parsyl’s sensors will be placed on the shipments to provide expedited settlement and reduced claims costs, tailored deductibles, and risk mitigation insights.
Apex brings construction insurance to Winnipeg
Navacord purchases construction insurer BMS
Navacord closed out 2018 by acquiring a book of business and a team of veteran brokers from construction insurance solutions provider BMS Canada. Led by Shaun Johnston, managing director of construction and development, BMS Canada’s construction team will join Navacord’s Vancouver-based broker partner, Wylie-Crump, which is part of Navacord’s construction practice. “We are very excited about the addition of the BMS Canada construction team to Wylie-Crump,” said Wylie-Crump partner Nolan Heuchert. “Shaun and his team have the entrepreneurial spirit and client focus that made this acquisition a perfect fit for our business.”
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A new boutique insurance brokerage has launched in Winnipeg to serve the construction and real estate markets in Manitoba and Western Canada. Billing itself as the city’s first brokerage designed to cater to the construction industry with a specialized focus on surety, Apex Surety & Insurance is the brainchild of partners and industry vets Scott Fraser, Christopher Wiens, Sel Tse, Chris Wren and Scott Gilmour. “APEX sees a place for a local, customerfocused boutique entrant with a fresh, technologydriven approach in the construction and real estate space,” Tse said.
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PEOPLE MSH unveils business traveller services
MSH International has rolled out the MSH Assistance program, a multilingual service that provides international assistance, emergency evacuation, repatriation and risk management to travellers and businesses worldwide. The program helps organizations manage their risks by offering customized solutions such as country briefings, risk reports and security management resources. MSH also offers a companion web and mobile app, MSH Travel Navigator, which offers travellers information on their destination, travel health tips, and real-time alerts on health, transportation and travel security.
Cowan launches mid-market supply chain product
Cowan Insurance Group has launched a new product to help cover the supply chain insurance gap of mid-market manufacturers and distributors. The product addresses disruptions such as natural disasters, port blockages, raw material delays, transport failures, political violence and worker strikes. “Eighty per cent of manufacturers have had at least one supply chain disruption in the past 12 months,” said Cowan VP Marcus Morson. “I’m pleased that Cowan is on the forefront of providing an affordable insurance product that protects mid-size companies from common disruptions.”
Zodiac fills gap with new D&O coverage
Zodiac Insurance Services, a US-based MGA, has launched a new directors & officers capacity for the global small financial institutions market. According to AFL, the small FI market, which includes insurance captives, ‘desk drawer’ insurers and self-funded groups, has traditionally been forced to place D&O policies alongside larger businesses, which has meant minimum premiums and deductibles were keyed to much larger institutions. Zodiac partnered with underwriters at Lloyd’s to underwrite smaller accounts and assign an appropriate cost and deductible structure to its new D&O product.
NAME
LEAVING
JOINING
NEW POSITION
Govind Balu
Allstate Roadside Services
AXIS Capital Holdings
Chief analytics officer
Claire-Marie Coste-Lepoutre
Allianz Benelus
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
CFO
Martine Ferland
N/A
Mercer
President and CEO
Nina Klingspor
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Allianz Private Krankenversicherung
CFO
Birgit König
Allianz Private Krankenversicherung
Allianz Digital Health
Unit head
Sally Lake
N/A
Beazley
CFO
Ray McKenzie
ivari
Insurance Supermarket Inc.
President of ISI and Specialty Life Insurance
Mike Newson
Vantage Professional Risks
SSL Endeavour
Senior professional indemnity broker
Julio A. Portalatin
Mercer
Marsh & McLennan Companies
Vice-chairman
Keith Schlosser
Chubb
AXIS Capital Holdings
Chief information officer
SSL Endeavour appoints senior broker
Independent Lloyd’s broker SSL Endeavour has named Mike Newson as its newest senior professional indemnity broker. Newson was most recently an account executive with Vantage Professional Risks. Before that, he served as a divisional director for Gallagher’s entire PI portfolio for seven years. Newson’s initial focus will be on SSL Endeavour’s Canadian coverholder business; he will also support the development of the company’s PI book in the UK. “[Mike’s] experience and insight will be pivotal in exploring and delivering further expansion for us in the PI market,” said Karen Allen, group managing director for SSL Endeavour.
AXIS Capital selects new CIO
AXIS Capital Holdings has tapped industry veteran Keith Schlosser to serve as its chief information officer. Schlosser brings three decades of industry experience to the role. He was most recently CIO of Chubb’s overseas general insurance division and also served as CIO of the international division at The Travelers Companies. In his new role, Schlosser will lead AXIS Capital’s global information technology strategy, partnering with various departments to drive change throughout the organization. “As digital capabilities and new ways of working reshape our industry, Keith will lead the advancement of our IT capabilities to ensure we are aligned with the changing expectations of our internal and external customers,” said AXIS Capital COO Richard Strachan.
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2/6/19 9:07 AM
UPFRONT
MGA UPDATE
The key to good MGAinsurer partnerships Insurers need MGAs for their specialist expertise, but they also need them to keep up with the times
The relationship between managing general agents and insurers thrives on an exchange of specialized expertise and services. Within that partnership, technology plays a pivotal role in the transfer of information between the MGA and the insurer, according to Phil Baker, head of Beazley Canada. “From an MGA’s perspective, ultimately it comes down to connecting with their brokers and customers more effectively, and in the manner that their customers want to
NEWS BRIEFS
communicate with them, whether that’s after hours or during business hours,” Baker says, adding that “Beazley wants to work with MGAs and brokers who want to use technology to increase their presence among their clients.” Under the technology umbrella, Baker says, Beazley is a big believer in using data analytics effectively, a trend that’s becoming more common in the insurance industry overall. In KPMG’s sixth annual Canadian Insurance Industry Opportunities & Risks report, 68%
Hyperion credits impressive numbers to brokers
Hyperion Insurance Group reported a 16% increase in revenue as of September 2018, which CEO David Howden credited in part to brokers. “It’s our business model that’s behind the success – and brokers are a massive part of that,” Howden said. “DUAL, under the Hyperion name, underwrites with over 5,000 brokers around the world. RKH is a specialty business, but a phenomenal amount is acting for thirdparty brokers. Meanwhile, 23% of our retail business comes from North America even though we don’t have a retail broker there.”
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of Canadian insurers surveyed identified data analytics and their potential to enhance product design, marketing and pricing as one of the top opportunities for 2018–2019. Another value that MGAs bring to insurers is service, Baker says. “MGAs can be much more nimble in terms of the product offering and their ability to adapt to new industries, and that’s certainly a big value-add – they can bring that new product to market very quickly, for instance,” he says, adding that minutes count when insurers are dealing with micro-SME accounts. “MGAs are, in general, very effective at providing a high level of service that very large insurance companies may not be able to match.” Finally, Baker stresses that an alignment of interests is imperative in establishing and maintaining a fruitful and long-lasting MGA-insurer relationship. “We as an insurer want to know that our MGA partners share the same underwriting philosophy that we do and are taking a long-term approach to their business, so MGAs and insurers want to make sure that their interests are aligned,” he says. As niches in the insurance market continue to evolve, MGAs and their services will only become more important, Baker predicts. “What the MGAs are doing is adapting to a changing market effectively and entering new spaces,” he says, highlighting Canada’s burgeoning cannabis market as one area where MGAs are establishing a presence. “That’s a good example of where MGAs could be nimble and can respond to a dynamic market very quickly.”
ARAG extends legal expense product to Quebec
ARAG Canada is now offering its legal expense insurance product in Quebec. The MGA’s business legal solutions policy covers employment disputes, employment restrictive covenants, tax protection, property protection, legal defence, compliance and regulation, statutory licence appeals, loss of earnings, and employees’ extra protection. ARAG’s policies are offered on a stand-alone basis with no minimum annual premium requirements. Policyholders also receive 24/7 access to unlimited legal advice.
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Q&A
Mo Kaur President and COO
A much-needed option for brokers
PREMIER GROUP
What can you tell us about the Premier Group of Companies?
Tina Jonmaire National sales director PREMIER GROUP
Fast fact The Premier Group of Companies recently celebrated its 30th year in business and has offices in five cities across Canada, including a new location in Cambridge, Ontario
We have grown tremendously in size and product scope over the last several years, with 2018 definitely marking a few milestones for Premier with the appointment of our new president, Mo Kaur; an additional office in Cambridge, Ontario; a brand-new office for the Toronto team; and we welcomed several new team members to all our offices – London, Toronto, Vancouver and Laval. In addition, we also enhanced Presto, our online quote and policy issuance system, with additional products and much more.
What does it mean to be a managing underwriting agency that serves specialty insurance needs? Serving the specialty needs space isn’t so much about the specialty as it is about fulfilling the need. So to us, being a managing underwriting agency [MUA] means that we are continually innovating to serve our brokers better. We owe a great deal of gratitude to our broker partners who have helped Premier become one of the largest MUAs in Canada.
How do you envision the role of MGAs 10 years from now? It’s unlikely the M&A activity among insurers will lessen anytime soon, so MGAs will continue to provide much-needed options for brokers. With the help of our supportive markets and our collaborative broker
April Canada launches education for brokers
April Canada has formally launched its April University program, which aims to help educate insurance professionals on specific business lines and specialties. The launch came on the heels of the MGA’s first successful training sessions in Quebec City, which were attended by more than 180 participants. April University, which will be held in Toronto and Kitchener, is headed by a team of RIBO-approved accreditation professionals. The MGA is also planning new training programs in commercial auto and commercial marine.
partners, we pride ourselves on developing unique products that have a variety of coverage levels based on the customer’s needs. Archaic systems and processes do not hinder us, and with our in-house underwriting experts, we can adapt our products to fit the needs at hand. As the market continues to harden, capacity will become more of a challenge. The ability for MGAs to pool resources and spread the risk among carriers will be invaluable as we move forward. As more companies are starting to limit the segments or territories they work in, we are excited to continue to expand our suite of products and our technology offerings to support our valued brokers across Canada in whatever challenges our dynamic industry throws at them next.
What are the challenges of being an MUA in Canada, and how do you address these? One of the most significant challenges facing everyone in the industry continues to be the application of available technology. Expectations have changed – brokers and consumers are looking to finish a transaction in one go, rather than wait for documentation. For that reason, we have focused a ton of energy into developing our Presto instant quote and issue portal system. Brokers no longer need an underwriter for every transaction or have to wait for processing of documents – they can issue a quote and policy in minutes. Presto helps to keep our offering relevant to brokers, allowing them to provide their clients with the best possible service.
Brit Limited invests in Sutton Special Risk
Global specialty insurer Brit Limited has set its sights on some key markets by announcing a “significant, strategic investment” in Sutton Special Risk. With offices in Toronto, New York and London, Sutton is a fast-growing MGU that has spent more than 40 years as a Lloyd’s coverholder. It specializes in the accident and health business and has been a trading partner for Brit for more than 16 years. Brit is hoping to capitalize on Sutton’s strong presence in Canada and the US as it continues its international expansion.
CFC Underwriting expands cyber offering
CFC Underwriting has updated its cyber product to offer business interruption cover that can be triggered by IT system failure as well as malicious cyber events. Supply-chain business interruption cover is also available to protect insureds if a supplier is impacted by a cyber event. CFC has also added affirmative crime cover for cryptojacking, a growing threat in which a hacker hijacks the processing power of a computer network to mine cryptocurrency.
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UPFRONT
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Usage-based insurance poised to enjoy major surge
The usage-based insurance [UBI] market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 17% between 2018 and 2024, according to a new report by Global Market Insights. One of the major factors driving this growth is the increased production of vehicles embedded with telematics or using external tracking systems to capture data about vehicle health and driver behaviour. Other growth drivers include the increasing prevalence of smartphones with the ability to connect to onboard devices, as well as an increase in the number of connected cars that can share data with the outside environment.
Insurtech investment spikes in the third quarter
According to a recent report from Willis Towers Watson, the insurtech space saw more than US$1.3 billion in funding during the third quarter of 2018 – more than double the amount from the previous quarter. In addition, there were eight transactions in Q3 that were worth more than US$40 million, compared to six the previous quarter. Willis Towers Watson noted that insurers continue to actively participate in insurtech funding, although the pace has slowed – the third quarter saw a 20% drop in the number of transactions. However, the firm reported that “the pipeline of insurtech partnerships … continues to be very strong.”
iA Financial extends functionality of mobile app
iA Financial Group has improved its proprietary iA Mobile app, which was originally designed for group insurance and group retirement savings clients,
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allowing them to submit claims, check their prescription drug coverage and review their retirement savings. New features allow the app to serve individual savings, retirement and mortgage clients. The app allows users to track their contract and the returns on their investments. Users can now also access other financial information, such as their investment balance and electronic documents, through the application.
Fintech firm Foxquilt launches communitybased insurance
Fintech company Foxquilt launched its innovative group insurance model in late 2018. Available through the company’s website, the platform allows consumers and small businesses to join social groups with similar needs. These social groups can then purchase insurance as a group through Foxquilt and take advantage of improved buying power. Foxquilt leverages Big Data and machine learning to appropriately price each social group and has partnered with several major carriers to provide coverage.
Co-operators provides online therapy services to policyholders
The Co-operators will be offering “therapist-guided, internet-based” cognitive behavioural therapy [iCBT] for eligible group plan members through its extended healthcare coverage. Available through the insurer’s partner, Morneau Shepell, the service will be included with coverage for psychologists and/or social workers. “We’re proud to be one of the first group benefits providers to offer iCBT in our extended healthcare coverage,” said Conor Quinn, vicepresident of group benefits for The Co-operators. “This is just another way for us to help make the workplace a pathway to positive mental health.”
Tech hits and misses One brokerage has found that some tech innovations are more useful than others Insurance brokers have all sorts of technological tools at their disposal, especially as tech vendors continue to offer brokerages more ways to analyze carrier data, process insurance sales and even automate some administrative functions. However, as one brokerage has found, some innovations make more sense for brokers than others. “We were one of the brokerages experimenting with chatbots, and we never really got to a point where it was there for us to go all in on them,” says John McClelland, broker and digital director at Ontario-based McClelland Insurance. The problem with chatbots, McClelland explains, is that they weren’t a complete solution – while they can help with lead generation, they can’t actually close deals. “We didn’t think it was worth the time, effort and money to have basically a rating engine, and then a person would still have to phone in during business hours and talk to a broker to get a policy issued,” McClelland says. In terms of technology that has been useful for his brokerage and others, McClelland points to new broker management systems and alternate ways of reaching customers. “You’ve seen a lot more brokers looking seriously at their legacy systems and upgrading those systems,” he says. “Some brokers that would say to me two years ago that their legacy systems were fine for what they needed to do, they’re now the ones saying, ‘We’re working on data warehouses and we’re working on having a proper CRM that manages all of this data for us.’ “I think brokerages have also been embra-
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Q&A
cing different communication channels,” he continues, “and I think that’s going fairly well. People want to talk with text message or live chat on a website – those are things that brokers are able to respond to now, and it gives the customer a better experience.”
