Pages 21 - Insurancewest Media Ltd.

education – Grade 13, as required in Ontario – at a private school in Neuchatel,
Switzerland.
“My parents didn’t like the school in
Oakville, so they sent me away. The idea
was that you lived with Swiss families and
learned French.”
In 1977, after attending university for
a couple of terms, MacAulay moved to
Edmonton with her husband-to-be.
“I was hired as a claims clerk with Economical.”
Ten years later, after spending time
away from the business with
her first child, she went to
work with Shumka, Craig
& Moore, the forerunner
of SCM.
“The firm was very accommodating. They allowed me
Husband
Doug is a to set up an office at home.”
For the first few years
land
after the move to Canmore,
surveyor.
MacAulay spent a couple of
days a week in SCM’s Calgary office and the
rest of the time working from home.
In 1999, when she became branch manager, the firm opened a new 400-square-foot
office space for her in Canmore.
A close friend and business associate,
Mike Leedham, says with MacAulay you
get what you see.
“Oh, I could tell you stories about Jennifer,” Leedham says, before breaking out
in laughter.
Leedham, who is part owner of Edmonton’s Townsend & Leedham Adjusters, has
known MacAulay since 1978, when they
both worked for Economical Insurance.
“Jennifer is an intelligent person who is
dedicated to her family. She’s very good at
what she does and good at anything she
puts her mind to.” IW
Booking Now!
Closes May 25
FEATURE
July issue
Western Adjusters
A special advertising section with success stories
about some of the leading independent
adjusting firms operating in B.C., Alberta,
Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the north.
r
Adjustoer
Locatlisting
et
Internluded!
inc
at
Adjusters: Please call Linda Helme
604-874-1001 or 1-800-888-8811
Vital Stats
• The MacAulays have two adult children: Allan, 23, attending Queen’s
University in Toronto, and TC (Terrance Curtis), 20, enrolled at the
University of Calgary;
• The couple lives in a two-storey split
beside a wildlife corridor;
• They enjoy hiking, but take along
bear spray. (In 2005 a female hiker
was killed near town by a grizzly.);
• MacAulay plays squash and does
needlework (cross-stitching);
• She reads a lot, mostly novels, and
likes all types of music, but is “not a
huge” country fan;
• She has three older brothers. One lives
in B.C., the other two in Ontario.
www.insurancewest.ca
March 2007 Insurancewest 21
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#100 1400 1st Street SW,
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(403) 263-4666 or 1-888-263-5146
Fax: (403) 237-9976
2 Norfolk Street South,
Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 2V9
(519) 428-1688 or 1-866-401-3858
Fax: (519) 428-6307
920 Yonge Street, Suite 602,
Toronto, Ontario M4W 3C7
(416) 925-2793 or 1-888-745-5502
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Montréal, Quebec H2Y 1X4
(514) 844-2541 or 1-888-840-2541
Fax: (514) 843-5926
22 Insurancewest I March
N S 2007
UR
www.cana d a w o r l d w i d e . c a
ANCE
UNDERWRITING
P R O F E S S I O N A Lwww.insurancewest.ca
S
profile
Ryan
Nitchie
with
receptionist
Alicia
Saunders
In 1996, just 23, the affable, sports-minded
Nitchie won a seat on city council in Armstrong,
B.C., a ranching and agricultural community
of about 4,000 souls in the Spallumcheen Valley north of Kelowna. The accomplishment
made him the youngest councillor in those
civic elections.
Now serving his fourth term in that role,
Nitchie looks on his involvement as payback to
the community. After all, he says, the Nitchies
have lived in the area for a century. Loyalty to
the community was also why he helped revitalize a moribund lacrosse league in 1994, and
why he’s moonlighted as GM for the league’s
Armstrong Shamrocks for 13 years. The sport
is historically popular in the area.
The day we dropped in for a chat, Nitchie had
insurance brokerage recruitment on his mind.
