Quick! - Insurancewest Media Ltd.
Transcription
Quick! - Insurancewest Media Ltd.
www.insurancewest.ca Shumka Craig & Moore Shumka Craig & Moore Adjusters Canada Ltd., established in 1986, is the largest Canadian-owned independent adjusting firm across Canada. Headquartered in Edmonton, SCM Canada has 46 branches nationwide. Trained claims personnel utilize state-of-the-art technology to deliver professional claims management. iAdjust, their awardwinning Web-based system, provides full file management and auditing control online. A 24-hour national emergency claims service is also provided. Visit www.scm.ca BC - Vancouver Island: Victoria BC - Lower BC & Mainland: Abbotsford, Surrey, Vancouver BC - Interior BC: Kelowna, Penticton, Prince George AB - Northern Alberta: Edmonton, Edson, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Peace River AB - Southern Alberta: Calgary, Canmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer SK - Saskatchewan: Regina, Saskatoon MB - Manitoba: Winnipeg YT, NT - Yukon, N.W.T: Yellowknife Signature Claims Service Specializes in auto, BI and liability claims. J.W. (Jim) Denton AIIC, a past-president of the BCIAA, has more than 23 years experience as an independent adjuster. The firm services the entire Thompson/Okanagan region: The Coquihalla and Merritt; the Trans-Canada highway — Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Revelstoke and Golden; Kootenays — Nelson, Trail and Cranbrook; and south to the border — Penticton, Osoyoos. BC - Interior BC: Kelowna Southern Interior Claims Service Inc. In Penticton since 1978. Handles all types of general insurance claims in the Okanagan, Princeton and Grand Forks, and larger losses in the West Kootenays. Owner/operator Kerry G. Reid CIP has 35 years in the claims business and expertise in all property and liability losses. BC - Interior BC: Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton, Princeton www.insurancewest.ca Western Canada Adjuster Locator 2004 Sterling Pacific Insurance Adjusters Commercial property losses with emphasis on strata claims are the specialty of this five-office firm operating from Hope to Vancouver, north to Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton. Sterling Pacific is an amalgamation of Coast Pacific Insurance Adjusters, started 14 years ago in New Westminster, and Sterling Adjusters, which has serviced the Fraser Valley since 1995. The thirteen experienced adjusters and appraisers also include senior property and casualty specialists with expertise in auto claims and large property and farm losses. BC - Lower BC & Mainland: Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Delta, Hope, Langley, Maple Ridge, Mission, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Richmond, Squamish, Surrey, Vancouver, Whistler Triad Claims Service (1994) Ltd. Please see their website to view their service areas and for information regarding their experienced, knowledgeable staff. Emergency service is available by pager; quick response and complete handling is Triad Claims’ promise. Visit them at www.triadclaims.com AB - Northern Alberta: Barrhead, Westlock AB - Southern Alberta: Banff, Calgary R. Zacharias Adjusting Established in 1999, the offices handle all types of losses. Robert Zacharias, a licensed Level III adjuster, has 14 years experience as a general insurance adjuster and specializes in property and liability. Adjuster Bryan Gale specializes in heavy equipment and appraisals. Services B.C.’s central Cariboo country. 24-hour service; mediation available. Member CIAA. BC - Interior BC: Kelowna, Williams Lake Quick! It’s an emergency... You’re a claims manager at an insurance company. A fresh claim on a long-time client’s property lands on your desk. It’s red flagged for fast action. Problem is, you and all your in-house adjusters are in Calgary, the claim is uncomfortably north of The Pas, Manitoba. What to do? You’ve already called an independent adjuster firm who’s done work for you in the past. No joy there – their nearest is as far away as you are. Think, think. Hey, how about the Insurancewest Adjuster Locator? Quick, look up The Pas. Ah ha, there are TWO there! Hand me the phone. BINGO! Problem solved. In just minutes this handydandy mini-directory has helped you turn a problem into an opportunity: to give a valued client exactly what was wanted most – fast action from an experienced, qualified adjuster. The moral of the story? Keep this issue of Insurancewest in a nearby desk drawer labeled In Case of Emergency, Pull Handle! (Or give us a click at www.insurancewest.ca and go to Adjuster Locator) July 2004 Insurancewest 31 Senior-age ADJUSTERS! (Continued from Page 12) $40/month buys a super advertising bundle for the entire year! * * annual billing $480 TERS KEY ADJU–Sby city a quick look t adjusting offi ing independen g guide to lead An advertisin tel ces in Alberta fax ADJUSTER S – Calga ry M.D.M. AD JUSTERS OF ALBER 316 Me TA ridian Rd PRO SOLID SE -3932 T2A 1X2 O INC. ............... -6275 780-486 .......... 