“You’ve seen a lot more brokers looking seriously at their legacy systems and upgrading those systems” McClelland also notes that artificial intelligence and machine learning have been helping behind the scenes at brokerages to streamline administration. “For example, a lot of offices have to have an administration person help attach some of the downloads that are coming in from the companies each day,” he says. “Some of these systems are smart enough now that they can attach those automatically.” McClelland also sees AI and machine learning bringing the ‘bionic broker’ to life in the near future. “We’ve got tons of information that we’re responsible for that’s hidden away in some of these company manuals, and it can take a while to go find that information for a broker,” he says, “so if you had a Google or a Siri for that kind of information, I think that could really empower brokers to be able to get some of those answers quicker and provide better customer service.”
Peter Primdahl VP of emerging business models THE CO-OPERATORS
Head of operations DUUO
Years in the industry 19 Career highlight “As an underwriter, I once cancelled a $7 million account, only to bind a new $3 million account an hour later – that was a rather unique day at the office.”
Chasing an evolving economy What can you tell us about Duuo and the on-demand insurance market? Duuo is a digital on-demand insurance platform that was launched to meet the emerging needs of Canadians living in a rapidly evolving economy. By partnering with Slice Labs, we’ve also been able to bring the agility and mindset of an insurtech to The Co-operators. Our first product, Duuo Homeshare, protects short-term rental hosts who use popular platforms like Airbnb and CanadaStays. With pay-per-night coverage, hosts can get liability and property coverage for around $8 per night. By empowering clients to purchase insurance on their terms, we’ve taken the first step toward creating the ease and flexibility that consumers now expect.
Is there a reason why you initially targeted the homeshare industry? Are there other industries that can benefit from such a product? We saw the homeshare industry growing at a rapid pace, creating a need for protection that was either unmet or underserved. Ondemand insurance was a natural solution because many of these homeowners only rent their property part-time. Digitization is breaking down our daily lives into moments, and the entire business community is responding to these new opportunities. This emerging dynamic is why we have several new on-demand products in development at Duuo.
Do you think on-demand insurance can coexist with traditional policies? Absolutely. Duuo Homeshare is a perfect example. Our clients keep their existing homeowner’s policy and simply ‘turn on’ Duuo when they have guests. While many of the industries being disrupted by the sharing economy seem like excellent candidates for on-demand insurance, it really depends on individual needs. That’s why we’re focused on flexibility.
What role will insurance brokers play as on-demand insurance becomes more accessible to customers? The role of brokers has always been to provide advice to meet the changing needs of their clients. By launching innovative products like Duuo Homeshare, we think we’re helping them to do just that.
What other innovations do you think will be key for brokers to pay attention to in 2019? Technology advancements, along with the proliferation of data/ analytics, are unearthing opportunities to create new customer experiences across all sectors of the economy. There is a direct impact in terms of how customers interact with the insurance industry, but there is also an indirect impact in terms of how we adapt to these changing business models and resulting customer experiences that evolve from this dynamic. Accounting for these indirect impacts will be important to help prepare for this change.
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UPFRONT
OPINION
GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca
Minding their business Curating a clientele of business owners by tailoring your marketing efforts to them can pay dividends, writes Paul Edwards BUSINESS OWNERS are ideal clients. They need some form of every protection the insurance industry offers; if you’re positioned to outfit them from head to toe, even better. Your goal should be to maximize comprehensive coverage for wealthy clients who can afford your high-ticket items. When I acquired such clients, working with them was a night-and-day difference from dealing with Joe Schmoe down the street who just wanted to save 15% on his SR-22 broad-form coverage. A business owner’s mindset sees the legal and financial framework of their company as critical. Successful ones understand its ability to torpedo their progress, whether they micromanage or ignore it. Many owners confess to needing their hands held in this category. That gives you an advantage if you can communicate your ability to manage it. But there are bigger-picture reasons for defining and narrowing your niche. The elephant in the room is this: Insurance is a commoditized product. That means you face the challenge of convincing people to pay for you rather than the coverage. Any other route inevitably leads to that rabbit hole of price comparison. It’s never been more important to be in a class by yourself as a provider so that the excuse of cost can’t derail you. One way to avoid that is to sidestep customers who struggle to rub two cents together. Another way is to become superspecific about who you want as clients. You owe it to yourself and your staff to be selective about the clients you take on. Let your competitors squabble over the rest.
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Statistics show over and over that at least two-thirds of consumers don’t consider the price of insurance to be the sole motivating factor for their purchasing decisions. A prospective client with plenty to spend on insurance premiums simply isn’t going to care only about saving a few dollars per month. But this is already known – the real problem for today’s broker is: How do I reach
adopters. Your competitors are as baffled about this as you are. That gives you every reason to explore internet marketing further. Practically, this starts with creating engaging and effective content – articles, videos, free reports and webinars. Perhaps the best part: This content should mostly cover anything but insurance. Writing sales copy taught me to craft a headline by imagining I was seeing a friend walking down a busy city sidewalk – the only way to get his attention is to call out his name. You can’t just say, “Hey you!” At the risk of sounding over-simplified, your branding strategy must evolve from “We’re XYZ Insurance Company, and we have great rates” to “I’m the only insurance broker who caters to and properly services business owners and executives – after adding value to your business.” I do well with business owners when it comes to branding, both in person and online. But networking can only take you so far, and likability with a large online audience isn’t much use unless you know how to convert
“It’s never been more important to be in a class by yourself as a provider so that the excuse of cost can’t derail you” more of my ideal clients online? And once I’ve reached them, how do I convert them? Until recently, most everyone agreed that targeting business owners would involve a massive, expensive traditional advertising campaign, hours on the telephone following up, some door-to-door canvassing, and exceptional sales skills. Today, however, a well orchestrated internet campaign can buy you credibility (through quality free content), prospect buy-in (through opt-in e-mail marketing), automated follow-up (without the phone calls) and speed (through preset, inbound appointments with qualified buyers). If the shortest distance from Point A to Point B is a straight line, then the traditional means of pursuing these clients is certainly the long way (and the wrong way) around. Another advantage of this strategy is that the insurance industry is seldom among early
followers into customers. If I’d understood better how to replicate online the value I added to these people, I’d have taken greater advantage of the explosion of social media advertising in the last decade. I’d have made use of targeted ads and copywriting to speak to their frustrations and fears. A brokerage beset by price shoppers and ne’er-do-well clients takes lumps on retention and customer satisfaction. Many households do not a successful brokerage make – not, at any rate, in terms of profit margin, employee satisfaction and retention, or long-term growth and expansion. That narrows your choices in the long haul. Paul Edwards became a top-selling broker through his R.O.N. (Return On Networking) marketing system, which allowed him to grow a boutique clientele of political leaders, corporate executives and large businesses.
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PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
STRENGTH AND STABILITY As head of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association, Christopher Croft leads an organization that is poised to influence the global centre of insurance in the midst of seismic, market-moving change
WHEN HE came into his new role as chief executive of the London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association [LIIBA] nearly three years ago, Christopher Croft had big shoes to fill – his predecessor held the job for 36 years. Determined to represent the voice of the broker in market discussions, as well as conversations with governments and regulators, Croft has presided over a gradual evolution in the association during a period that is proving to be tumultuous. The litany of challenges facing the global center of insurance today includes rumblings of trouble at Lloyd’s of London and the fate of Brexit, among other transformations that are affecting the business operations of insurers around the world. “I never saw, in my coming into LIIBA, that there was a requirement for revolution, but I think we have evolved LIIBA over the three years into a more prominent organization, particularly in its relationship with government,” Croft says, highlighting Brexit as a major focus for the association. “There’s nothing like a crisis of uncertainty to make people value their trade associations.” Croft’s previous positions primed him to face a room full of government representatives and regulators. Before taking the helm at LIIBA, he worked for the London Market Group [LMG], a central body that repre-
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sents the city’s specialist commercial insurance and reinsurance broking and underwriting communities. One of his key projects at LMG was the first London Matters report, released in 2014, which collected data on London’s position in the global insurance industry. Prior to that, Croft spent a decade in finan-
PPL; in his first year at LIIBA, the association signed a contract with a software supplier and secured the commitment of board members to contribute financially to the project. “PPL adoption is absolutely something that we view as a success at the moment,” Croft says. “We now have 60 brokers signed up, [from] 28
“I think we have evolved LIIBA over the three years into a more prominent organization, particularly in its relationship with government. There’s nothing like a crisis of uncertainty to make people value their trade associations” cial services regulation; he began his career by working on the privatization of rail systems – a job that gave him a solid foundation for working with government stakeholders.
An achievement 30 years in the making Looking back on his career, a key milestone for Croft was the launch of the Placing Platform Limited [PPL], which gave brokers and insurers the power to quote, negotiate, bind and endorse business digitally. While at LMG, Croft filled out the form to incorporate
at the beginning of [2018], so we’ve more than doubled the number on the platform.” After three decades of discussions about implementing something like this, Croft is elated to finally have implemented the technology that will open new doors for brokers and the insurance market. “Lots of people talk lyrically about artificial intelligence and Big Data and how these things may come and revolutionize insurance,” he says. “I’m sure there is the potential for that to happen, but that could only happen if
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PROFILE Name: Christopher Croft Title: Chief executive Company: London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association Based in: London Years in the industry: 24 Career highlights: Taking the lead on LMG’s first London Matters report in 2014 and contributing to the launch and adoption of an electronic trading capability for the London market
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PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
the market actually started using computers to support its main transactions, and PPL is achieving that.” Besides working on market adoption of PPL, other priorities that will continue to be top of mind for LIIBA in the coming year involve working with members and the Financial Conduct Authority on the Broker Market Study, as well as underscoring the need for contract continuity in light of the UK’s pending divorce from the European Union. “Our primary work on Brexit all the way through is to try and drive to a certain model
doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way it’s always going to happen.” New technology might change the way that conversation happens, and that’s already evident in some of the developments LIIBA’s members have witnessed. Croft notes that brokers with more access to data have become better at pricing risk than underwriters. “What I see is a development in the way that the demand and supply for capital to mitigate risk will evolve,” he says, “but there will always be a need for someone to act as the agent for the client because what our members do goes
“There will always be a need for someone to act as the agent for the client because what our members do goes far beyond a simple insurance service” that would allow EU clients still to be able to access that expertise and capacity in London so that they can still access the insurance they need,” Croft says.
The broker of the future No one can predict how Brexit will play out, just as it’s difficult to say with certainty what the broker’s role will entail in 10 or 20 years. However, Croft believes it’s a mistake to think about the broker solely in terms of what’s happening in insurance right now. “We live in a capital market where we have people on one end who have a demand for capital to help mitigate their risks, and they want to be able to access that capital in certain circumstances,” he says. “We have capital providers on the other end who want to be able to use their capital to provide that support and also potentially make a return on it. At the moment, that matching of demand and supply is done by a broker and an underwriter having a conversation in London and drawing up an insurance policy, but that
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far beyond a simple insurance service. When they go and have conversations with clients, it’s about establishing the full extent of the client’s risk exposure and then advising them how best to mitigate that, and an insurance purchase will only be part of the program.” He points to the many other services brokers bring their clients, including pinpointing their insurance needs and providing expert placing capabilities – a critical skill at a time when it’s not atypical to see global programs accessing multi-billion-dollar cover that’s spread across 50 or 60 insurers. “To know how to do that and to know the appetite of all those insurers is a level of expertise that’s going to be difficult for others to replicate,” Croft says, adding that while the market will likely see new entrants that have new ways of doing things, he’s confident that brokers will continue to occupy an important position in the insurance distribution chain. “We shouldn’t underestimate the extraordinary level of intellectual capital that goes into complex commercial insurance.”
LIIBA AT A GLANCE
FOUNDATIONS With a history that dates back to 1910, LIIBA represents the interests of Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance brokers operating in the London and international markets
MISSION LIIBA aims to ensure that London remains the world’s leading insurance market by improving its competitive position
PREMIUMS LIIBA members are engaged in the placement of $67 billion worth of premiums in the London market and another $24 billion across the world
MARKET SHARE LIIBA members account for more than 95% of the business in the London market
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
YOUNG GUNS 2019
Get to know 35 up-and-comers who are well on their way to becoming the new leaders of Canada’s insurance industry THE CANADIAN insurance industry is no longer ruled by baby boomers. Millennials account for nearly 39% of the P&C insurance workforce, surpassing both gen x-ers and boomers, according to a study published by the Insurance Institute of Canada. While many millennials are still in the early stages of their careers, they are quickly becoming the faces of a more modern insurance industry. Whether they’re driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, the desire to innovate or are simply motivated to help fellow Canadians protect what they hold most dear, the 35 insurance professionals on the following pages, all 35 and younger, are proving age is just a number when it comes to having insurance know-how. A few of this year’s Young Guns are already owners of their own businesses, while others are working to alter the digital insurance marketplace. Many are changing the lives of people within their communities through their charitable works. Read on to learn more about this impressive group that’s poised to take Canada’s insurance industry by storm.
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YOUNG GUNS INDEX NAME
COMPANY
28
Hembruff, Kirstie
Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.
33
Intact Insurance
35
Hope, Jonathan
Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
35
Allen, Traci
Western Financial Group
36
Irwin, Tom
Markel International
26
Bittker, JJ
Burns & Wilcox Canada
32
Italiano, Daniel
Oracle RMS
38
Insight Insurance & Risk Management
Kanuka, Brett
CMB Insurance Brokers
32
Bouwman, Dana
36
Kenny, Tina
Aviva Canada
26
Friesen, Derek
Founders Insurance Group
37
Krol, Pierce
Elevate Insurance Brokers
25
Gerber, Mike
Monarch Insurance Brokers Ltd.
38
Landry, Jurenda
KASE Insurance Inc.
28
Godinho, Dina
Jones DesLauriers Navacord
34
Lyons, Brendan
Economical Insurance
31
Lyons, Margo
Apollo Exchange
30
Groeneweg, Sarah
Locke Insurance Brokers
39
Myhal, Katrina
35
Haggis, Barry
Young & Haggis Insurance Services Ltd.
Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
25
Naughton, Mike
The Guarantee
31
NAME
COMPANY
PAGE
Abellera, Jeremy
DKI Canada
Afshar, Kamran
PAGE
PIERCE KROL CEO ELEVATE INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 33
As CEO of Elevate Insurance Brokers, Pierce Krol has led the brokerage’s impressive growth over the past six years. When the business was established in 2012, it had no clients or staff. After five years of growth, Elevate completed its first acquisition of a brokerage with a commercial-focused book in 2017. Today, commercial business makes up around 90% of Elevate’s book, although the brokerage also services all other types of general insurance needs. In addition to insurance, Krol has a passion for all things business and has ownership in a few different entities. “I enjoy being engaged with business owners as well as focus groups,” he says. “I’m wildly competitive and welcome a challenge; in business, that translates to work ethic and constantly acquiring relevant knowledge.” Krol is also a board member of The Dunes Golf & Winter Club and is a supporter of numerous organizations, including the Grade Prairie Hospital Foundation, Tiny Hands of Hope, the Catholic Family Foundation, Odyssey House, the Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce and the Reading University, a Grade 3 reading program.
NAME
COMPANY
PAGE
Nugent, Julia
HUB International Ontario
30
Prominski, Lucas
Billyard Insurance Group Inc.
38
Roloson, Brent
Nova Mutual Insurance Company
34
Russell, Joshua
Aon
26
Scott, Cameron
Insurance Systems Inc.
31
Sikorski, Chris
Magna Insurance Corp.
27
Sinha, Allison
Burns & Wilcox Canada
34
Smith, Cody
Intact Insurance
36
Stackhouse, Jennifer
PAL Insurance Brokers Canada
28
Strevens, Matthew General Reinsurance
38
Thomson, Adam
Toole Peet Insurance
32
Townsend, Tyler
INTECH Risk Management
37
Williams, Jessica
HAL Insurance
30
BARRY HAGGIS Principal YOUNG & HAGGIS INSURANCE SERVICES Age: 34
A third-generation insurance broker, Barry Haggis has taken on the responsibility of growing the business his grandfather started in the 1960s. Last year, he became a partner of Young
& Haggis Insurance Services; together with his brother and the brokerage staff, he’s now focused on building on Young & Haggis’ reputation of great customer service and strong personal relationships. Haggis also received his Level 3 licence last year, and he is currently one class away from completing his CIP designation. Active within the insurance community, Haggis sat on the IBAA board as local council chairman for Calgary for three years and served as president of Professional Young Insurance Brokers for 2017–2018. He’s also co-chair of the Jim Sinclair Golf Tournament, a member of the Aviva Broker Council and serves as a football coach at Henry Wise Wood High School in Calgary.
FUN FACT Haggis is the undefeated dance-off champion of the IBAA Broker Convention for three years running.
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
TOM IRWIN Manager, first party MARKEL INTERNATIONAL Age: 33
In 2018, Tom Irwin worked as a technical lead and underwriter to help transform the property department at Markel
JOSHUA RUSSELL Account executive AON Age: 28
As an account executive at Aon, Joshua Russell has been instrumental in building and improving processes for the
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International to align with the business’s new focus as a specialist liability carrier. His efforts resulted in his promotion to manager of first-party lines, responsible for the profitable growth of the business. This year, Irwin will continue to build new first-party products to support Markel’s care, sports and rec lines, and he’ll also be launching new property wordings early in the year. In addition, Irwin will focus on expanding specialized first-party products to Canada, including trade credit, terrorism and active assailant (with thirdparty liability), and expanding distribution of these products through Markel’s online portal. “This will help Markel and our broker partners bring these specialized products to our valued clients,” he says. Outside of work, Irwin balances his time between family and educational development. He is actively pursuing his FCIP, as well as a certificate program at McMaster University. “I am always looking for the next program, certification and course to take because I am a firm believer in lifelong education,” he says.
insurance goliath since he joined in 2014. In his first year as an account representative, Russell was awarded a silver production award for high performance in new business sales. At the age of 26, he was assigned to lead and operate a large national affinity program for one of the biggest franchising companies in the world. A year later, he helped lead and integrate a new affinity-based technological solution, which actively helps hundreds of clients with their day-to-day insurance needs. In addition to his insurance duties at Aon, Russell organizes Aon Burlington’s Annual Canned Food Drive Competition, which delivered more than $1,500 worth of non-perishable goods to the Burlington Food Bank last holiday season. He has also received numerous awards, including the Steve Childs Memorial Award, the IBAO Young Brokers Council Scholarship and the McGannon Foundation Student Involvement Scholarship.
TINA KENNY Marketing campaign consultant AVIVA CANADA Age: 31
Tina Kenny played an integral role in the development and implementation of marketing campaigns for the launches of Aviva Canada’s new SME product, Aviva Enterprise, and its new small business product, Aviva Onpoint. The former was a finalist for Best Advertising Campaign at the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards. Prior to joining Aviva, Kenny served as communications manager for the launch of Bullfrog Insurance, the first licensed Canadian brokerage to offer small business insurance fully online. She worked with agency partners to build the Bullfrog Insurance brand, developed and implemented its social media strategy, created custom content, and aided in the implementation of its SEO strategy. Prior to that, Kenny was marketing manager at Moore-Mclean Insurance Group (now McLean-Hallmark Insurance Group), where she received the Brand Builder Award in 2013 for taking a leading role in the development and implementation of a new company-wide rebranding initiative. Last year, Kenny served as a mentor in the American Marketing Association’s Career Accelerator program, where she mentored a junior marketing professional.
CHRIS SIKORSKI President MAGNA INSURANCE CORP. Age: 35
With more than 15 years of insurance industry experience, Chris Sikorski founded Magna Insurance in 2017 and has led the growth of the firm to 10 employees today. He started his career at Renfrew Insurance, where he ascended to senior vice-president and partner. In 2018, Sikorski wrote $4 million in premium and was a finalist for the Broker of the Year Award for the second year in a row at the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards. Outside of Magna, Sikorski is a proud supporter and advocate of the Renfrew Educational Services Society, a non-profit that focuses on children with special needs.
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YOUNG GUNS 2019
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JURENDA LANDRY
JEREMY ABELLERA
Director, client services
Director, marketing
KASE INSURANCE
DKI CANADA
Age: 33
Age: 34
In an industry where customer service is paramount, Jurenda Landry puts a high priority on understanding changes that occur with her clients. “When it comes to innovation, there are two schools of thought I like to work with as my baseline: always go above and beyond, and let your clients know you are thinking of them when they aren’t thinking of you,” she says. At KASE Insurance, Landry took the lead in implementing a revised customer service workflow, creating touchpoints throughout the year for each client that serve as mini-data-collecting moments, which has allowed KASE to better understand its clients. Since implementing the new workflow, the brokerage has experienced a spike in retention rates from 91.5% to 98%, and 30% of clients refer business to the firm regularly. Landry has also prioritized professional advancement, including working towards her designation with the Surety Association of Canada and attending multiple conferences and events. She also partnered with cannabis industry leaders to gain the perspective, confidence and knowledge base needed to successfully assist clients in the cannabis industry.
Jeremy Abellera was recently named director of marketing for DKI Canada, where he oversees marketing for more
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JENNIFER STACKHOUSE Underwriter PAL INSURANCE BROKERS CANADA Age: 33
than 55 DKI member companies in 85-plus locations across Canada. During his time with the company, Abellera played a key role in its rebrand from Disaster Kleenup Canada to DKI Canada. Today, he’s responsible for coordinating and managing corporate branding standards, marketing, and advertising strategies, in addition to implementing campaigns to help DKI achieve its business goals. He also assists in coordinating, creating and presenting content for major meetings/conferences, along with running marketing workshops, summits and forums for DKI Canada members and partners. To keep abreast of industry changes, Abellera conducts extensive research and focuses on membership development to build strategies for partnerships with insurance-related companies. Outside of DKI Canada, Abellera is a volunteer and mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and also volunteers as a coach for his local youth football organization in Burlington.
As one of PAL’s bilingual underwriters, Jennifer Stackhouse has played a key role in overseeing the opening of PAL’s new Quebec office. Under her guidance, the Montreal office opened in 2018 to better serve Quebec insurance brokers under all PAL product lines. Stackhouse has also served as a key player in helping to expand PAL’s current programs with innovative new product extensions across Canada. She took PAL’s Canada-wide prize indemnity programs beyond hole-in-one contests to include customizable boards for hockey contests, new interactive weather contests and customized contests for clients looking for something creative. “Jennifer’s exemplary customer service skills are lauded by both English- and French-speaking brokers alike,” a colleague says. “She is truly a valued and valuable member of PAL’s team.” Outside of the office, Stackhouse serves as president of the parent council at École Sainte-Marie in Simcoe, Ontario.
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
JESSICA WILLIAMS Account manager HAL INSURANCE Age: 25
JULIA NUGENT Vice-president, client experience, wealth management and employee benefits HUB INTERNATIONAL ONTARIO Age: 28
In 2018, Julia Nugent moved into a business development role at Hub International, responsible for cross-selling employee benefits to commercial clients. Recognizing that many large brokerages aren’t tailored to meet the needs of mid-market customers, Nugent focuses her attention on companies that range from 100 to 2,000 employees, as well as self-insured plans, specialty association
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Jessica Williams’ goal is to be as knowledgeable and helpful as possible to better help clients and co-workers – and she’s on the fast track in that regard. An account manager at HAL Insurance, Williams recently completed her CAIB 3 designation and is gearing up to take over a commercial auto and cargo book of business. She has also taken on other roles at the brokerage to improve the business, including managing the CSRs and being part of the team that integrated a new broker management system. “Jessica is an integral member to our team,” a colleague says. “She is heavily relied on in our office, whether that includes supporting our other brokers, helping with MVD tasks or helping with changes around the office. She is always willing to help and learn.”
programs and due diligence analysis. Nugent is passionate about redefining the traditional approach to sales by focusing on developing and executing on long-term strategic solutions through a collaborative relationship with clients. From 2017 to 2018, her book grew organically by 19%, and she managed to bring in 45% of the total Canadian employee benefits new business revenue generated from cross-selling in 2018. Her success qualified her for Hub’s annual internal awards and recognition program, SHARP, which recognizes producers generating more than $150,000 in new business revenue. In 2019, Nugent will attend Hub’s Path to Validation program to train to be a more effective communicator and enhance her client engagement skills. Outside of Hub, Nugent has been an active board member of St. Michael’s Young Leaders since 2013 and is co-chair of the organization’s The Bowler event. An avid angler, Nugent is also part of the organizing committee for the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s Toronto dinner. She is also active in the Queen’s University alumni community and spoke about success after graduation at a Student Alumni Association event last year.
MARGO LYONS Head of broker engagement APOLLO EXCHANGE Age: 26
A strong believer in the broker channel, Margo Lyons helps brokerage owners, producers and brokers enhance their workflow through Apollo Exchange. By leveraging her underwriting expertise, Lyons has been able to transform traditional insurance products into multi-line digital packages with a broad underwriting appetite. She also implemented a broker engagement strategy that included webinars, educational resources and a strong feedback channel. “Through this strategy, I achieved over 100 broker sign-ups within the first month of Apollo’s pre-release access,” she says. Outside of her work at Apollo Exchange, Lyons launched the Young Insurance Professionals of British Columbia LinkedIn group, which allows young insurance professionals to network and get involved in the industry. She is also an insurance industry ambassador and will be touring high schools and post-secondary institutions to promote careers in insurance with the goal of bringing more innovation to the industry.
FUN FACT On the weekends, Lyons teaches ballet at a local non-profit studio.
MIKE NAUGHTON D&O manager THE GUARANTEE Age: 35
CAMERON SCOTT Account executive INSURANCE SYSTEMS Age: 27
Recognizing a need for end-to-end core IT solutions in the professional liability sector, Cameron Scott developed a sales and marketing strategy to target these companies and grow Insurance Systems’ client base by 31%. He also signed two new lawyers’ professional liability insurance carriers in 2017, which resulted in a 16% increase in recurring revenue for 2018, and a medical professional liability insurer last year, which brought an 8% increase in recurring revenue. Currently, Scott is managing the implementation of a professional liability insurer core system project and previously implemented a digital consumer engagement platform for an insurance carrier. Outside of insurance, Scott serves as vice-president of Team “I Will,” a charity devoted to raising money for the Toronto Rehab Foundation. He was responsible for chairing the Team “I Will” Summer Send-Off event and also helped organize a charity boot camp fundraiser and ran the Scotiabank Half-Marathon to support the cause. Scott is also actively involved in several industry organizations, including the National Association of Bar-Related Insurance Companies, where he served as a speaker on cybersecurity at the group’s annual conference.
FUN FACT Scott’s first job was as a sailing instructor.
In 2018, The Guarantee promoted Mike Naughton to D&O manager for Western Canada. Naughton credits his mentors with helping him expand his business acumen and develop skills as a specialist; in his new role, he hopes to carry on the tradition of mentoring and developing the next generation of specialists. “It has been challenging pursuing D&O business, given the hyper-competition in the marketplace, our pursuits within emerging markets like cannabis and blockchain, and navigating tough economic conditions in Alberta,” Naughton says, “but our commitment to the broker channel, our approach to underwriting and the support we have from our senior team has given us the tools needed to succeed.” Having personally experienced the support of the Canadian Cancer Society’s volunteers, Naughton is passionate about giving back and has volunteered with the Canadian Cancer Society, WICC and the Relay for Life. For the past three years, he has spearheaded an insurance industry team for the Face Off Against Cancer Charity Hockey Tournament, which raises funds to support childhood cancer research and Camp Goodtimes. “Our team, Dusters HC, has been a top contributor since joining the tournament,” Naughton says. “The Vancouver insurance industry has really stepped up, and I am proud of our accomplishments.”
BRENDAN LYONS Commercial underwriting manager ECONOMICAL INSURANCE Age: 30
Last June, Brendan Lyons was promoted to commercial underwriting manager at Economical Insurance, where he manages a large book of business and strives to execute profitable underwriting practices to ensure sustainable retention and growth.
Lyons joined the insurance industry in 2013 in an entry-level claims role before moving into varied positions within his company’s auto physical damage claims team. He was eventually promoted to a claims leadership role, managing several direct reports across four branches and managing claims intake during catastrophes, including assisting at the evacuation centre in Lac la Biche during the Fort McMurray wildfire. At Economical, Lyons is engaged in several committees; outside of the office, he spends time volunteering at the Vancouver Food Bank and working with a substance abuse group.