“The question of how to maintain and
manage employees is the biggest challenge the
industry faces today. It’s an issue where, as an
industry, we’re sort of falling down. We’re not
recruiting young people to get involved.
“Take a look around most of the offices and
you’ll see a pretty big gap between brokers my
age and the guys who’ve been in the industry a
long time. Within five or 10 years, considering
the looming number of retirements, there could
be an employment crisis.”
The Hub International
Barton Insurance office
he manages on the main
drag in Armstrong serves
a scattered community of 9,500 residents living
about halfway between Calgary and Vancouver.
As a full-service brokerage with 14 staffers, he
says his operation does good business in both
commercial and personal lines. The only competition is a small credit union. But typical of rural
communities, Armstrong has a shallow pool of
potential employees to draw upon – a serious
Recruitment woes redux
Ryan Nitchie,
manager of a
Hub International
Barton Insurance
agency in
Armstrong,
B.C., believes
something
must be done
to recruit and
train employees
in an industry
facing a future
labour shortage.
Fortunately,
he works for
an operation
committed to
the idea of a
centralized
training facility.
www.insurancewest.ca
By Stan Sauerwein
A
t 33, Ryan Nitchie has already cut a
wide swath. In just six years he’s moved
from practising the insurance fundamentals in a small independent
broker’s office to managing a thriving outlet
for a mega agency.
Armstrong 101
Armstrong is 70 kilometres north of Kelowna, B.C. in the heart of the Spallumcheen Valley,
one of the prime agricultural areas in the province. Numerous heritage homes and storefronts
sport a charming Old West motif. The landscape is dotted with horse ranches, vegetable
gardens, orchards, vineyards and wheat and alfalfa fields broken
by stands of pine and evergreen. A century ago the dominant crop
in the area was celery. Nearby is the 20,000-acre O’Keefe Ranch,
founded in 1867 and once the largest cattle ranch in B.C.
The town was named after E.C. Heaton-Armstrong, a London
banker who helped finance the railway in 1892. Prior to the
settlement, according to one pioneer, the area was nothing more
than “willows and swamp.”
Though best known for its cheese makers – Dutch immigrants
settled there after the Second World War – the largest employer, with over 800 workers, is
Riverside Forest Products. Armstrong businesses also manufacture bathtubs and showers,
plumbing products, RVs and horse-drawn carriages, which accounts for the large pool of
skilled trades people in the vicinity. The province’s only flour and cereal mill and the largest
miniature horse ranch in Canada is also located there.
The median price of a home in the Armstrong area in 2006 was $271,500.
Last August, on a farm outside town, a crop circle appeared. It was said to resemble a
note of music. IW
March 2007 Insurancewest 23
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We seek a take-charge, well-organized, meticulous and
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or call me, Bill Earle, Group Publisher at 604-874-1001.
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Phone (780) 422-0568
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Canada: 800-561-1713
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Canada: 866-425-6774 [email protected]
online at www.monarchins.com
24 Insurancewest March 2007
problem if he wants to grow the business.
“I knew I couldn’t be the only one facing this dilemma, so after a few sleepless
nights I sat down and tried to think of a
way to deal with my staffing issue. I came
up with a comprehensive training and
education strategy.”
Nitchie presented a proposal to the
executive team at the Hub International
Group, which was timely given their mutual
concern about recruitment and retention.
Barton was already committed to the idea
of a centralized training facility.
The Hub Group has 51 locations and employs 500 people throughout the province.
The training facility will likely be based in
Chilliwack, about 100 kilometres east of
Vancouver.
“It’ll be established for our company
alone to create its own training program and
will involve recruiting employees with the
right attitudes for the insurance industry
and then training them with hard skills.
“I envision the facility employing a
trainer to teach core skills such as the
fundamentals and essentials of insurance
and using Sagitta, our in-house computer
system. The trainer might also teach the
Leadersway process, a personal development and leadership course Barton Insurance started for employees about two years
ago. After graduating from the centralized
training centre, staff would arrive in our
offices with the core skills they need.”