403 Fax.......... 318-6707 ............780-486 -466-6547 -974-1107 ............... Elbow Dr Brouwer Claims .........780-466-6544 780 Peggy McC ...... 403-24 SW T2V 0E5 -9001 rim Inc. -486 s 8-0584 ............... Edmonton 780 ster 000 Email: peg mon CIP CGI Adju .......... 403 Fax.......... gym@thech 3 .....780-486-8 -308 -261-3 ...... Pat ............... -454 ...... ecke Chr 780 ...... istensen rgroup.com Raymond ...... 403-26 to939 Crawford 51-0370 read... better than Short CRM Easier Direct tel: 4-3602 Lindsey ....780-4 403-974-110 780-440-3403 CET Cunningham 6 80-440-3443 2 .....7 the usual light-face listing -660 ...... -434 niel 780 SHUMKA Matthews-Da 0-437-4145 MA ..78 3 CR TT ...... -024 AIG HE ada ADJUSTER & MOOR -2371 780-488 McLarens Can INTERNAWS-DANIEL E -488 S .780 CA 1 ...... -884 NA TIO ...... -489 DA LTD. NAL (CA Featured as the ‘front-page’ 400-1021 S.J. Kernaghan 84-0364 780 NADA) LTD 2Flr-1222 10th Ave & Moore..780-4 . SW 11t T2R 0B7 780-465-9297 in the Adjusting Firms section Shumka Craig ............... T3C 0M4... h Ave SW 0-468-3360 .......... 403 ..... Loss .........78 Toll-free... -228-5800 -7850 Toll-free... ................. 403-57 ............... UAB Buzzeo 660 780-723 ...... 800-66 1-4271 ............... Fax.......... ...... 800-55 re..780-723-7 7-6231 Fax.......... ............... Moo & g 2 Crai ..... 8-4 ..... We . 403-228-5 877 ............... bsite ..... Shumka Email ..... 6 780-791-568 700 Patrick Gar .....................ww .. matdncgy . 403-571-4284 Edson ......780-791-566 -9421 w.scm.ca uk BA CIP @telusplan Website $ wer Claims ...... 090 780-791 Exec Vice Brou et.n 90-0 et 80-7 y -pre s Operatio & Moore..7 Fort McMurra 9 ns, Canada -202 -513 Shumka Craig 780 8 ......780-513-202 -3019 ...... We’ll feature your ad positioned -532 ms 780 Clai 10 Brouwer 3 ...780-532-97 ...... -642 Inc. -402 s near your usual city-listing. Grande Prairie 780 CGI Adjuster 02-6311 -539-7739 Lindsey ....780-4 Add a duplicate ad (40% off) in Cunningham 39-7737 780 & Moore..780-5 another city-section, extra $288 Shumka Craig 780-875-0302 780-875-1201 -875-5505 780 Claims ............ • Toll-free 1-80 wer 118 Brou 75-0 0-558-4877 r • Fax (403) Lindsey ....780-8 Lloydminste 1 ham -961 ning 571CALGARY -624 Cun 4284 • Ema OFFICE: 2nd il: matdncgy 24-9696 780 Floor, 1222 @telusplanet.n Tel (403) 571& Moore..780-6 - 11 Avenue 4271 • Toll-f et SW, Calgary, -645-3471 Shumka Craig ree 1-800-55 Kate Tem AB T3C 8-4877 • Fax 45-3830 780 ple CIP • Peace River (403) 571-4284 0M4 Pat Brad Dun Lindsey ....780-6 canson CIP Longworth • Lloy • Email: matd Cunningham d Kor tbee ncgy@teluspla • Mike Mor k gan St. Paul net.net fax EDMONTON OFFICE: 202, tel Tel (780) 4409440 - 49 Stree 3443 • Fax erta -6310 (780) 440-3403 t, Edmonton, AB T6B Iain Botly 2M9 AIIC • Rick -9217 403-228 Southern Alb White AIIC • Email: matd ned1 @tel ............403-228 -296-1316 usplanet.net Brouwer Claims .........403-296-1300 403 -4247 Inc. Calgary 933 403-262 CGI Adjusters 66-3 03-2 .................4 403-266-2078 050 Crawford ...... 71-2 03-5 Lindsey ....4 403-571-4284 271 Cunningham 71-4 -640-9160 niel ...........403-5 0-9076 403 Matthews-Da Email: dca ada ........403-64 -291-2665 SERVICES 1-2611 403 McLarens Can LTD. Jodi Payne [email protected] -5764 Pos dall.........403-29 Direct tel: tal add -3700 403-250 Pritchard, Woo 403 .............403-250 800 403-228-5700 Box 710 ress an Email: jpay -209-4319 agh Kern 86-8060 Silv S.J. Harry Zillm [email protected] re..403-228-5 erSprings Moo & g an 3 Crai -603 Blvd Shumka Email: hzill -4887 403-678 [email protected] ............... a Moore 403-678 .......... 403 mka Craig & ............... -320-2626 Shu -860-7924 403 50 ..... ........... 403 0-65 STEEGE Canmore -202-7672 KINGSTO Inc..........403-32 BA CIP -320-2162 Ema N (CANADA CGI Adjusters il: masltd@ 28-5545 403 ) LTD. shaw.ca .................403-3 Lethbridge 403-320-7809 (formerly Crawford ...... 03-320-7141 Lloyd & Hug re..4 Moo & g PAY4SON hes Ltd.) -520 3500-205 Shumka Crai ADJUSTER 5th Ave SW -2856 403-526 S LIMITE T2P 2V7 ............403-526 Sui5te 235 D -527-509 ............... , 132-250 Brouwer Claims 27-4205 403 .......... 403 Fax.......... Shawville -538-5450 -526-5278 .................403-5 ..... ............... Blvd SE Medicine Hat Crawford ...... 26-2920 403 ........... 403 Website ..... ................ 403-53 ............... 8-5464 -680-9492 & Moore..403-5 www.stee 6 ..... Grant D. -361 ..... gek Geo -341 ..... Shumka Craig ingston.com Lloyd rge Payson . 403-201-6 0-3700 403 CIP 917 Direct tel: 403 Inc..........403-34 -340-8190 Email: gran -538-4700 CGI Adjusters 47-7747 403 PR 03-3 t.lloy 0 .....4 r d@ -182 ...... Grant Sm steegekings -340 ITCHARD ...... Red Dee ith ton.com Crawford ...... 