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
JJ BITTKER Manager of strategic initiatives BURNS & WILCOX CANADA Age: 28
JJ Bittker started his insurance career as a marketing specialist with H.W. Kaufman Group, the parent company of Burns & Wilcox Canada, where he quickly became known for helping to drive business through various marketing initiatives. In 2015, Bittker transferred to the Burns & Wilcox office in Toronto to assist with the overall growth of Burns & Wilcox Canada, and he was recently promoted to manager of strategic initiatives. One of his proudest accomplishments has been helping to create an innovative dashboard that showcases Burns & Wilcox Canada’s retail clients’ business with the firm, which is now used by producers throughout the US and Canada. Bittker is also invested in the expansion of the company’s commercial ocean marine practice and provides marketing support to the corporate team and other Kaufman Group companies. Since moving to Toronto in 2015, Bittker has been an active member and sponsor of the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto. In 2016, he graduated from the Kaufman Emerging Leaders Program, and he was selected for the prestigious Kaufman Advanced Management Program in 2018.
FUN FACT Bittker helped lead the Burns & Wilcox teams to three Toronto intramural championship titles in 2018 for volleyball, flag football and soccer.
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ADAM THOMSON Account executive TOOLE PEET INSURANCE Age: 32
At Toole Peet Insurance, Adam Thomson has been a leader in building and implementing online commercial programs and applications for individual, provincial and national groups, including a recent online program for a mall development that allowed the firm to obtain the majority of the market share of the building in just over eight weeks. Thomson was also responsible for expanding and marketing Toole Peet’s existing real estate program, RealProSure, in British Columbia and New Brunswick. “I’m continually looking for different ways we can change the insurance-buying experience for our clients,” he says. “I feel the market and public are ready for different, non-traditional processes, as well as refreshing ways of looking at insurance all together. This is an exciting time for insurance, as it seems we’re on the verge of distributors entering the marketplace. I’m a big believer that there are always opportunities – it’s just knowing how to recognize and seize them.”
BRETT KANUKA Director of marketing CMB INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 32
Over the past seven years, Brett Kanuka has worked his way up from data entry clerk to director of marketing at CMB Insurance Brokers; he also became part owner of the firm last year. During this time, he has also built a book of business worth more than $1 million in commission income, with a focus on the transportation and oil & gas industries. Dedicated to mentoring new producers to promote the growth of his firm and the industry as a whole, Kanuka is currently working with his third generation of newbies to help them learn the job, the industry and how to become a successful producer. Outside of insurance, Kanuka is involved with several community sports, including softball, hockey, squash and dodgeball.
KIRSTIE HEMBRUFF National TPA manager CRAWFORD & COMPANY (CANADA) Age: 28
A little over a year ago, Kirstie Hembruff was promoted to manager of the nationwide TPA division at Crawford & Company, where she oversees a team of adjusting professionals and administrative staff who are dedicated to servicing commercial claims for the Lloyd’s and London market. “Kirstie is a result-oriented leader with proven excellence in customer service, claims management and business development,” a peer says. “She has a recognized ability to establish professional relationships founded on integrity, expertise and trust, enabling a successful adjusting and TPA practice.” In addition to her managerial duties, Hembruff is involved in the Crawford Cares initiative, is an annual participant in WICC’s Relay for Life, and is a member of the Canadian Independent Adjuster Association and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
BRENT ROLOSON Senior agribusiness underwriter NOVA MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY Age: 31
At the start of 2019, Brent Roloson was promoted to senior agribusiness underwriter; at the same time, two
DINA GODINHO Partner and account executive JONES DESLAURIERS NAVACORD Age: 35
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100-year-old mutual insurers, Norfolk Mutual Insurance Company and Wabisa Mutual Insurance Company, amalgamated under the new name Nova Mutual Insurance Company. As the lead underwriter in the agribusiness department at Norfolk Mutual, Roloson grew the agriculture book of business from $921,000 to $1.9 million in just four years. Prior to his arrival, Norfolk Mutual’s growth rate in agriculture was just 3%. Over the past two years, with Roloson’s influence, the company has experienced growth in excess of 20%. Roloson also launched three agriculture packages at Norfolk: poultry, grain and dairy. His passion and commitment to the business increased Norfolk Mutual’s agribusiness activity so significantly that the company had to hire an additional agribusiness underwriter to assist with new business and renewals. Roloson also eagerly coaches new agribusiness producers and regularly sets up shop at industry trade shows to assist in building the company’s profile.
Winner of the Young Gun of the Year Award at the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards, Dina Godinho is responsible for the coordination of client service activities at Jones DesLauriers Navacord and also provides consulting and brokerage services for nearly 200 clients across Canada. Godinho previously worked in the travel and hospitality industry, which helped her develop her focus on hospitality, technology and D&O insurance. She began her insurance career as a commercial account assistant before progressing into an account manager role and then becoming the firm’s first female partner and account executive. Godinho regularly calls on her expertise to host informative client-geared seminars and in-house education sessions that enable clients to feel empowered. She is constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to keep her customers tuned in to the most up-to-date information and resources.
ALLISON SINHA Senior underwriter BURNS & WILCOX CANADA Age: 26
Shortly after graduating from McMaster University, Allison Sinha hit the ground running at Burns & Wilcox Canada as an assistant underwriter. She quickly moved through the ranks to become a senior underwriter, responsible for managing new and renewal business in the specialty risks department, as well as supporting and mentoring the office’s team of assistants. In 2018, Sinha played a key role in helping Burns & Wilcox Canada stay ahead of the ever-changing cannabis industry through the development of product offerings such as cannabis product recall. She also earned her CIP and CRM designations and graduated from the Kaufman International Leadership Training. The year prior, she was a runner-up for the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto’s Young Insurance Professional of the Year Award. Outside of insurance, Sinha is a leader of the 90th Toronto Pathfinders through Girl Guides of Canada, a role that has allowed her to enhance her own leadership skills, as well as those of the girls in her group.
FUN FACT At McMaster University, Sinha was a flyer on the varsity cheerleading team and went to the 2012 Cheerleading Worlds competition in Orlando, Florida.
KATRINA MYHAL Senior analyst, e-commerce solutions TRISURA GUARANTEE INSURANCE COMPANY Age: 27
Katrina Myhal works to improve the user experience at Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company. Last year, Myhal was promoted to senior e-commerce analyst, and she also completed a user experience [UX] design course. Today, she’s using her skills to redesign Trisura’s online portal user experiences and interface, which will be incrementally launched this year. In addition, Myhal sits on Trisura’s digital steering committee, where she contributes to the planning of the company’s long-term digital strategy, and she continues to broaden her skills by attending numerous tech networking events and webinars. “I love online business and helping the insurance industry stay competitive in an ever-changing global tech environment,” Myhal says. “I believe a well-groomed user experience and marketing strategy keeps companies distinguished and respected within a competitive market.” Myhal has also brought her passion for user experience to the jewellery industry via her personal blog, where she promotes jewellery designers and their work. “I believe that extraordinary user experiences are the key to implementing a successful online strategy and fostering customer satisfaction and loyalty,” she says, “whether this be in the insurance or jewellery industry.”
JONATHAN HOPE Senior surety underwriter TRISURA GUARANTEE INSURANCE COMPANY Age: 33
KAMRAN AFSHAR Manager, commercial lines INTACT INSURANCE Age: 35
Kamran Afshar has demonstrated a commitment to shaping the insurance industry through strong leadership, involvement in projects aimed at achieving progress, and participating in initiatives to give back to the industry and
A 10-year veteran of the surety industry, Jonathan Hope has spent the past eight years at Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, where he’s responsible for the growth and management of surety clients in Alberta, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Hope also creates and manages strategic plans related to brokers and client risk assessment, including Trisura’s 2019 commercial surety plan. Hope has earned numerous professional designations, including the Associate in Canadian Surety Bonding, the Association of Surety Bond Producers’ Advanced Surety School Level III designation and the Commercial Surety designation. Outside of the office, he serves as chair of the Surety Association of Canada’s commercial committee and is actively involved in Motionball Calgary events, United Way campaigns and fundraising for the Calgary Prostate Cancer Centre.
community through training, mentorship and fundraising. With more than 11 years of P&C insurance experience in both the direct-to-consumer and broker channels and seven-plus years of leadership and team management experience, Afshar has led teams to provide high-value transformations and improved results. Currently, as commercial lines manager at Intact, Afshar heads the fleet and IRCA teams. He also led a group of managers to create and launch a training program on the firm’s customer-driven value for all underwriters in Ontario, in addition to leading the personal lines training efforts for all Toronto-area brokers. Committed to giving back, Afshar served as a mentor in the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto’s mentorship program last year and also co-founded the Mehran Afshar Scholarship at North York General Hospital with his sister-in-law following the passing of his brother in 2016. Annual fundraisers contribute to the endowment for the scholarship, which is awarded every year to a student in need to help with their continuing education.
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
CODY SMITH Commercial lines manager INTACT INSURANCE
DANA BOUWMAN Account executive INSIGHT INSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT Age: 27
Since entering the insurance industry in 2017, Dana Bouwman has received her CAIB designation and has been promoted twice, now working as an account executive for mid-sized to large clients. Last year, Bouwman joined Insight Insurance & Risk Management, where she works with some of the most prominent companies in Alberta and abroad. Bouwman’s entrepreneurial spirit allows her to step into her clients’ shoes and understand their commercial insurance needs and wants. Early in her career, Bouwman was aghast at the poor quality of insurance policies she reviewed for potential clients. To help others in similar positions, she now spends five hours a week crafting insurance videos to share through LinkedIn. “My goal is to lift the veil of mystery that surrounds insurance and help CFOs understand exactly what it is that they are buying,” she says. “It’s terrible when I sit down with a prospective client to review their current commercial insurance policy and find a potentially devastating exclusion they weren’t aware of. I want to help people make informed decisions about their insurance.”
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Age: 29
Seven years ago, Cody Smith started his career with Intact Insurance and has progressed from an underwriting trainee to intermediate and senior underwriting positions. In 2016, he was promoted to commercial lines manager at Intact’s Toronto office, where he leads
TRACI ALLEN Branch manager WESTERN FINANCIAL GROUP Age: 34
Traci Allen joined the insurance industry in 2005 as a PL processor with Falkins Insurance Group; over the past decade
a mid-market underwriting team and is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with a variety of local and national brokerages, while also serving as a mentor to peers and new team members. Last year, Smith served as the distribution representative for national commercial lines wording and product development, and he co-led the development and launch of an onboarding and recognition program to more than 100 members of the Intact Ontario management team. In the few years Smith has been in the industry, he has received numerous awards, including being named Canadian Broker Network’s Underwriter of the Year in 2015 and 2016 and a finalist for the Insurance Institute of Canada’s 2017 New Track FCIP Award. Outside of the office, Smith serves as an ambassador for the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto and is involved in organizing participation in events and providing support for the group’s initiatives. He is also in his final year of the MBA program at Ryerson University.
and a half, she has ascended through the ranks to her current role as branch manager. At Falkins, which was acquired by Western Financial Group in 2014, Allen created a rating tool for the personal lines program to rate policies quickly and efficiently, which resulted in her receiving a Business Efficiency Award in 2006. “I am proud that this tool is still working and is still being used today,” she says. In 2016, Allen was nominated by peers to represent her region on a newly formed branch manager council for Western Financial Group. The same year, she took over the management of a neighbouring branch in addition to her own, mentoring the assistant manager to later take over the branch. Through fundraising efforts at her branch and with the help of the Western Communities Foundation, Allen and her team have donated more than $28,000 over the past five years to grants, charities and community initiatives.
Assurex Global names ANDY SLOAN Chairman of the Board Assurex Global, the world’s largest privately held commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage group, has announced the election of Andy Sloan as chairman of its board of directors. Andy is President and CEO at The Magnes Group, Inc., an independent insurance broker headquartered in Ontario, Canada. Andy has been with The Magnes Group since 1984, his career covering all aspects of insurance distribution. As an Assurex Global Board member for the past eight years, Andy also served as Assurex Global’s regional chairman in North America from 2015-2017.
TYLER TOWNSEND Director, risk and insurance services INTECH RISK MANAGEMENT Age: 33
DEREK FRIESEN Account executive FOUNDERS INSURANCE GROUP Age: 21
At Founders Insurance Group, Derek Friesen manages a book worth more than $1.5 million – an impressive accomplishment for someone who’s only been in the industry for two years. Making an immediate impact when he entered insurance at the age of 19, Friesen started out as a CSR before progressing into an account executive role, growing his capabilities and skills along the way. Today, he is recognized by peers as one of the brightest up-and-coming insurance professionals in the Atlantic region. Currently, Friesen is in the process of completing his CAIB and LLQP designations to better round out his professional education. Outside of insurance, he is a baseball coach and mentor in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and is active in the athletic department at his former high school.
Since joining INTECH Risk Management in 2017, Tyler Townsend has quickly risen to the role of director of risk and insurance services. With experience in the broker space and exposure to the world’s top REITs, developers, financial institutions and asset managers at INTECH, he is now responsible for overseeing and driving business development strategies and served as the insurance and risk consultant “for more than $2.5 billion of placed construction and development in 2018.” Along with his team, Townsend makes risk management accessible to organizations that typically don’t have the resources to employ a full-time risk manager or might not have the expertise in certain aspects of insurance. This helps advance the profession by promoting and demonstrating the value of effective risk management to the business community. In recognition of INTECH’s commitment to and passion for its trade, Townsend’s team received the Excellence in Risk Management Award at the 2017 Insurance Business Canada Awards.
“As we embark on the next phase of our strategic planning, Andy’s leadership and direction will be essential,” President & CEO of Assurex Global Jim Hackbarth said. “He is the fourth Assurex Global chairman to have come from outside the United States. We are grateful to have Andy in this role and look forward to his contributions.” As the new chairman of Assurex Global, Andy succeeds Matt Donnelly of Liverpool, UK-based Griffiths & Armour. Matt was elected to that post in 2016.
ANDY SLOAN
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SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019 DANIEL ITALIANO Senior associate ORACLE RMS Age: 28
With more than 10 years of experience in the industry, including five years as a full-time producer, Daniel Italiano has built a book worth nearly $2 million in GWP, resulting in his nomination for Young Gun of the Year at the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards. An advocate for strong broker-insurer
relationships, Italiano believes insureds are best served when brokers provide unbiased, independent advice. In addition to his duties at Oracle RMS, Italiano is the director of finance for the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto, which he has helped become the main networking hub for insurance professionals in the city of Toronto. He also volunteers his time to present seminars on the importance of insurance for both young entrepreneurs and at-risk youth and adults who are trying to start their own businesses.