Len Bosch, Hub’s VP sales, Interior
Shuswap region, says, “Ryan quite rightly
points out that getting employees on board
who are already trained will go a long way
to helping face the challenge. His vision
. . . certainly was a catalyst (for the Hub
training facility) and his suggestions and
recommendations will be included in the
curriculum.”
Richard Burley, Hub’s VP operations,
southern and Vancouver Island regions,
also agrees with Nitchie’s point about the
need for trained staff.
“As Ryan says, our managers need a way
to recruit new people who can show up for
work with fundamental knowledge and
skills already in place.” IW
www.insurancewest.ca
Services&Suppliers
W e s t e r n
C a n a d a ’ s
An advertising supplement
AIG > 28
The edge in premium financing
AMAC > 28
Are brokerage prices about to fall?
Barclay > 34
Storms, boom in West, create challenges
BMO > 31
Putting the kaibosh on debit-card fraud
Canstar > 30
Drying process is more than just hot air
On Side > 38
New lab an industry first in B.C.
Paul Davis > 37
Innovation leads to franchise success
ReClaim > 26
One-stop insurance-replacement
Wagner’s > 33
Restoring fabric the European way
Winmar > 39
New machine saves soft goods
www.insurancewest.ca
March 2007 Insurancewest 25
services & suppliers 2007
ReClaim VP
Bob Golden
The best and biggest
In just two years ReClaim Insurance Replacement, a division of Best Buy Canada Ltd.,
has blossomed
from an ambitious idea to a 26-person team with 22 offices coast-to-coast. Already this feisty upstart is the largest
provider of consumer electronics and appliances for the insurance industry outside Quebec. But it won’t be long before
even that achievement will require amending, as the game plan calls for an office in La Belle Province next year.
By Don McLellan
T
he French novelist Victor Hugo, he
who changed the world with Les
Misérables and The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame, once said, “No army can
withstand the strength of an idea whose
time has come.”
At Best Buy Canada Ltd., with headquarters in Burnaby, B.C., just a stroll from the
banks of the Fraser River, the time was two
years ago, the idea was a little something
called ReClaim Insurance Replacement.
“Our vision, if you will,” explained Bob
Golden, ReClaim’s VP commercial sales,
“was to become the name that automatically comes to the minds of adjusters and
customers when consumer electronics need
to be replaced.”
There’s a pause, and then he adds, “I
believe we’ve done that, and from there we
want to be an integral part of the way the
insurance companies do business – partnering in people, technologies and systems to
make the process of replacement quicker,
easier and more cost effective.
26 Insurancewest March 2007
“Once we have landed our Canadian
business and ensured that we have achieved
and delivered on our vision here, we plan
to partner with Best Buy in the U.S.”
A lofty ambition, to be sure, however
considering how far and how fast ReClaim
has advanced suggests these folks are serious players.
“We plan to open another eight to 10
locations this year alone.”
What began two years ago with a small
team of four has today grown to a 26-person
team of insurance replacement consultants,
with 22 offices from Vancouver Island to
Halifax. The only province without representation is Quebec, and that’s coming in
2008, possibly sooner.
ReClaim, as the name suggests, quotes
on and supplies replacement products to
insurance company customers, products
that include TV and video; home audio;
computers; personal electronics; photo
and imaging equipment; music, movies
and games; phones; car audio with installation; major appliances and a long, long
list of accessories.
In other words, just about anything electronic that a claimant has lost to weather,
damage, fire or theft.
Though insurance replacement is a competitive field, Golden says ReClaim has an
“edge.” With the support of two established
brands – Best Buy and Future Shop – as
well as the parent company’s long-standing
history in the consumer electronics business, ReClaim can offer competitive pricing
through leveraging unmatched buying
power, an incomparable inventory – 600
major brands in-store – and Accurate Like,
Kind and Quality replacement quotations,
at no charge, in less than 48 hours.