47-3285 403 , WOODAL 03-3 re..4 Dire ct tel: 403 & Moo L -538-470 Shumka Craig erta Northern Alb Bold listing! Key Adjusters! “I’m convinced that doing nothing all of a sudden kills you,” he adds. “I’ve been in the insurance business since 1955 – I know. You fall off everyone’s mailing list.” Chambers took a few detours before establishing Chambers Olson Ltd. on West Broadway. He joined the air force after high school but the war was winding down and he never saw action. He took some pilot training and remained a reservist for a decade afterwards, rising to the rank of squadron commander. With a commerce degree from UBC – and Display ad 480 Matthews Matthews Daniel For the small-to-medium adjuster in Alberta The upcoming 2005 Alberta Insurance Directory Your regular listing in bold! We’ll typeset your Alberta is a cost-effective way for independent adjusters to reach directory listing in larger, easier-to-read bold type – to claims managers, brokers and others in Alberta who show off just a little bit better, than the usual light font. Email: gran assign claims. t.sm as a1gekKey Adjuster! 203-1212 Displayed on ‘page one’ ith@stee 31 Ave NE ingston.com ............... DELL AD .......... 403 We’ll produce the ad for you! We’ll help you create www.pYou’ll in611ourTISnew Key Adjusters quick-reference JUSTER -291-2 ritchardwo appear S odall.com Pos tal addres BA BEd s garrym@ P CRM 8607 7th and produce a good-looking display ad – any size proodall.com FCI lead-in page, an advertising guide to leading adjusters St SW T2V 1G8 ............... ......... 403by region, for the Fax .......... Alberta – quarter, half or full page. No charge around -70 3-4222 ..... Email .......... ............. 403-255-0 317 .. t_adj@telu Gordon Tisd splanet.ne for design or production. insurance industry to ell t find you fast! A free book: You’ll get a copy of the And all for the annual bundle-price 005 2 directory as soon as it is off the press! of $480 plus GST (half-page $740; 40% discount, additional ads! full-page $1220). Please call Linda On that second or third ad, to promote Helme at 1-800-888-8811 for the your branches (and the cities you pitch, a complete Alberta ad sales service elsewhere in Alberta), we’ll package and all the details. ers • Adjusters panies • Brok Insurance Com give you 40% off duplicate ads. This special advertising bundle VICES, SIONAL SER with PROFES SUPPLIERS and DES signup deadline is Sept. 15. TRA 32 Insurancewest July 2004 Gordon Chambers: ‘A perpetual student.’ a young bride at home – he was hired as a conciliation officer with the Department of Labour. He later worked in personnel at a wholesale hardware company, becoming president of the Personnel Managers Association of B.C. along the way. There was also a stint as vice-president of finance with B.C. Life & Casualty and – the first of four children having arrived – an evening job as a driving instructor. He learned the insurance business at Allstate. The office, he remembers, was run by a former American general. “It was the best university you could attend. Insurance? When I started I couldn’t spell the word. But I learned how to handle office staff and opened every claims office from Winnipeg to Victoria. The discipline was awesome.” He was also involved in Liberal politics and held various positions within the party, including raising money for the late MP Arthur Laing. Chambers himself took a stab at provincial politics, running against the NDP’s Mike Harcourt and Socred Stephen Rogers in Vancouver South. Rogers won.“By that time I had helped three companies prosper,” he says. “I decided it was my turn.” He launched Chambers Olson in 1975. He sold – and still sells – property, casualty, auto and life while founding partner Stanley www.insurancewest.ca Olson, who passed away in 2003, handled real estate. Three generations of the Chambers family now work there: son David is vice-president; David’s daughter Jordan is a licensed broker; Gordon’s spouse Maggie is secretary-treasurer. Jacquie Eng, Maggie’s Sighle Noel: ‘It’s like a family here.’ daughter – Gordon’s stepdaughter – is also in the business as a commercial underwriter with Aviva Insurance Co. “The insurance business gives you a lot of knowledge about a great many things,” Chambers says. “It’s very complicated and there’s plenty of variety. The business is always changing. You have to be a perpetual student.” Personal experience taught him the perils of owning a business. As a child, his father, a well-educated former Navy man, ran a retail operation in remote Kyuquot Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Mom, a strawberry redhead from Glasgow, homeschooled older brother Bob, now 85, sister Sheila, 82, and wee Gordie. However, in the early ’30s, fishermen and the local natives were unable to pay off their accounts and the business went under. A grandfather’s fish cannery in Alert Bay suffered the same fate. For years Gordon and Maggie lived aboard a floating home in Ladner. These days they reside on terra firma in the same municipality. Away from the office