MIKE GERBER Insurance broker MONARCH INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 32
During his 12-year career in insurance, Mike Gerber has built a book of business from scratch and now produces millions in premium each year. In the last year alone, Gerber grew his book by $6 million in new premium. He also developed reciprocal relationships with many independent safety and compliance companies to ensure his clients are being taken care of beyond insurance. “Everything starts with good communication,” he says. “Communi cation, regardless of the medium, is a ‘decompression algorithm’ – in other words, we need to take a complex thought that needs to be compressed into a few words for the receiving party to be able to ‘decompress’ that message and have it still carry the same relative meaning. In insurance, we deal with complex matters, and it is important that what we are telling our clients is concise. We are compressing a large policy wording into an everyday conversation about their needs and adding our insight. What we do to help our insureds better understand their risks and protect them by transferring risk each day is phenomenal and rewarding.”
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LUCAS PROMINSKI
MATTHEW STREVENS
Managing partner
Second vice-president
BILLYARD INSURANCE GROUP
GENERAL REINSURANCE
Age: 26
Age: 30
In December 2016, Lucas Prominski and two partners opened Billyard Insurance Group’s first branch in Hamilton, Ontario. In the two years since its establishment, Billyard’s book of business has grown from $0 to $8.45 million in GWP, while the office has grown to a team of 15 members, including brokers, CSRs, a commercial manager, and a life and benefits manager. Prominski is responsible for managing, producing, payroll and hiring, and as of November 2018, he had personally written $802,000 in business for the year.
Matthew Strevens plays a significant role in helping to underwrite complex deals and setting the strategy at Gen Re. As the oil & gas leader for Gen Re North America, Strevens shares his insights and product knowledge with colleagues, primary insurance markets and the brokerage community. He is also involved in reinsurance training seminars to help newcomers to the industry understand the reinsurance marketplace and co-leads an initiative to raise funds for the Good Shepherd Charity organization.
SARAH GROENEWEG General manager LOCKE INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 31
One of Sarah Groeneweg’s most recent accomplishments has been playing a lead role in launching Locke Insurance Brokers’ digital campaign to encourage new client growth, focusing on newcomers to the local community of St. Thomas, Ontario. “Housing remains a large economic growth factor for St. Thomas and the area, so we got creative to tap into that market,” Groeneweg says. “We are still working on phase two of this campaign but have seen significant growth, particularly with newcomers, as a result of our digital strategy and social media presence.” With a background in journalism and media, Groeneweg uses her skills to strengthen Locke Insurance Brokers’ social media platforms to relate with clients on a personal level. “It’s important that our clients know and trust us,” she says. “We built our business on relationships and have long-term clients who have become friends.” Highly active in her community, Groeneweg is the current vice-chair, and soon-to-be chair, of the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation’s board of directors. She also chairs the St. Thomas Uncorked wine-tasting event, 100 People Who Care St. Thomas and the member services committee for the St. Thomas & District Chamber of Commerce.
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PEOPLE
BROKERAGE INSIGHT
Thriving in small towns McDougall Insurance’s Kelly McKinney tells IBC what has been key to his brokerage’s longevity and what the insurance industry needs to keep its eye on in the future
IBC: How has McDougall Insurance perpetuated growth over the past 73 years? Kelly McKinney: McDougall Insurance started in 1946, and over the years, we’ve had a few opportunities to purchase other brokerages. In the past 20 years, we have probably purchased 25 brokerages, with the notion that it does us no good to buy another brokerage unless we can grow it. Our target is to grow 7% to 10% organically every year, so we find great brokerages that are well run and profitable, and we help them grow. In addition, we operate in small towns in Eastern Ontario. It would be very efficient for us to have one head office in a big urban centre, but instead we have 32 little offices spread around. It’s important to us to be in these towns where we know and understand our clients. We’ve been very successful in small towns, and we think that has been a big part of our success.
IBC: Can you share a story about how McDougall Insurance developed one of its specializations? KM: We have insured municipalities since day one, and there’s an interesting story behind this. In one municipality, as is often the case in small towns, the city decided it was easier to
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share the policies with the 10 different brokers in town; one broker did the auto, one did the D&O, and it was all mixed. Lorne McDougall, our founder, went to the city and told them that it wasn’t in their best interest to do this. He proposed that the city should instead have all its policies with one broker, where everything would be covered with no gaps. He also proposed that McDougall Insurance would do the policies for the city while sharing commission with all the other brokers through the brokers’ association. Now, 70 years later, we still have that account, and we insure municipalities all across our area.
IBC: What do you find to be the biggest challenge for brokers today? KM: The biggest challenge right now is that the world is changing very fast, and as you
watch it change and try to stay ahead of it, the change has come before you realize what’s happening. So, trying to stay ahead of technology and potential investments can be a challenge because right now there are a lot of shiny things that can be distracting. We see a lot of brokers and companies distracted by all the different things that are out there, so it’s important to think hard about the changes that are happening. You have to think: Are we missing the boat on something? Or are we doing the right thing by sticking to our knitting?
IBC: What trends are you keeping a close eye on? KM: A lot of people think about Google or Amazon and what they can do to disrupt the industry, but I think there are other busi-
BLAME IT ON BUFFETT A lifelong fan of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, Kelly McKinney was inspired to join the insurance business by his respect for Buffett and his investment approach. “I am a believer in his philosophy of investing in things for the long haul,” McKinney says. Twelve years ago, McKinney joined McDougall Insurance as a shareholder, bringing with him a unique background in travel: Prior to insurance, he worked for Butterfield & Robinson, an active travel company that operated in Europe and around the world. Today, McKinney handles $6 million in premium and also oversees the brokerage’s marketing and digital efforts.
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FAST FACTS: MCDOUGALL INSURANCE
SERVICES
Auto/car insurance
Property and home insurance
Recreational insurance
Life and financial
“It would be very efficient for us to have one head office in a big urban centre, but instead we have 32 little offices ... It’s important to us to be in these towns where we know and understand our clients” nesses that we never thought of that could also disrupt the industry. One example, from InsureTech Connect 2018, is Credit Karma. We would traditionally never look at them as a competitor, but their president spoke at the conference and explained how they are able to get an insurance quote with zero clicks – while the rest of the industry is trying to get clicks down from 50 to 10 for quotes, Credit Karma is doing it with zero.
They have your name, address, credit scores, background, and they also purchase third-party data that is readily accessible that has car information and claims history. All they have to do is ask a user if they are interested in a car insurance quote, and if they say yes, with one click, they feed it to the customer. It’s stuff like that that makes me nervous – someone you didn’t know was a competitor that is driving in the inside lane.
Business/commercial insurance
Farm insurance
Year founded: 1946 Head office: Belleville, Ontario Leadership: Ross McDougall, CEO; Don Stanton, president; Kelly McKinney, vice-president, marketing and digital; Christian Hutchison, vice-president, operations
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WINNERS REVEALED Nominations flooded in from across the industry for the 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards. Here, IBC spotlights all the winners across 21 categories
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ON NOVEMBER 29, 2018, Insurance Business Canada held its third annual awards gala. Hosted by TV personality Jessi Cruickshank and attended by more than 500 industry professionals, the Insurance Business Canada Awards is the largest awards ceremony of its kind in Canada, showcasing the intelligence, creativity and compassion on display in the country’s insurance industry every day. Twenty-one awards, recognizing the success of organizations, teams and individuals, were handed out at this year’s gala. Winners were chosen by a jury panel of independent industry experts from across Canada. In addition to prizes for Brokerage/Network Cluster of the Year, Employer of Choice and MGA of the Year, the awards also recognized outstanding individual achievements with trophies for Broker of the Year, Woman of Distinction and Lifetime Achievement in the Insurance Industry. Dina Godinho, who took home the PAL Insurance Brokers Award for Young Gun of the Year, said the awards carry special significance, “especially for new people coming into the industry. I think it’s important that they feel they too can pick up a career path and be recognized during the course of their careers.” Commenting on the Insurance Business Canada Awards’ broad scope, Lindsay Donelson of FirstOnSite Restoration, who was named Business Development Manager of the Year, said, “I think it’s important to recognize all those individuals who are in different walks of the insurance profile. I think oftentimes certain individuals and companies can get overlooked because of the type of work they do, so it’s nice to have a collective awards for all walks of life.” But the Insurance Business Canada Awards are about more than networking and friendly competition. They are also about celebrating a noble, necessary profession. “We’re there when bad things happen,” said CNA Canada president and CEO Nick Creatura, whose organization was named P&C Insurer of the Year. “We get businesses and people back on their feet. We’re a little bit of the grease for the economy as well, and I think to have an evening that celebrates all of the great things that we do as an industry and all that we contribute to society as a whole is fabulous.”
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THE INSURANCE BUSINESS CANADA READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN WINNER
THE 2018 Insurance Business Canada Awards kicked off with the award for the year’s best advertising campaign. Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company took home the honours for the first time. “We’ve been nominated three times, so we finally won it, and it’s great,” said Sandra Henkel, Trisura’s vice-president of marketing and distribution. “We don’t work with big ad agencies, so the creative content for the campaign was something that we’ve developed in-house.”
Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
FINALISTS Aviva Canada CAA Club Group Cansure
“A lot of work goes into a lot of these things throughout the year, so it’s nice to be recognized”
Economical Insurance Kanetix.ca
SANDRA HENKEL Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
Trisura’s use of Donald Trump and ‘fake news’ in its campaign appears to have engaged clients as much as it impressed this year’s judges. “We worked with a couple of local graphic designers to bring it to life,” Henkel said. “We thought it was different from the normal B2B type of advertising.”
Sandra Henkel Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
INSURANCE BUSINESS is published throughout the world with multiple editions. The Canadian edition is published bimonthly with a readership of 25,000. The print edition is supported by an online industry hub offering daily news and business intelligence via a website and e-newsletter sent daily to 250,000 subscribers across Canada. Committed to delivering the latest industry news, opinion and analysis, Insurance Business Online takes a fresh approach to covering the need-to-know developments of the day from government and regulatory bodies, platforms, underwriters, and insurance firms, as well as industry service providers. For more information, visit insurancebusiness.ca
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THE INSURANCE BUSINESS CANADA READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST INDUSTRY SERVICE PROVIDER WINNER ClearPay Corp.
FINALISTS Goose Digital Iv3 Solutions Keal Technology Kronos Technologies Opta Information Intelligence ProNavigator Trufla Technology
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
BEST INDUSTRY Service Provider, arguably one of the most
coveted trophies at the Insurance Business Canada Awards, went to Toronto-based ClearPay Corp. By automating payment settlements, ClearPay Corp. has helped simplify and streamline what can be a complex and costly process. When asked about his company’s win, ClearPay CEO John Knotek said, “It’s incredible. We’re a small startup, and four years ago, thinking that we’re going to be on this stage accepting a Best Industry Service Provider Award at this point in time is beyond comprehension.”
“We’re on track to save the industry about $100 million a year, and we couldn’t do it without all the brokers that we’ve onboarded – the brokers who have helped us grow” JOHN KNOTEK ClearPay Corp.
INSURANCE BUSINESS is published throughout the world with multiple editions. The Canadian edition is published bimonthly with a readership of 25,000. The print edition is supported by an online industry hub offering daily news and business intelligence via a website and e-newsletter sent daily to 250,000 subscribers across Canada. Committed to delivering the latest industry news, opinion and analysis, Insurance Business Online takes a fresh approach to covering the need-to-know developments of the day from government and regulatory bodies, platforms, underwriters, and insurance firms, as well as industry service providers. For more information, visit insurancebusiness.ca
Knotek feels ClearPay’s win is a victory for the industry as well, as the company’s efforts tackle a “massive industry problem that we’ve dealt with. We’ve made the impossible possible in terms of the money movement and data transfer in the industry.”
Karrie Warner ClearPay Corp.
John Knotek ClearPay Corp.
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DIGITAL INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR WINNER
AS THE INSURANCE industry continues to adapt to a changing technological landscape, the most successful companies will be those that can straddle the line between service and innovation. This year’s winner of Digital Innovator of the Year, FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada, fits that description to a T.
FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada
FINALISTS April Marine
Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services
“We spent a lot of time and effort dedicated to the brokers through digital solutions, and now they’re starting to see the benefits”
Surex Direct
STUART BRUCE
Economical Insurance Insureline Brokers LowestRates.Ca
FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada
FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada earned the award for its new bilingual interface, First InSite Lite, which leverages its loan management platform via APIs and drastically reduces the time and effort required for brokers to create payment plans for their clients. CEO Stuart Bruce said the award is the culmination of five years of development and hard work by his team. “It’s been really, really great,” he said. “I think [winning Digital Innovator of the Year] allows us to take a step back and actually enjoy and see the accomplishments we’ve done for the year.”
Stuart Bruce with the FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada team
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THE iv3 SOLUTIONS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RISK MANAGEMENT WINNER Longo Brothers Fruit Markets
FINALISTS City of Brampton Risk and Insurance Team City of St. John’s INTECH Risk Management Trillium Mutual Insurance Company PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
iv3 SOLUTIONS has been continuously providing innovative insurance solutions that complement the evolving needs of a diverse marketplace. For nearly four decades, our goal has always been the same: to empower you to make the right underwriting decisions and respond more quickly to your customers. That’s why all of our property experts maintain specific qualifications, designations, insurance and licences to ensure the right information is delivered right to you in a moment’s notice. Your need for quality property intelligence and exceptional customer service is paramount. With our vast network of national property experts stretching across the country, iv3 will be able to help no matter what your line of business, including actuarial, underwriting and brokerage, and loss control. Our team will always guide you toward the solution.
WITH COUNTLESS moving parts, the grocery industry is no
stranger to risk. Managing that risk can be the difference between a business that bustles and one that struggles, and Longo Brothers Fruit Markets has firmly established itself in the former camp. Its technology includes a self-serve platform, chatbot and other features that allow clients to interact with the company at their convenience. “We have a fantastic team that works really hard to keep our customers safe and our business safe,” said Michael Coladipietro, director of risk management for Longo Brothers Fruit Markets. “We work every day through some really unique challenges in the grocery industry, and they do a fantastic job.”
“It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work, but it’s really important work to keep people safe, to keep businesses safe and to keep us going forward” MICHAEL COLADIPIETRO Longo Brothers Fruit Markets
Denise Gaeta, president of award sponsor iv3 Solutions, highlighted the increasing importance of loss prevention, both within and outside the grocery industry. “Risk management is a part of what we do every day,” she said. “Loss control has become more and more important for all the businesses in Canada to protect their profits and margins.”