Its claims consultants are dedicated full
time to insurance replacement and noncommissioned, so there is no pressure to
replace with items the store has advertised
or is trying to move.
“It’s all about looking after the customer
and getting them back to where they were
before the loss,” said Golden.
There’s delivery and set-up service,
in-home technical support and car audio inspection and installation available.
www.insurancewest.ca
services & suppliers 2007
ReClaim even holds “preferred customer
events” several times a year.
“With us,” Golden said, “customers and
adjusters have a choice of shopping faceto-face at Best Buy or Future Shop, or they
can price or replace lost items through
our web-fulfillment service. We provide a
complete solution for the customer.
“We’ve also started a special-orders
department, where customers have access to products
beyond what you see on
our shelves. Through our
extended lines, there’s almost
nothing we can’t supply in
electronics and media.”
Strigl
ReClaim was launched as a
separate entity under the Best Buy Canada
Ltd. family of businesses, which includes
the wholly owned subsidiaries – and competing brands – Future Shop
(121 stores) and Best Buy (47
stores), as well as the Geek
Squad, the 24-hour computer-support force.
Best Buy Canada Ltd.,
with some 20,000 employParsons
ees (almost a thousand of
them working at its bustling Burnaby
headquarters), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co. Inc., which has more
than 700 stores in the United States. Best
Buy’s North American operations employ
120,000. There is one Best Buy store operating in China and more than 100 under the
name Five Star. For his first decade with Best Buy, Golden
was VP store development. Which means
he took stores to market, from their design,
layout and merchandise presentation to
fixturing and visuals. It’s the kind of work
the Vancouver native had done much of
his working life, on the West Coast and in
Ontario, with outfits such as Zellers, Fields,
Fedco and Consumers Distributing. His background
in retailing, merchandising
and operations has given
him the impetus and knowledge to land and grow this
new business for Best Buy
Hender
Canada. He’s even owned
a few concerns of his own, including Fila
sports apparel stores in Ontario.
Said Golden:“Back in 2005, Kevin Layden
(the Best Buy Canada president) and I
were talking about new opportunities in
the marketplace and building some new
businesses in Canada. The first step was
the formation of a commercial sales group,
which led to supplying our wide array of
products to lotteries, incentive programs,
condo builders and hotels.
“For the insurance replacement business,
I went looking for people who had a background in insurance.”
First to join Golden, in February 2005
– and presently manager, B.C. region – was
Maureen Strigl, who has been in the industry of insurance replacement of consumer
electronics for over 10 years.
“I helped Bob get things up and running,”
said Strigl, born in Germany but raised in
Vancouver. “I knew a lot of the adjusters
from the previous replacement company I
worked for, so I received a warm welcome
when I went out marketing ReClaim. I must
say, most adjusters were pleased that we had
started this service, as there had been a void
for a while. Of course we are differentiating
ourselves from other replacement services
– evolving and creating something better
and bigger that will serve all our customers’
needs coast-to-coast.”
“For the first 18 months or so we had an
orange light, we were being tested by the
shareholders, by Best Buy and by the insurance companies,” recalled Golden. “It was
a very demanding and laborious time, but
well worth the effort, as Best Buy Canada
has given us its trust and confidence, and
we’ve gotten the green light, which has allowed us to grow.
“We’re one of the preferred suppliers for
most insurance companies and the largest
provider of consumer electronics and appliances outside Quebec for the insurance
industry. About 45 insurance companies
and 40-odd independent adjusters are now
using our services.”
Golden said two people in particular – Ed
Nolan, VP claims Canada for ING, and Tom
Davis, Wawanesa’s senior claims manager
for B.C. – gave the fledgling
ReClaim an opportunity to
prove its worth.
“Tom met with us and
agreed to give us a try, but he
was very clear that customer
service was of the utmost imLouie
portance to him, the adjusters and Wawanesa as a company. We assured
Tom that our claims consultants were noncommissioned and hand-picked for their
customer service and product knowledge.