they golf – “both badly,” says Maggie – garden and travel. A vine growing in their backyard provides enough grapes in a good year for about 30 bottles of hooch. Between the two of them there are now seven children, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His eyes flare trumpeting their accomplishments. Chambers no longer feels compelled to arrive at the office at the crack of dawn. “We’ve got a rule around here,” he says with a wink. “If you arrive late, you have to leave early.” IW Paul Curtis Rob Seal, Senior Vice President, Operations, is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Curtis to Branch Manager of our Vancouver, British Columbia office effective July 2, 2004. Most recently Paul was an adjuster in our Calgary office and receives this promotion in recognition of his strong adjusting background, dedication to customer service and proven leadership capabilities. Paul has over 15 years experience in the insurance industry, during which time he was an adjuster for ICBC as well as the Special Investigation Unit Officer. Prior to joining the insurance industry, Paul served over nine (9) years with the RCMP. Cunningham Lindsey Canada is an independent insurance services company providing a wide range of claims adjusting and risk management services through a network of 485 professionals in 77 branches nationwide. For more information, visit our web site at www.cunninghamlindseycanada.com. Have you ever heard such a claim? All banks claim to offer financial services for small businesses. BMO Bank of Montreal®, however, goes one step further and is the only financial institution to offer a comprehensive program developed for Western Canadian Insurance Brokers members. Giving value to your client list, we offer: • Acquisition Financing • Premium Financing • Succession Financing • Employee Group Banking Plan. To learn more about how our pre-arranged financial services program can meet your specific needs, call Mark Adler, Senior Manager, Insurance Brokers Services at 1 877 629-6262, contact us by email at [email protected] or visit your local BMO Bank of Montreal branch. A member of BMO Financial Group TM/® Trade-mark of Bank of Montreal. www.insurancewest.ca July 2004 Insurancewest 33 ON THE OTHER HAND PROBING THE Insurance Market Transition PHENOMENON By Lawry Shand I www.spookshop.com f you are an insurance broker, you have probably heard the rumour that the current hard market is about to soften, and you are likely spreading the rumour like crazy. If you are an insurance company person, you have probably heard the same rumour but steadfastly deny it, and refuse to pass the rumour along to anyone, not even your spouse. I don’t know who starts these rumours about a change in insurance market conditions, but I swear on my 30-plus years in this business when I tell you that such rumours always prove to be correct. Yes, whoever starts them are infallible. Of course, it may be that the simple act of spreading the rumour is what causes it to come true. It may be a form of mass hysteria – like flying saucer sightings. Some kook thinks he saw a flying saucer on the way home from the pub and tells the media. The media reports the sighting and the next thing you know all of the kooks are seeing flying saucers – with a good number of them suffering the indignity of alien abduction and anal probing. Not that I’m suggesting there is any real connection between a change in insurance market conditions and anal probing. Nor am I suggesting there is anything wrong with people who maintain that aliens have probed them anally. The only point I’m trying to make here is that rumours can take on a life of their own. Personally, I find it hard to believe that an alien life form, intelligent enough to create the technology necessary to travel hundreds of millions of light years, would spend so much time exploring the human rectum. There is nothing of great interest up there … certainly nothing as lofty or important as the meaning of life or the unified theory of everything. Is there something kinky going on here, I wonder? What are these extraterrestrials looking for? Maybe they lost a valuable piece of jewelry during an 34 Insurancewest July 2004 Compelled to probe? earlier mission to our planet. Mind you, one has to keep in mind that these are aliens. They aren’t from around here. In their galaxy, an anal probe may carry an entirely different meaning than in the Milky Way. Maybe they aren’t looking for anything. For them, anal probing may be a form of socializing … the equivalent of a handshake or some other form of human greeting … such as G’day Mate. But I’m just speculating, and that isn’t appropriate in a technical piece on the insurance market cycle. No, my purpose in writing today is to help insurance brokers explain to their customers what they should do when a hard market turns into a soft market. This does not mean that insurance company people won’t find it interesting, but