For more information, visit iv3solutions.com
Denise Gaeta iv3 Solutions Michael Coladipietro with the Longo Brothers Fruit www.insurancebusiness.ca Markets risk managementwww.australasianlawyer.com.au team
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THE PAL INSURANCE BROKERS AWARD FOR YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR WINNER Dina Godinho Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management
FINALISTS Arian Ebrahimi, KASE Insurance Cole Leitch, Avant Insurance Brokers Daniel Italiano, Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services
Imran Pira, Willis Towers Watson Matthew Studley, Hub International Mike Boynton, PBL Insurance Mitch Maclellan Founders Insurance Group
Ryan Burns, Cowan Insurance Group Thomas Watson Jr. Guardsman Insurance Services
Victoria Stanhope Stanhope Simpson Insurance
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
PAL INSURANCE BROKERS CANADA has been Canada’s leading specialty MGA for more than 25 years. PAL’s online platform is very popular with brokers, as it allows quick and easy access to many of PAL’s programs. Responsiveness to brokers is one of PAL’s top priorities, whether in providing top-notch customer service to its brokers or in the creation of several programs in direct response to broker demand. PAL’s younger generation continues to lead PAL into the 21st century by responding to shifting customer needs and technological advances.
THE AWARD for Young Gun of the Year recognizes a young insur-
ance professional who has made the leap from ‘promising’ to ‘proven.’ This year’s winner, Dina Godinho of Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management, is an example of what’s possible when you combine an unwavering commitment to customer service with outside-the-box thinking.
“The Insurance Business Canada Awards did a really good job in diving into my career path. They really sat down and said, ‘Where were you from start to finish, and how did you get here?’” DINA GODINHO Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management
“It’s really amazing,” Godinho said when accepting her award. “It’s an incredible experience. Especially for new people coming into the industry, I think it’s important that they feel they too can pick up a career path and be recognized during the course of their careers.” PAL Insurance Brokers, which employs a number of younger associates, was proud to sponsor the award. “We feel it’s important to have young guns in the industry recognized for all of their work,” said PAL marketing director Amber Morrison-Givens. “We think that it’s great to nominate and appreciate the people who are doing all the forward-thinking work in the industry.”
For more information, visit palcanada.com Amber Morrison-Givens PAL Insurance Brokers Canada 48 48
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Dina Godinho Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management
Matthew Taylor PAL Insurance Brokers Canada
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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF THE YEAR WINNER Lindsay Donelson FirstOnSite Restoration
FINALISTS Alan Spruin RSA Canada
Carmen Kehyeian Intact Insurance
Frank Piluso Aon Canada
Julia Fischer Intact Insurance
Katherine E. Ferrante ARAG Services Corporation
Sheldon Williams Dream Insurance
DEVELOPING AND fostering strong customer relationships is at the core of what Lindsay Donelson does at FirstOnSite Restoration. A prior nominee in the same category, this was Donelson’s first time taking home Business Development Manager of the Year honours. “It’s really exciting and humbling to even be nominated, so to actually win an award is fantastic,” she said after receiving her trophy.
“I think it’s important to recognize all those individuals who are in different walks of the insurance profile. Oftentimes, certain individuals and companies can get overlooked because of the type of work they do” LINDSAY DONELSON FirstOnSite Restoration
At FirstOnSite Restoration, Donelson is known for pushing the envelope and using her knowledge of markets to consistently achieve her goals. Donelson credited FirstOnSite’s pioneering approach for her success on awards night. “I think the award probably recognizes that our industry and the company I work for have established ourselves in a niche market with Lloyd’s of London and have been able to provide different services that have never been thought of outside the box before,” she said.
Lindsay Donelson FirstOnSite Restoration
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BROKERAGE/NETWORK CLUSTER OF THE YEAR WINNER
ONCE AGAIN, Prolink Broker Network proved to be unmatched in the Canadian insurance industry, resulting in the company taking home the award for Brokerage/Network Cluster of the Year for the second year in a row.
Prolink Broker Network
FINALISTS
“We would like to thank our broker partners for their exceptional client service and for placing their trust in us when it comes to growing their business in an uncertain landscape”
BrokerLink Canadian Broker Network Excel Insurance Group GTI Broker Group Huestis Insurance Group Insureline Brokers
BRIAN MAHON
The InsureBC Group
Prolink Broker Network
Brian Mahon Prolink Broker Network
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Brokers in the Prolink network benefit from both profit-sharing and access to multiple insurers and products. The network’s ability to offer clients a choice of insurers has been critical to its continued success and a major factor in its win. “I think it’s all about the partnership and the value we give to our broker partners,” said Prolink president Brian Mahon. “We invest a lot in our technology for our brokers, and over 10 years, we’ve built a tremendous reputation.” Clearly enjoying the night’s festivities, Mahon added, “It’s great to get together outside of work hours and mingle with our partners.”
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THE EMPIRE LIFE AWARD FOR LIFE & HEALTH ADVISOR OF THE YEAR WINNER Samuel Waxman
Millennial Financial Group
FINALISTS Andrew Bradley AndrewWBradley.ca Financial Services
Chris Gory Insurance Portfolio Financial Services
Gavin Mosley Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group
Jason Pereira Woodgate Financial
Joshua Krenus Alteri Insurance Brokers
Ryan Riffel KnightArcher Insurance Brokers
ANOTHER REPEAT winner, Millennial Financial Group’s Samuel Waxman took home the trophy for Life and Health Advisor of the Year for the second consecutive year. Waxman has been blazing a trail in the life and health space for years, helping bring this important coverage to the next generation. “I’ve said it for a while – [insurance is] a very old-school industry, so [I] help bring it to the next generation, use tech as much as I can [and] get young people understanding why life and health insurance is important,” Waxman said.
“People work hard all day long. They don’t ask for recognition, so to get it without asking for it is really awesome. It’s just really cool to reward people for their hard work” SAMUEL WAXMAN
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
THE EMPIRE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY is a proud Canadian company that has been in business since 1923. We offer individual and group life and health insurance and investment and retirement products, including mutual funds through our wholly owned subsidiary Empire Life Investments. Empire Life is among the top 10 life insurance companies in Canada and is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. Our mission is to make it simple, fast and easy for Canadians to get the investment, insurance and group benefits coverage they need to build wealth, generate income and achieve financial security.
Millennial Financial Group
Michael Stocks, president and CMO of award sponsor Empire Life, noted that the quality of the nominees represents a positive outlook for the industry. “The future is very bright because all of this year’s finalists are innovators,” he said. “As we think about insurance, we don’t always think about innovation, but there is great opportunity for advisors to take advantage of technology and combine that with great customer service to really make a difference.”
Michael Stocks Empire Life
For more information, visit empire.ca Samuel Waxman Milliennial Financial Group www.insurancebusiness.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE WINMAR AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CLAIMS SERVICE WINNER DSB Claims
FINALISTS ClaimsPro Crawford & Company (Canada) Louis Meier Insurance Broker Trillium Mutual Insurance Company Wynward Insurance Group
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
DSB CLAIMS beat out five worthy competitors to take home the hardware for Excellence in Claims Service this year. By managing its customers’ claims with industry-leading expertise and professionalism, DSB Claims provides the kind of consistent and reliable service this award was meant to celebrate.
“Our service is focused on customer service, and that appeals to our clients. Our clients support that because they want the best claims service for their clients” DARA BANGA DSB Claims
WINMAR® is a proud Canadian-owned and -operated restoration company with more than 90 locations coast to coast and 1,500 full-time employees to serve our industry. All WINMAR franchises are independently owned and operated and are active participants within their communities for sports, culture and supporting such organizations as the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity. WINMAR was started in May 1977 by Paul Wormith and John White, who named their company after their mothers, Winifred and Margaret. In May 2017, WINMAR celebrated its 40th anniversary in the restoration business and has never lost sight of its modest beginning focused around family values and community.
Dara Banga, president and chief adjusting officer at DSB Claims, was pleasantly surprised by the company’s win. “I never thought that we could win,” he said. “We’re up against some very large competitors, our colleagues from other companies, but I never thought that we could win because we’re so small.” John Neville, regional vice-president at WINMAR, said his company chose to sponsor this award because it recognizes how critical effective claims handling is to the industry. “I think, overall, claims management always seems to be the focus of the satisfaction of our customers,” Neville said. “And the end result [is that] customers are happy, insurance companies are happy, and we’re happy.”
For more information, visit winmar.ca
Dara Banga with the DSB Claims team
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John Neville Winmar
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INSURANCE INDUSTRY EMPLOYER OF CHOICE WINNER
TRILLIUM MUTUAL Insurance Company took home this year’s
Trillium Mutual Insurance Company
award for Employer of Choice, thanks to its commitment to educating its employees, finding creative solutions for business challenges and providing a healthy work-life balance. Trillium’s president and CEO, Joe Dietrich, attributed the win to the company’s recruitment process and talent development plan. “We’re very focused on hiring the right people for fit and developing our team up to their potential,” he said. “We’ve got an amazing talent plan within our organization and a really high level of employee engagement.”
FINALISTS BFL Canada Bryson Insurance Burns & Wilcox Canada Cansure CNA Canada
Surex Direct
“I think we need to celebrate leadership and success and how important our industry is to society and to community development”
The Great-West Life Assurance Company
Trillium Mutual Insurance Company
Economical Insurance Nacora Insurance Brokers Sharp Insurance Special Risk Insurance Managers
JOE DIETRICH
Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company Dietrich also noted that being recognized as a top employer is especially important at a time of heightened turnover in the industry. “I think there’s a war for talent, and we know that that’s going to become more intense as time goes on,” he said. “This gives us an opportunity to promote ourselves as a great place to be.”
Wynward Insurance Group
Joe Dietrich Trillium Mutual Insurance Company
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BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (FEWER THAN 10 STAFF) WINNER Levitt Insurance Brokers
FINALISTS Canopy Insurance InsureU! Broker KASE Insurance Servo Insurance Brokers Wells Insurance Services
BIGGER ISN’T always better, a fact proven by the performances of
this year’s nominees for Brokerage of the Year (Fewer than 10 Staff). Smaller brokerages push back against the idea of insurance being a cold and impersonal business by providing unmatched levels of personal connection and clarity. This year’s winner, Levitt Insurance Brokers, has built a reputation for delivering the simplicity and savings modern consumers are looking for.
“I encourage all the brokers out there that are thinking about succession to really think about the broker channel when they do that” MARCEL MOLDOVAN Levitt Insurance Brokers
“This is amazing – it’s such a great feeling,” said Marcel Moldovan, president of Levitt Insurance Brokers. “We put a lot of effort into this. We went through a transition, so the last three years have been very, very different. We did a succesMarcel Moldovan sion planning deal three years ago, so this proves that with the Levitt Insurance succession planning in the small brokerage works.” Brokers team Moldovan added that the award serves as recognition of “the fact that we’ve been dedicated to bringing value to the customer. That’s what the brokers are all about. And today, I think we’re showing that we’ve achieved that as a small brokerage.”
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THE DKI CANADA AWARD FOR P&C INSURER OF THE YEAR WINNER CNA Canada
FINALISTS Aviva Canada CAA Insurance Economical Insurance Intact Insurance Liberty Mutual Canada Markel Canada Northbridge Insurance Portage Mutual Insurance Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company Wynward Insurance Group
PROPERTY & CASUALTY insurance provides peace of mind to thousands of Canadians, making the award for P&C Insurer of the Year one of the most sought-after at the Insurance Business Canada Awards. “With such a great group of finalists, it’s just an honour to be included among them, and then to win is fantastic,” said CNA Canada president and CEO Nick Creatura. “It’s wonderful recognition for the tremendous work that our team does every day to serve our clients and our brokers.”
“Every interaction that we have, our team works effortlessly to make that a fantastic experience for our broker partners and our clients” NICK CREATURA CNA Canada
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
DKI is the largest disaster restoration contracting organization in North America. The restoration services DKI provides to insurance, commercial and residential clients include emergency response, water damage mitigation, fire and contents cleaning, mold remediation, complete reconstruction, and much more, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. DKI returns damaged property to its pre-loss condition quickly and efficiently, delivering complete satisfaction to our consumer, insurance and corporate customers.
By all accounts, CNA Canada had a phenomenal 2018. “We’ve expanded our capabilities and our offerings to the market,” Creatura said. “We had a program celebrating our 100th anniversary, the theme of which was giving back to the community and being very thankful to our broker partners, our clients and our staff as well.” Adam Tzarik of DKI Canada explained why his company wanted to sponsor this award. “Because we are on the claims side, we work very diligently with the P&C industry, and I think it’s important that we recognize the hard work and what they’ve done for us,” he said.
Nick Creatura with the CNA Canada team
For more information, visit dki.ca Adam Tzarik DKI Canada
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THE FIRST INSURANCE FUNDING OF CANADA AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY WINNER Barry F. Lorenzetti BFL Canada This is the highest honour and most coveted award at the Insurance Business Canada Awards. This award recognizes a leading figure who has contributed much to the advancement of the insurance industry in Canada. Though there are no defined parameters, this award acknowledges an industry icon with an established history and reputation of distinguished service to the insurance profession and who has exhibited leadership and provided inspiration to others in the sector and their own workplace, while putting the interests of the industry at the top of their priorities throughout their career.
A TRULY deserving recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award,
Barry Lorenzetti has been on the insurance scene since the mid-1970s. Lorenzetti first rose to prominence in 1987 when he founded BFL Canada, which he built over the years into one of Canada’s largest privately owned insurance brokerages. “To be successful, you do all the same things,” Lorenzetti said. “It doesn’t matter what the industry is. So from my perspective, what
“Insurance is not exactly a sexy game. We try to do as much as we can with it. I look at this as an acknowledgment more on the side of creating a business ... the insurance is simply the commodity” BARRY LORENZETTI
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
FIRST INSURANCE FUNDING OF CANADA provides the Canadian insurance market with comprehensive payment solutions. Brokers, MGAs and carriers can partner with FIRST Canada and expand their offering to provide more value, choice and convenience for all of their clients. The combined strength of FIRST Canada’s dedicated team, evolved offering and innovative platform positions its partners to meet the demanding future of the Canadian insurance landscape. Armed with market-leading solutions for success, FIRST Canada is part of the Wintrust family of companies with more than $25 billion in assets and part of the largest premium finance companies in North America. Follow FIRST Canada on LinkedIn and Twitter.
BFL Canada
this means to me is an acknowledgment that at least somebody’s listening and saying, ‘You know what? He did a pretty good job.’” Lorenzetti also acknowledged the role his employees have played in his success. “All I do is surround myself with people who are better than me in certain disciplines, and that makes my job a lot easier.” Stuart Bruce, CEO of award sponsor FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada, took a moment to praise his long-time colleague. “Barry’s been an icon in this industry for 30-plus years,” Bruce said. “It’s been a pleasure working with him and his firm. They’re an inspiration for everybody.”