He said he’d give us a chance, but warned
Continued on page 40
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604•952•6677
24 hour emergencies 604• 812 • 2536
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www.insurancewest.ca
March 2007 Insurancewest 27
services & suppliers 2007
Buying and selling brokerages:
do the laws of gravity apply?
By Renate Mueller
look at the reasonable payback period of
the investment. The street talks about a
or anyone who has spent the greater multiple of net commissions – commispart of their career building up an sions net of contingent profit commissions
– however, the process of determining what
insurance brokerage, the concern
multiple to offer is based on normalized
is when to sell, who to sell it to and how
earnings-before-interest, tax, depreciation
much to ask. Multiples of commission for
and amortization (EBITDA).
brokerages being sold have reached
Once this EBITDA figure has been
historic highs.
calculated, a reasonable purchase
There are a number of factors
price is usually five to seven times this
contributing to the overheating of
figure. This would allow the purchaser
the market. One is the law of supply
to pay for the acquisition in less than
and demand – far more buyers than
ten years. Anything that improves the
sellers. Another is relatively low interMueller
profit of the brokerage will drive up
est rates, which of course reduce the
the asking price.
cost of acquisitions. At the moment many
Does what goes up necessarily have to
insurers are eager to provide financing. The
come down? There are a number of factors
point is, the money is there, it’s relatively
that suggest the law of gravity may indeed
easy to come by and it’s relatively cheap.
make its presence felt sooner rather than
Deep-pocketed insurers themselves are
later. For example, the average age of a
also in the market for brokerages, which is
brokerage owner in Ontario is about 60.
increasing selling prices.
An increase in supply will inevitably lead
Still, any sensible acquirer will need to
F
to a reduction in prices. Also, if interest
rates rise, the cost of borrowing will as well,
which should, in turn, lower prices.
And, as commission incomes stagnate or
fall at the same time expenses increase, it
lowers the EBITDA, which will reduce the
purchase price.
Brokers with a short time line for selling
may not be prepared to wait for the next
hardening of the underwriting cycle. They
may wish to sell now.
Although the selling price of brokerages
is not subject to the physical laws of nature,
the question buyers and sellers should be
asking themselves is: will that which has
risen steadily over the past three years come
hurtling down? IW
Renate Mueller, C.A., is president of AMAC Consultants Inc., specialists in acquisitions, mergers, consulting
and executive searches in the insurance industry. The
firm, which has offices in Vancouver and Toronto, can
be reached at 1-866-315-2622 or by e-mail: amac@
execcentre.com.
Resources and creative ability matter
when shopping for premium financing
W
e were talking with AIG Credit’s
business development manager
Paul Monczynski recently about
what his firm has over its competitors,
when he said, “It is important to realize
how resources and creative ability matter
in commercial premium financing. We offer
many products, including creative solutions
to complex risks, to our large and smaller
broker clients, all providing benefits to
their customers.”
AIG Credit Corp. of Canada (AIG
Credit), explained Monczynski, “is a leading premium-financing company which
has operated in Canada for over 13 years.
With offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto
and Montreal, we service insurance brokers
from coast to coast, whose customers in
Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico
finance their premiums in both Canadian
and U.S. currencies.”
When asked about customer service,
Monczynski responded: “Everybody’s busy.
Customers naturally want their questions
and problems taken care of right away. And
28 Insurancewest March 2007
our Internet-based service
products have received great
reviews.”
AIG Credit appears to want
to make financing as effortless
as possible. “Time-saving features such as our integration
with The Agency Manager
(TAM) mean that a broker
can create a contract with
just a few clicks of a mouse.
However, for those who prefer
the phone,” says Monczynski,
“we’re always here to talk to
you in person. Our intention
is to develop processes that
work best for brokers and
AIG services the Canadian marketplace, with accounts
ranging from a few thousand to several million dollars. enable them to use them to
sell more insurance.”