since they are still in denial about the looming soft market, it might be best for them to skip the balance of this article and go straight to Stan Sauerwein’s TechWatch column. I have it on good authority that Stan will be probing the merits of exploiting alien computer technology in a last ditch attempt to move the long suffering CSIO company/ broker interface project into Phase 26b. In fact, I would recommend that all readers consider shifting over to Stan’s back page right now. He is very resentful of the fact that nobody reads his TechWatch column, and since he is a friend, I encourage everyone to read it and drop Stan an email saying something like, “even though insurance technology articles are dumb and boring, you is a pretty good writer.” Go ahead, I’ll see you later. (For those who simply can’t bear the thought of reading TechWatch, I will carry on.) For an insurance broker to explain the significance of the looming soft market to a customer, one must deeply internalize the answers to three (possibly even four) critically important questions: What is a hard market? A hard market is that period of time during the insurance market cycle when everything you try to do seems impossibly hard. www.insurancewest.ca www.sneill.com What is a soft market? Soft is a bit of a misnomer. A soft market is not really soft; it is simply softer than a hard market. Many things (like convincing your underwriter to delete the mold exclusion from the standard Nuclear Waste Dump Liability form) become easier during a soft market. And things become cheaper during Fairly typical suburban alien couple a soft market. Much (Sauerwein sighting) cheaper. What would cause Even normally simple things, like obtaining a hard market to become soft? liability insurance on a nuclear waste dump, Nobody really knows, but some people become a hassle. And expensive. Everything think it has something to do with a covert costs more during a hard market. Even appursuit of critical mass and optimum marples and oranges, which I wouldn’t normally ket share. Others believe that soft markets compare, become relatively more expensive arise as a result of a recursive dynamic during a hard market. imbalance between capitalization and RIMS co-chairs (Continued from Page 16) a career in risk management. “I ended up getting into risk management by kind of a fluke. I got a job working for the Insurers’Advisory Organization (a national company). By then I had a background in inspections, so instead of doing health inspections I was doing commercial insurance inspections.” Soon he moved over to the risk management department of Inter-City Gas Corpo- ration, a natural gas and propane retailer in Winnipeg, working there for six years before joining the Manitoba government in 1986. As director of the insurance and risk management branch with the Department of Finance, Rislahti is in the same position today as he was when he joined 18 years ago. “We’re basically a corporate office so we deal with all departments and all agencies of the government. We have an office of five staff, including myself.” IW Leah Kirkham new general manager Tim Howley, President and CEO of the A&B Sound Group of Companies, is pleased to announce that Leah Kirkham has been promoted to the position of General Manager of A&B Claims, a division of A&B Sound. Based in Vancouver, Leah will lead a dedicated team of A&B Claims professionals and will oversee A&B’s contents replacement services in Canada’s four western provinces. Leah’s twenty year career with A&B Sound began in A&B’s retail stores and included a variety of administration, logistics and security positions. In 1995, she joined the A&B Claims division and has been instrumental in that division’s growth and success. In her new position as General Manager of A&B Claims, Leah will lead 16 branch offices in providing contents replacement solutions to more than 300 insurance companies, brokers and independent adjusting firms. The A&B Sound Group of Companies is privately held and includes retail, real estate and specialty services business units. A&B’s retail operations represent Western Canada’s largest regional provider of consumer electronics and pre-recorded music and movies. Its real estate operations include all the A&B Sound retail locations as well as other commercial real estate investment properties. A&B’s specialty services business units offer insurance replacement A division of A&B Sound Ltd. services, services to auto dealers, and custom audio and video design and www.abclaims.com installation services for individuals, real estate developers, and corporations. www.insurancewest.ca shareholder equity. Still others think it may have something to do with cyclical changes in the frequency of alien abduction. What should the insurance consumer do during a soft market? The Canadian Institute for the Creation of Safe Consumer Behaviour Standards (CICSC-BS) recommends that consumers do nothing