For more information, visit firstinsurancefunding.ca
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Barry F. Lorenzetti BFL Canada Stuart Bruce FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada
David Caringi FIRST Insurance Funding of Canada
www.insurancebusiness.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE CANSURE AWARD FOR INSURANCE BROKER OF THE YEAR WINNER Tammy McCarthy Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers
FINALISTS Andrea Hadlington, CCV Insurance Blair Tinianov
Louis Meier Insurance Brokers
Calvin Lim, UW Insure Brokers Chris Sikorski, Magna Insurance Group Dan Ivans, KTX Insurance Brokers Filip Ambroziak Ambroziak & Rao Insurance Brokers
Jurenda Landry, KASE Insurance Kevin Stedman Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management
Sean McKechnie Zehr Insurance Brokers
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
CANSURE is a leading Canadian insurance supplier servicing brokers across the country. As an open market, Cansure is accessible by all licensed brokers in Canada and seeks to be a first-choice supplier, offering a breadth of products to protect both standard and non-standard risks across personal and commercial lines. Known for its creative underwriting solutions and expertise, Cansure continues to sustain strong financial security supported by both global and domestic partnerships. For more information, visit cansure.com
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DESPITE HER preparation for the Insurance Business Canada Awards, Tammy McCarthy was still surprised to hear her name called as Insurance Broker of the Year. “I’m awestruck, honestly,” she said. “I was just saying that it’s very difficult to enjoy the evening until you know the category that you’re nominated in, until you know who’s actually won. I rehearsed what I was going to say over and over again.” At Bryson & Associates, McCarthy has helped to create a supportive company culture that inspires the brokerage’s staff to go above and beyond for its clients. “One thing that’s really important
“Everyone here has contributed. I think they make a difference in people’s lives, and I don’t know if they take the time to really reflect on that” TAMMY MCCARTHY Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers
in my management style is to have an environment of trust and respect and sharing,” McCarthy said. Cameron Copeland, president of award sponsor Cansure, noted that successful brokers like McCarthy are his company’s bread and butter. “Everything we do is designed to add value for our insurance brokers, to enhance their services and what they do in their businesses, and bring an improved level of service all the time to their customers,” he said.
Cameron Copeland Cansure
Tammy McCarthy Bryson & Associates Insurance Brokers
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THE BURNS & WILCOX CANADA AWARD FOR BIG BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR WINNER Westland Insurance Group
FINALISTS
A BIG BROKERAGE deserves a big prize, and that’s just what
Westland Insurance Group took home. But to Jamie Lyons, Westland’s executive vice-president, his company is still a “little broker no one’s heard of from the West Coast, so it really is very special to win this today. It’s really humbling, and it’s an honour.”
Aon Canada Archway Insurance BFL Canada CapriCMW Insurance Hub International Navacord Rogers Insurance Western Financial Group Willis Towers Watson
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
BURNS & WILCOX is North America’s leading insurance wholesale broker and underwriting manager, internationally recognized for its expertise in commercial and professional liability, property, marine, and personal insurance. Burns & Wilcox offers wide-ranging and comprehensive solutions to serve retail insurance brokers. Burns & Wilcox is a member of H.W. Kaufman Group, a global network of companies dedicated to shaping the insurance industry, employing more than 2,000 professionals in 60 offices across the US, Canada and the UK. For more information, visit burnsandwilcox.ca
“I think what we’ve been most impressed with is just the tenaciousness of our staff. I think this award is tremendous. We’re very happy that we’re bringing this home” JAMIE LYONS Westland Insurance Group
Westland’s win is a testament to the company’s ability to adapt in an industry that just won’t stand still. “I think we’ve gone through a lot of change – as I know the industry has – within our company and particularly with our growth,” Lyons said. “It’s required a lot of commitment from our employees.” Jodie Kaufman Davis of Burns & Wilcox explained why the company chose to sponsor this award. “Big brokers are great partners of ours,” she said. “They have a lot of niche business that requires expertise, and as an MGA, we differentiate ourselves by our expertise, so together we Jamie Lyons really make a Westland great team.” Insurance Group
Jodie Kaufman Davis Burns & Wilcox Canada www.insurancebusiness.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE CNA CANADA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PHILANTHROPY & COMMUNITY SERVICE WINNER Truman Insurance Agency
FINALISTS BMS Canada Risk Services Burns & Wilcox Canada Nacora Insurance Brokers Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services Sharp Insurance Special Risk Insurance Managers Sun Life Financial The Great-West Life Assurance Company Trillium Mutual Insurance Company Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company
THE FOUNDATION of the insurance industry isn’t math, it’s people. For recognizing that some people require more help than others and assisting the less fortunate in its community, Truman Insurance Agency took home the CNA Canada Award for Excellence in Philanthropy and Community Service. “It’s not an award for sales or something that people would associate insurance with,” said owner Tammy Truman, “but it’s an honour to think that someone else would recognize some of the things that I try to do to make the world a better place.”
“By giving just a small amount on a regular basis, you can really make a difference in other people’s lives, and that’s all I’ve tried to do” TAMMY TRUMAN Truman Insurance Agency
Truman also commended the Insurance Business Canada Awards for recognizing the good work that insurance brokers do outside the office. “I think it shows we’re not just out there selling insurance, that we do try and help out in our communities in many ways,” she said. Nick Creatura, president and CEO of CNA Canada, said the insurer’s sponsorship of this award is “very much in keeping with one of the key values of our organization, which is about being grateful and giving back.”
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Nick Creatura CNA Canada
CNA is the eighth largest commercial insurer in the United States. CNA provides a broad range of standard and specialized property & casualty insurance products and services for businesses and professionals in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia, backed by 120 years of experience and more than $45 billion in assets. For more information, visit cnacanada.ca
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LIFE AND HEALTH INSURER OF THE YEAR WINNER
THE LIFE AND HEALTH segment is one of the most challenging and dynamic in the industry. Staying ahead of the game while providing unbeatable customer service is a necessity, especially if you hope to take home the Life and Health Insurer of the Year Award as Empire Life did this year.
Empire Life
FINALISTS Foresters Financial Industrial Alliance SSQ Financial Group Sun Life Financial The Great-West Life Assurance Company
“We seem to be creating a new trend in helping advisors meet the changing needs of consumers with technology, so we’re pretty proud of that accomplishment” MICHAEL STOCKS Empire Life
Michael Stocks with the Empire Life team
“We’ve really put a focus on technology and trying to be innovative in leveraging digital technology,” said Empire Life VP and chief marketing officer Michael Stocks. “We’ve had our advisors embrace our new technology, so the Fast & Full Life Application and the Fast & Full Investment Application have had unprecedented growth. We’ve had over double the number of advisors in the past year who have been using them.” Stocks also touched on the importance of events like this. “Insurance isn’t something that the average consumer gets excited about,” he said, “but when we’re helping other people, it really makes a difference in their lives, and this is a great way of recognizing all of the work people are doing.”
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EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SERVICE BY A BROKERAGE WINNER Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services
FINALISTS Armour Insurance Brokers BFL Canada (Kitchener) Costen Insurance Gillons Insurance Brokers KASE Insurance Leibel Insurance Group Levitt Insurance Brokers Sharp Insurance Stanhope Simpson Insurance
Michael di Nardo Oracle RMS
John Ferraro Oracle RMS
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IT’S AN UNFORTUNATE reality, for businesses and consumers
alike, that growth sometimes happens at the expense of customer service. But that’s not the case for this year’s winner of Excellence in Customer Service by a Brokerage, Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services, which has spent the past seven years coalescing into a well-oiled machine.
“This is great for the industry. I think it’s very important for everybody to get together, celebrate everyone’s accomplishments and have a good time” JOHN FERRARO Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services
Oracle has never believed in selling a one-size-fits-all insurance package to its clients. By working directly with companies to discover areas of potential risk, Oracle has consistently developed customized coverage plans for its clients while also maintaining impeccable standards of customer service. “We were four employees, and now we’re a team of over 100 people with great staff and a great culture,” said Oracle RMS CEO John Ferraro. “We have a lot of fun, and we take our jobs seriously.”
Daniel Italiano Oracle RMS
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THE STEAMATIC CANADA AWARD FOR WOMAN OF DISTINCTION WINNER Heather Masterson Travelers Canada
FINALISTS Alice Keung, Economical Insurance Cathy Lipe, Sharp Insurance Dianna Fioravanti-Ashikwe Nacora Insurance Brokers
Heather Matthews
Crawford & Company (Canada)
Jo-Anne Macdonald, ARAG Services Corporation Jodie Kaufman Davis, Burns & Wilcox Canada Marilyn Horrick
Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade
Loris Clarke
Whitley Insurance & Financial Services
Monica Woldring, InsureLine Brokers Sukhdeep Kang, Armour Insurance Brokers
INSURANCE BUSINESS CANADA has always attempted to highlight the excellent work being done by women in the traditionally male-dominated insurance industry, and the Woman of Distinction Award celebrates the trailblazing work of one exceptional female insurance leader.
“The pace of change in our industry is just beyond what it’s ever been … and you see insurance professionals trying to up their game, really trying to figure out how to make sure that they’re not just leaning into today, but leaning into tomorrow” HEATHER MASTERSON Travelers Canada
Tracy Makris, Bryson Insurance
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
STEAMATIC is a world-renowned company specializing in restoration, disaster recovery and specialty cleaning. The Canadian division, founded more than 50 years ago, benefits from one of the largest franchise networks in the world. The Steamatic trademark (operating under BMS Technologies outside the United States and Canada) has been innovating year after year with representatives in the United States, South America, Europe and Australia. For more information, visit steamatic.ca
“Women are really taking leaps and bounds in the insurance industry, specifically in Canada, and you’re seeing women doing some remarkable things,” said this year’s winner, Travelers Canada president and CEO Heather Masterson. “Years ago, you’d see women doing some great things, but not necessarily getting the reward and recognition, so now that there’s something that’s really dedicated towards doing that, it feels great.” Nancy Raymond, one of the few female owners of a Canadian property restoration network, presented the award on behalf of Steamatic Canada. “To be recognizing women and their Heather Masterson leadership is very Travelers Canada important, for me and for the rest of our industry,” she said.
Nancy Raymond Steamatic Canada www.insurancebusiness.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE DSB CLAIMS AWARD FOR BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (10 STAFF OR MORE) WINNER HighStreet Insurance Group
FINALISTS A.P. Reid Insurance Armour Insurance Brokers Elevate Insurance Brokers ELM Insurance Brokers KTX Insurance Brokers McLean Hallmark Insurance Group Oracle RMS Insurance Risk Management Services Sharp Insurance Surex Direct
FEW PEOPLE think of Alberta as a hotbed for business these days, which is why Edmonton-based HighStreet Insurance Group’s win for Brokerage of the Year (10 Staff or More) was so important to company president and CEO Stuart Tate. “This means a lot to our organization,” he said. “Through the last four or five years in Alberta, with the economy being really bad, people worked extra hard. A lot of our customers had fewer people, so we had to do more for them.”
“It’s just a testimony to living our values as an organization day to day, making sure that we’re people who take care of people. That’s been essential to us winning this award” STUART TATE HighStreet Insurance Group
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
DSB CLAIMS SOLUTIONS is a claim management company founded in 2012 by Dara Banga. The company is dedicated to the principle that “claim service is customer service.” Beginning with a few staff members and a limited number of clients, DSB Claims has continuously improved and expanded its services to an ever-increasing client base. DSB Claims partners with insurance brokers and insurance carriers who are looking to unleash the value of their customers’ claim experience through personalized, accessible, relationship-based customer service. Our services align and support the key performance indicators for our clients, whether they be service or financial. For more information, visit dsbclaims.com
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Tate added that events like the Insurance Business Canada Awards are important for the industry as a whole. “The more we get out there and say we’re proud of what we do, the more we recognize excellence in what we do, it gives greater credibility to the profession overall, and it will encourage people to come into the profession.” Dara Banga, president and CAO of DSB Claims Solutions, was pleased to sponsor the award. “We believe that brokers are a key aspect of the insurance industry,” he says. “So for us, we felt that sponsoring and aligning ourselves with this award was very important.”
Dara Banga DSB Claims
Stuart Tate Highstreet Insurance Group
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MGA OF THE YEAR WINNER Special Risk Insurance Managers
FINALISTS ABEX Affiliated Brokers Exchange April Canada Burns & Wilcox Canada
THIS YEAR’S final award, MGA of the Year, went to Special Risk Insurance Managers, an independently owned and operated Canadian MGA that has been supporting the retail broker space for more than 20 years. SRIM’s win was an exciting end to a highly successful year for the company. “It recognizes our service excellence,” said SRIM vice-president Neville Harriman, who added that the company had already been
PAL Insurance Brokers Canada
“For us, it’s a team, and everyone was involved in this. We’re honoured to be with all the other nominees, and I’m glad we made it”
Ridge Canada
MARK JOHNS
Cansure CHES Special Risk Encon Group K&K Insurance Canada
Signature Risk Partners
Special Risk Insurance Managers
named Top Supplier of the Year for British Columbia. He credited “the high calibre of expertise among our employees and very strong leadership from our president, Mark Woodall” for SRIM’s continued excellent performance. Mark Johns, VP of international and employee benefits at SRIM, noted that the Insurance Business Canada Awards gala “gives everybody an opportunity to share in your successes, see what people are doing and understand how everybody is growing.”
Neville Harriman Special Risk Insurance Managers
Mark Johns Special Risk Insurance Managers
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FEATURES
FEEDBACK
How to give feedback effectively Are your employees too sensitive to negative feedback, or have you just been delivering it poorly? Aytekin Tank outlines five ways to ensure feedback is well received
PAUL GREEN and his colleagues at Harvard Business School believe negative feedback – on its own – rarely leads to improvement. Instead, it spurs us to remove ourselves from the partner or group where we’ve received the feedback and ‘shop’ for confirmation among new social circles. At work, that means we will seek out a new arrangement for our next project. If stuck with a certain partner or in a specific department, we might feel the urge to form relationships with people in other departments – anything to confirm the positive view of our actions and values within the company. When we can’t maintain that positive confirmation, it isn’t pretty. Physical consequences like anxiety and depression can threaten to pull us deeper into a spiral of poor behaviour and, in turn, negative feedback. This need to protect our psyche is how and why we end up creating – and subconsciously locking ourselves into – our own echo chambers. Yes, feedback is a necessary evil – and
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there aren’t many things I’d say that about. Feedback is a multi-faceted concept that’s vital to the way many of us work and live. So I thought I’d dig into just why feedback is such a hard pill to swallow and a few ways I’ve learned to deliver it effectively over the years.