Monczynski said that AIG Credit truly
why shouldn’t they? People want to get back
services the entire Canadian marketplace,
to their own businesses. At AIG Credit, we
with accounts ranging in size from a few
are most proud of our customer service
thousand to several million dollars. Nearly
resources. Our service centre is staffed to
50 per cent of the accounts are sized less
answer broker and customer phone calls
than $11,000. and e-mails from across the country and
www.insurancewest.ca
Opening our THIRD LOCATION, to house our
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«In the Port Kells Industrial Park
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US!Our constantly expanding fleet
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• IICRC protocol
• Fire, flood & contents restoration
• Structural repairs
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• Xactimate
• Residential and commercial
Your one source for Service &
Quality at competitive prices
If disaster strikes, call us!
Barclay
Restorations
Vancouver Tel: 604-294-2922 • Fax: 604-294-9924
Surrey Tel: 604-455-0366 • Fax: 604-455-0367
www.barclayrestorations.ca
24 Hour Emergency Service 604-294-2922
www.insurancewest.ca
March 2007 Insurancewest 29
services & suppliers 2007
The company is also proud of its flexibility. When asked to explain, Monczynski indicated that AIG Credit routinely
designs customized premium-finance
products. Customization includes providing simple alternative loan structures for
basic transactions and programs while also
providing solutions for self-insured risks
or multinational concerns. Maintaining
an understanding of the always-changing
dynamics of various industries is critical
to AIG’s success.
“Some insureds in niche markets require
particularly special terms and conditions.
We are known for our ability to address
unusual circumstances and sometimes it
takes a lot of research to develop appropriate
solutions for these situations. Our solution
framework embodies the concept that most
businesses use debt to keep as much cash
as possible in their own operation where
it provides them with the greatest return.
This approach proves very beneficial for
many of our Canadian customers.”
Says Monczynski: “In each of our
branch offices we have a global scope yet
local knowledge. We understand what’s
happening in small and large companies,
in the broker’s backyard and across the
country. We provide product education
either in person or on the web. Our scalability and array of products is unrivalled.
At AIG Credit, it’s one-stop shopping at
its best. Why choose a premium-finance
partner with any less to offer you and your
customers?” IW
For more information about AIG Credit and its
premium-finance products, see the ad on page 36.
30 Insurancewest March 2007
New system means
shorter drying time
By Art Johnson
W
cr wls
mended zone, the drying effectiveness is lost,
resulting in longer drying times.
Now, with the advent of air exchangers
introducing the use of heat, like the technology found in “Water Out” equipment (www.
wateroutvancouver.com), this challenge is
removed. The Water Out drying system
replaces warm humid air with hot dry air
along with rapid evaporation by fans.
Large areas can be dried significantly
faster and with less destructive methods,
thus reducing disruption to tenants and
businesses. This, along with state-of-the-art
motorized extraction tools, has contributed
to very rapid, less intrusive restoration
processes.
But while the restoration scene is changing, be careful. No
matter how good the
tools may be, your first
line of defense should
be qualified, especially
certified, water damage professionals. IW
hile water is the most important
ingredient for the survival of
the human race,
it proves the least favourite
when it enters a building due
to failure of either the water
distribution lines or the
sewer collection system.
We have contributed to Johnson
the risk by ensuring everyone
in our homes and offices has a bathroom
on each floor and fridge icemakers, dishwashers, water coolers and automatic
coffeemakers in our
kitchens, lunchrooms
and offices.
New technology designed for rapid, efficient drying has had
a significant impact on
the drying process in
the event of an abovementioned failure.
For many years the Business downtime was greatly reduced
A Water Loss Specialist
fine balance needed when Canstar’s Water Out system dried 37
and a Certified Restorer,
for effective refriger- units in a Vancouver hotel in four days.
Art Johnson is the operaant dehumidificationtions manager at Canstar
type drying has been a real challenge. As
Restorations’ two plants in Vancouver. He is widely
an example, if the temperatures within the
published in industry journals and has been featured
on news and talk shows.
affected area fail to remain in the recom-
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