during a soft insurance market. Insurance markets, hard or soft, are fundamentally dangerous environments and a licensed professional should handle all manoeuvres. IW Editor’s Note: Unlike this peculiar corner of the magazine, TechWatch has a huge and loyal following among IW readers. APPOINTMENT René Fenez Applied Systems Canada, Inc., a leading provider of insurance automation, is pleased to announce the recent addition of René Fenez to their team as Sales Consultant based out of Calgary, Alberta. “René brings over 10 years of combined experience in the insurance, technology, sales and marketing industries,” affirms Jack Smith, VP of Sales at Applied Systems Canada. “We have been dedicated to seeking out someone of his caliber for some time and believe that his multi dynamic experience and expertise will bring tremendous benefit to new and existing Applied customers across Canada.” Prior to joining Applied, René’s roles had him working on insurance related investigations; claims adjustment and examination; business development - building partnerships with Western Canada’s broker force in property and casualty lines of insurance. He is currently a member of the Insurance Professionals of Calgary and is an active committee member for the Canadian Association of Insurance Women 2004 convention. According to Greg Purdy, Chief Executive Officer, “Applied Systems Canada recognized a need for more personalized representation in Western Canada. Having René based out of Alberta, we hope to fill that need and deliver enhanced point of contact service to new and existing customers in that region. We always take great strides to ensure a local presence within the national realm of our operation.” July 2004 Insurancewest 35 GET CONNECTED ONLINE! www.insurancewest.ca INDE X OF ADVE RTISE RS A&B Claims ...................................... 35 Amac .................................................. 6 Applied Systems............................... 35 Axa Pacific........................................ 37 Western Canada’s Website Links Accountants LBC International www.lbcintl.com Paterson Jamieson www.patersonjamieson.com Adjusters CGI/UAB www.cgi.com Coast Claims www.coastclaims.com Crawford www.crawford andcompany.ca Companies, Markets Autoglas www.ami.ab.ca Aviva www.avivacanada.com Axa Pacific www.axa.ca Beacon www.beacon724.com Canada Worldwide www.cwwbrokers.com Special Risk www.srib.ca Paine Edmonds www.paine-edmonds.com Sports & Fitness Health club, tanning, martial arts and dance studio specialists www.sportsfitness canada.com Singleton Urquhart www.singleton.com Sports-Can Canada’s leading sports, leisure and recreation insurer www.sports-can.ca McLarens Canada www.mclarens.ca Economical www.economical insurance.com TWIG Wholesale Group www.twig.ca IFS Financial Insurance premium financing solutions www.ifs-finance.com Pritchard Woodall www.pritchardwoodall.com Elliott www.elliottsr.com Wawanesa www.wawanesa.com Shumka Craig www.scm.ca Employers Re www.ercgroup.com Assns., Gov’t. Encon www.encon.ca Alberta Brokers www.iibaa.com Family Insurance www.familyinsurance.ca B.C. Brokers www.ibabc.org Gore Mutual www.goremutual.ca Brokers Canada www.ibac.ca Guar. Co. of N.A. www.gcna.com CSIO www.csio.com Hud Insurance www.hudinsurance.com Institute B.C. www.iibc.org ICBC www.icbc.com Glass Institute Canada www.iic-iac.org ING Insurance www.ingcanada.com Standard Glass www.belroncanada.com Insurance Bureau www.ibc.ca Kingsway www.kingswaygeneral.com Jewellers Auto Retailers www.ara.bc.ca Carstar www.carstar.ca Portage Mutual www.portagemutual.com Premier Marine www.premiermarine.com South Western www.swgins.com Network Search www.networksearch.net Restoration Insurancewest July 2004 Cunningham Lindsey.................. 19, 33 IFS Financial .................................... 20 Marshall & Swift/Boeckh..................... 3 Policy Works..................................... 39 Portage Mutual ................................. 16 PowerSoft ......................................... 10 Special Risk Insurance ..................... 27 Sports-Can ....................................... 11 TIC Travel Ins. Coordinators ............ 15 Twig – The Wholesale Ins Group ....... 6 Wawanesa........................................ 40 Barclay www.barclayrestorations.ca Western Medical............................... 25 Western Undwtg. www.western underwriting.com Cromwell www.cromwell.ca Other Disaster Kleenup www.disasterkleenup.com Adjuster Locator ............................... 21 Contents A&B Claims www.abclaims.com First General www.firstgeneral.net B.C. Insurance Directory .................. 14 On Side www.onside.ca Coming Events ................................. 37 Financial Serv. Bank of Montreal www.bmo.com Scotiabank www.scotiabank.com Birks www.birks.com Harling's Jewellers www.harlings.com Lawyers Carfra & Lawton www.carlaw.ca Lindsay Kenney www.lindsaykenney.bc.ca ServiceMaster of Lethbridge The clean you expect. The service you deserve. www.servicemaster lethbridge.com Alberta Insurance Directory .............. 