Setting the stage for feedback delivery Delivering feedback, especially negative, is far more complex than telling an employee what they need to fix and expecting them to scamper off and focus on those items in a vacuum devoid of their own emotions. The tactical tricks that I’ll get into here won’t prove effective without setting the stage with an affirmative work environment in which opportunities for positive confirmation and supportive relationships flourish. Think of your relationship with your partner or a longtime friend. A single discomfiting remark from one of them certainly wouldn’t send you running for the hills, would it? Negative feedback can lead to improve-
ment when given in a confirming environment where the receiver feels supported and valued. When it comes to the workplace, there are many systems in place that erode the sense of value employees feel they offer the organization. Competition for promotions, commission-based salaries and poorly executed peer reviews can certainly degrade any positive confirmation and lead to feedback falling on deaf ears. Once you’re able to create an environment in which your workers feel valued and confirmed in their positive attributes, you can try these five methods I’ve used to deliver feedback they can actually act on.
1. Encourage continued conversation with subjective feedback It’s tough to give feedback that people don’t want to run screaming from. And it can be even more challenging when it comes to giving feedback for creative work. On JotForm, our users use our online form
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Unless your comments can be tied directly to organizational goals, they really are just personal judgments, which have a way of putting their receiver into a defensive and combative mood – and rightly so builder to collect feedback, and a big part of that feedback involves creative input. One thing I’ve noticed is that, much like creativity itself, feedback about creativity is highly subjective. If you’re able to frame it as such, you’re much more likely to start a
discussion about where the design or feature can go next instead of shaming and shutting down its creator. For example, I might say, “Personally, I gravitate towards this bigger, brighter button than towards the main action you want me
to take on the page” instead of a definitive, objective statement like “This design is wrong.” It’s not about control. It’s not even about being right. It’s about providing constructive feedback in a way that encourages the creative process to continue.
2. Speak in patterns rather than specifics Duration neglect dictates that we’re more likely to remember peak moments (good or bad) and the most recent moments in any event. It is this, along with tons of other fascinating and confusing tricks the brain plays with memory, that makes it all too easy to provide biased feed-
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FEATURES
FEEDBACK
back. And people who sense unfairness aren’t likely to take positive action. Instead of relying on one particular recent example, it’s important to collect data from different sources over time to find patterns in behaviour. I personally like to use a simple evaluation form template to collect anonymous feedback on how my team feels a certain design or feature came out. By combining this information with my own observations of specific examples, I’m able to provide unbiased feedback on areas where a certain design is excelling, as well as areas where it could improve. The knowledge that I’ve taken the time to identify real patterns goes a long way in negative feedback being received as supportive
praise or by explaining how acting on this feedback will reinforce their positive values. It will take more than a sandwich to create a workplace in which feedback isn’t perceived as a threat and employees don’t feel the need to shop for confirmation. But this method is effective for times when you haven’t had a chance to establish good rapport with the receiver or have to deliver quick feedback.
4. Tie feedback directly to organizational goals We often hear the phrase “it’s nothing personal” when it comes to giving and receiving feedback. However, unless your comments can be tied directly to organizational goals, they really
The knowledge that I’ve taken the time to identify real patterns goes a long way toward negative feedback being received as supportive rather than a threat to the employee’s well-being and job security rather than a threat to the employee’s wellbeing and job security.
3. Whip up a delicious feedback sandwich A quick way to help create an environment that confirms an employee’s value before delivering negative feedback is to deliver it stacked like a sandwich – otherwise known as the PIP (praiseimprove-praise) method. The process is as easy, and tasty, as it sounds: First, deliver praise that confirms the positive values a person has about themselves and their place in the organization. Sandwich feedback that could be taken as negative in the middle. Top it off by reiterating the earlier
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are just personal judgments, which have a way of putting their receiver into a defensive and combative mood – and rightly so. In order to deliver effective feedback that helps an employee better align with organizational goals, you’ve got to make sure those goals are clear to begin with. It wouldn’t be fair for me to deliver negative feedback solely because I don’t personally align with someone’s management style. In the same vein, it also wouldn’t be fair to critique an employee for not hitting certain organizational goals if they’ve never been told what those are. That’s why I strive to make sure my leadership team, as well as every single employee, is on the same page when it comes to organizational goals. And when it comes time for
me personally to deliver feedback, I always make sure to first revisit our organizational goals right there in the meeting to make sure my comments are aligned and actionable — not emotional.
5. Encourage the employee to walk a mile in your shoes Feedback can be especially frustrating to hear when you don’t understand what’s motivating it. So it can really help an employee by inviting them to walk a mile in your shoes, as the saying goes. Right there in the feedback session, encourage them to role-play as if they were in your management position. After describing the situation, you can tell your employee that you find it challenging to address the issue, and ask how she would handle the matter if she were managing the group. By stepping away from the threatening feelings for a second and viewing things from your perspective, your colleague can better understand that negative feedback is not meant as a personal attack, but as a way to help them better serve their team and grow their own development. This tactic can also help managers see how their team members personally process feedback and provide great insight into the management strategies they respond well to. Employees who understand management’s motivation are more likely to view negative feedback as a tool for growing their professional development rather than a threat. Aytekin Tank is founder and CEO of JotForm, an online form creation software with four million users worldwide and more than 100 employees. A developer by trade but writer by heart, Tank shares stories about how he exponentially grew his company without any outside funding. For more information, visit jotform.com.
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PEOPLE
CAREER PATH
BORN TO LEAD
The ability to guide and inspire his staff has been pivotal to Matt Shulman’s career success Shulman started out studying art history at Cornell before having an epiphany halfway through his sophomore year that business was where his true interest lay. Summer internships at a midtown Manhattan insurance brokerage opened his eyes further. “My uncle had a successful career in insurance. He was a self-made man; I looked up to him as a role model. He helped me get a foot in the door.”
1992
GETS A FOOT IN THE DOOR
FINDS HIS BIG BREAK In the days prior to graduation, Shulman interviewed at some of the bigger investment banks without success, but a meeting with a frat alumnus at a campus event ultimately provided the stepping stone to his first insurance job. “He said, ‘If you’re interested in being a financial analyst, you would love being a D&O underwriter,’ so I interviewed at Reliance. My final position was leading two regional teams, which included training others – it was robust on-the-job training.”
1999 GOES TO LAW SCHOOL A pivotal recommendation from his mentor led Shulman to alter his plans to pursue an MBA; instead, he attended law school at night. “There were so many close ties between law and insurance; it was such a meaningful part of the job. I told my mentor I was thinking about going back to business school, and he said my interest in the legal and contract side of it meant I should go to law school instead.”
2003 BECOMES A VP Shulman’s division at Reliance was sold to The Hartford, where he was appointed vice president before the age of 30. “The law degree helped [secure the promotion], and I’d always managed people. Moving to The Hartford showed us what we could accomplish working for a powerful company – the amount of business we wrote doubled in the first year. It gave us the platform to be a more meaningful partner for our clients.”
2009 JOINS ARCH The Hartford’s struggles during the financial crisis led Shulman to Arch, where he started off managing a team in executive assurance and was soon offered command of a second division. “I would describe Arch as a smaller up-and-comer [when I joined]: fast-growing, very successful and with a lot of potential. When Arch realizes someone is good at leading a business, they strive to broaden that person’s perspective.”
2018 BECOMES CEO FOR NORTH AMERICA Having already broadened his responsibilities when Arch’s Bermuda team was added to his portfolio, Shulman was approached late last year to be CEO of North American insurance operations. “For the last couple of years, I’ve been leading a very diverse organization with multiple product lines and business from multiple geographies. That experience will be helpful now, coming back to the US market. I can bring a closer connection between the North American and the international operations.”
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1995
2016 MOVES TO LONDON The same mentor who encouraged Shulman to choose law school – who had risen to the position of worldwide CEO of insurance at Arch – gave him the opportunity to run the company’s European operations from London.
“It meant jumping from two divisions with a couple of different product lines each to being CEO of an entity that writes many lines across numerous countries. I was open with everyone that I had a lot to learn – the first months were spent asking many more questions than I was answering”
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca
Handfastings, which involve the bride and groom tying an elaborate knot, are “a tradition from before people had money for rings,” Jacombs says
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Number of ceremonies Jacombs has performed
270
Size of the largest wedding party Jacombs has accommodated
97%
Percentage of Jacombs’ clientele who are pagan or Indigenous
AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES When the weekend rolls around, broker Audra Jacombs is likely to be found presiding over an unconventional wedding HER WORK in performing Indigenous smudging ceremonies led Audra Jacombs to become an ordained minister with Canadian International Metaphysical Ministry two years ago. “Clients would say, ‘I wish someone did what you do, but for weddings,’” says Jacombs, a Hamilton-based producer at McCam Insurance. Since then, Jacombs has led pagan,
interfaith, civil and same-sex ceremonies, along with handfastings and several fairy weddings, which include blessings honouring sprites and fairies. The time-honoured tradition of ‘jumping the broom’ is another of Jacombs’ beloved wedding rites. She says the broom can be created by the couple by gathering sticks on hikes during their engagement. “I ask if
they’re ready to take the leap, and they jump over the broom as they leave,” she says. “The broom sits at their front door for the rest of their life together.” Jacombs finds that being a celebrant provides balance with her “very technical” insurance work. “Seeing the love and the joy, and knowing I can help these couples – it’s very fulfilling,” she says.
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FEATURES
EXPERT ADVICE
Navigate the evolving construction industry THE CONSTRUCTION industry is evolving. The introduction of new building materials in the last two to three years – such as modified and manufactured wood, insulated metal panels, and insulated concrete – has made placing policies a little complicated. The introduction of these materials impacts building design and engineering processes, especially since some of them are nascent and pose potential risks. It’s now more important than ever to consider how these changes not only affect policies and pricing, but also demand a higher level of expertise from insurers and brokers.
What are the risks? For many new technologies introduced in buildings and other construction projects, the risks are often only discovered after the first claim has been made. A good example is plastic or Kitec plumbing. Due to its relatively cheaper price, developers used Kitec plumbing throughout the mid-’90s up until 2007 in many residential buildings. However, the product was discontinued once it was found to corrode at a faster rate than regular copper piping. This has resulted in many burst pipes, unhappy homeowners and, of course, unwanted claims. Kitec plumbing is actually still in use in many condominiums, leaving condo boards scratching their heads on how to replace the pipes or minimize the damage they would eventually cause. It will no doubt be the source of more insurance claims going forward. Another example is modular or prefabricated
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buildings. Modular buildings, mainly built as houses, are designed to reduce energy use by approximately two-thirds, since they are built in a factory first and then shipped to the preferred location. As such, they can be constructed for a fraction of the price of typical homes. However, modular homes are often built with hidden interior cavities that make it difficult to control the infiltration of outdoor air. As such, this air travel can cause physical damage and mold growth on wood framing and interior drywall, resulting in a higher proclivity for water damage than a traditionally built home. The list goes on. For instance, insulated metal panels, which are increasingly being used in construction projects, are cost-effective and easy to install. However, proper caution must be taken during installation and in the maintenance period because they pose a fire risk. These are just a few of the risks that brokers need to be aware of when writing construction business.
The role of the broker With the construction industry evolving at its current rate and with new technologies offering both efficiencies and potential risks, the broker’s
role is becoming increasingly crucial as well. Brokers now operate in a new playing field where construction clients expect deeper expertise to help them understand and plan around the risks arising from new and changing building materials and processes. Brokers who take the time to understand their clients’ needs and balance them against the potential risks and advantages of various solutions in the marketplace will find themselves in an advantageous position.
Enter Keystone RSA’s Keystone program is a unique and exclusive program that provides an extensive suite of resources for brokers to equip themselves with the right expertise and adapt quickly in this dynamic environment. Keystone brokers have access to a key account manager, who can provide insight on industry and sector trends to help brokers meet and exceed the expectations of their clients and grow their mid-market book of business. To learn more about how to become a Keystone broker, visit rsabroker.ca/keystone.
www.insurancebusiness.ca
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Insurr
SEARCH VOLUME PER PROVINCE
We’ve seen 37,503 searches last year from across the country. Ontario led the charge with over half of the search volume; however, we’ve seen significant growth in Alberta and Quebec last year.
1%
.03%
INSURR’S 2 YEARS IN THE CANADIAN MARKET
.33% 2%
11%
insurr Canada has celebrated 2 years of helping insurance brokers discover new markets in one platform. As part of our anniversary celebration, we’ve compiled interesting site stats and trivia just for you. June 2015 insurr research and development began October 2016 insurr Canada went live with 1,265 products from 136 markets January 2017 insurr Canada surpassed 10,000 searches February 2017 Cyber became the top searched product on insurr, which lasted for 15 consecutive months June 2017 insurr launched in Australia July 2017 Cyber searches reached an all-time high of over 359 unique searches in 1 month January 2018 insurr launched in UK September 2018 insurr was nominated for Innovator of the Year at Insurance Nexus Awards October 2018 insurr Canada hit the 78,000 searches mark
Sign up to www.insurr.com/ca It’s FREE! Interested in getting listed? email us at admin@insurr.com
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1%
14%
10%
3%
55% 4% Ontario Quebec Alberta
British Columbia New Brunswick Manitoba Saskatchewan
Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia Newfoundland and Labrador Yukon
TOP 5 CITIES WITH HIGHEST INCREASE IN SEARCHES
15,000% 9,750% 5,578% 4,300% 3,886%
Grande Prairie, Alberta Courtenay, British Columbia Langley Township, British Columbia Saint-Eustache, Quebec Courtice, Ontario
TOP SEARCH STATS KEY STATS
CANNABIS
CYBER
HOSPITALITY
Total number of searches to date
2,479
7,289
8,579
181
187
805
234
641
362
Product documents viewed
Documents downloaded
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Aviva Onpoint™
Small business insurance that hits the mark for your clients.
Your small business clients are big business for you. Now, with Aviva Onpoint™ insurance, you can feel confident that you’re offering your clients the right protection. Aviva Onpoint™ insurance delivers a ready-to-go solution that makes it easy for you to recommend coverage options for your clients. It includes broad base protection relevant to your clients’ type of business and industry, along with enhanced coverage options and the flexibility to tailor coverage to suit your clients’ needs. And, it’s all in one easy to understand policy. Aviva Onpoint™ insurance — the right solution to help keep your clients’ small business moving forward.
aviva.ca/avivaonpoint For exact terms, definitions, limitations and extensions, please refer to the policy. Aviva and the Aviva logo are trademarks of Aviva plc. and are used under licence by Aviva Canada Inc. and its subsidiary companies. The Aviva Onpoint™ product is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Company of Canada.
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