32 Services & Suppliers ........................ 16 Technology Forum ............................ 18 Website Links ................................... 36 Salvage Liquidation World www.liquidationworld.com Tech/Systems Applied Systems www.appliedsystems.com Custom Software www.cssionline.com Policy Works www.policyworks.com PowerSoft www.power-soft.com To list your website here, please contact Linda Helme for rates at 604-874-1001 or email to: [email protected] 36 Cromwell Restoration ....................... 23 On Side Restoration ......................... 24 Travel Undwrs. www.travelunderwriters.com Automotive, Appraisers Crawford Adjusters ........................... 12 Harcourt www.harcourt.ca Coast Underwriters www.coast-uw.com Pacific Marine www.pacificmarine.ca CIP Society / Ins. Institute .................. 4 Network Corporate Search ............... 17 Prem. Finance Sask. Brokers www.ibas.sk.ca CGI ................................................... 14 Personnel Firms Totten Group www.tottengroup.com Media/Professional www.mediaprof.com Carfra & Lawton ............................... 32 ING Insurance Co. of Canada ............ 2 Can-Sure www.can-sure.com Manitoba Brokers www.ibam.mb.ca Canada Worldwide ........................... 18 Western Medical www.westernmedical assessments.com TIC Travel Coordinators www.travelinsurance.ca Kernaghan www.kernaghan.com Belron Canada ................................. 28 Harcourt & Associates ...................... 29 Medical Can. North. Shield www.cns.ca Cunningham Lindsey www.cunningham lindsey.com Bank of Montreal .............................. 33 Question number one: Are you a firm that sells systems, software, hardware or anything else of a high-tech nature? Question number two: Would you like to sell more stuff to the insurance industry in Western Canada? Question number three: How about advertising in the Insurancewest Tech Issue (Sept/04)? Question number four: What are you waiting for? CALL LINDA HELME 1-800-888-8811 www.insurancewest.ca TechWatch (Continued from Page 38) Photo Album, ACDSee and Picasa. Browsing and tagging. I immediately picked Jasc’s product because it organizes photos in a traditional hierarchical Windows folder structure. With Jasc you have to find the command under the Tools menu to catalogue the images on your hard drive. It’s fine for searching by file number, but on the other hand it is a more expensive way to go and it doesn’t have any transfer simplicity advantages. With ACDSee you’re able to group images by month. I know a number of adjusters who use ACDSee only for adding captions and special info to photos, which seems a waste of the software’s strengths. Picasa is easier on the eyes, but the timeline component of its storage system isn’t tied to its album view and I think that ruins its value for adjusters who only care about fast ways to store and retrieve. However, it is cheap. Ease of Use. If you are going to use an image manager at all, it has to make providing images to companies via e-mail a painless task. It should be able to automatically control resolution and cap file size and hand the images off to the e-mail software seamlessly. ACDSee does the best job of that when it comes to control over the JPEG format. It also provides some efficient batch functions that include category assignment, and you can do keyword, date, type, description or camera metadata searching. Picasa doesn’t take any effort on that score either. Picasa goes right to work cataloguing photos as quickly as you can start them, and it’s ballistic with scrolling as well as having screens that are clean and easy on the eyes. The downside is it doesn’t have the additional perks of file manipulation that ACDSee can boast. If all I had to do was archive and have easy-to-find access, my choice would be ACDSee. Adjusters can store thumbnails from the CDs they’ve made of files and then browse the CDs without having to load or switch discs. Its import options are also good, including TWAIN, FlashPoint Digita and WIA digital cameras, memory cards and CDs. With ACDSee you can also save images in 10 formats. If you can see the value of having images stored with as much meticulous care as the rest of your files, ACDSee can do the job. Requirements: Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP • Intel Pentium-class processor or equiva- lent (PIII 500 or above recommended) • 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended) • High Color (16 bit) or higher display adapter • 60 MB free disk space • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later • To view some media formats, DirectX 9.0 or later and QuickTime 6.0 or later are required. IW Western Canada’s Insurance Calendar Coming Events For details about these events (and any new ones) please visit Coming Events at www.insurancewest.ca July ’04 Jul 15 BC Gary Dorman golf tournament ................Surrey Jul 29 BC Claims mgrs charity golf tourney...... Vancouver August ’04 Aug 9 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver Aug 13 BC North Okanagan golf tourney........ Salmon Arm Aug 16 AB All-industry golf tournament ..............Edmonton Aug 18 SK Institute/CIP golf tournament ...................Elbow Aug 23 AB Institute/CIP golf fun day............. Spruce Grove Spotlight on The People George Bozanin Corporate Director, Commercial Operations Born in Toronto, George grew up in the satellite community of Ajax and attended York University, graduating with honours and a double major in economics and mass communications. Signing on with the Royal & SunAlliance in 1990, it was a management career development programme that got his insurance career on the move, in more ways than one. After a number of training stints throughout Royal’s regional branches, George landed in Calgary in 1999, assuming an underwriting management role. In 2003 he signed on with AXA as the Corporate Director, Commercial Operations and accepted a move to the West Coast. A move that remains not quite complete, with boxes and furniture still in storage awaiting the completion of a new custom home on Morgan Creek golf course. Avid golfers, both he and his wife of eight years, Janine, are more than anxious to get in the swing of things. Golf is just one of the numerous sports George lists as hobbies or activities and, as an ex junior hockey protégé, he enjoys an active lifestyle and still participates in a number of competitive sports. In fact, George discovered a very unique way of blending his sporting bent with his interest in management, for while learning the ropes of the insurance business in the day, he and his brother co-owned and operated a popular sports bar, the Alumni Club Sports Bar & Grill. A truly exhilarating learning experience, it also facilitated another hobby for George – collecting sports memorabilia. A proud owner of Mickey Mantle, Joe Di Maggio and Rocket Richard collectibles to name a few, he lists a meeting with boxing legend Mohammad Ali as a lifetime highlight. Known for his competitive spirit, George is not adverse to going that extra mile and occasionally stretching a single into a double, if it helps his team come out on top. September ’04 Sep 9 AB SARIMS risk mgrs golf tournament ......Calgary Sep 9 BC CIAA adjusters national convention ..... Whistler Sep 10 BC Victoria brokers golf tournament............ Sidney Sep 10 MB IWAWM golf day...................................Brandon Sep 12 BC IBABC exec & board meetings......... Vancouver Sep 14 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver Sep 15 BC Salute scholarship close .................. Vancouver Sep 15 BC BC Fellows golf tournament.............. Richmond Sep 16 BC Kamloops Brokers’ golf tournament .. Kamloops Sep 17 AB IIBAA industry staff conference.........Edmonton Sep 17 MB Young Brokers golf day ..........................Pinawa Sep 23 SK IBAC brokers national conference .........Regina October ’04 Oct 1 AB IIBAA industry staff conference.............Calgary Oct 3 MB RIMS Canada Risk Mgmt conf........... Winnipeg Oct 7 MB MaRIMS risk financing workshop ...... Winnipeg Oct 14 SK IBAS convention ....................................Regina Oct 14 BC Salute insur person award dinner .... Vancouver Oct 18 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver Oct 19 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver November ’04 Nov 15 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver Nov 16 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver Nov 17 BC IBABC past-presidents’ dinner ......... Vancouver Nov 17 BC IBABC presidents committee mtg .... Vancouver Nov 27 BC IBABC strategy planning session..... Vancouver www.insurancewest.ca July 2004 Insurancewest 37 TECHWATCH Image archiving worth the hassle? By Stan Sauerwein T he cost effectiveness of digital photography, especially with ever-improving optics, has been both a blessing and a curse for the insurance biz, especially for the army of adjusters. It’s a blessing because you know immediately if the shot taken has all the detail required. And a curse because it is so easy to take more pictures than you actually need. And then what? With literally thousands of megabytes that could hog computer memory, the images have to be stored. That’s easy enough to do. Just burn a CD. Many adjusters do nothing other than store the images with the file on CD, but storing them that way doesn’t always make instant retrieval and transfer easy when companies ask for the images. Luckily, the boom in digital took the consumer market over first and resulted in a score of album offerings that can easily fit the bill in a commercial setting when it comes to bridging the ‘storage to transfer’ gap. A B.C. company, ACDSee of Victoria, became an international player on a photo-sharing game plan. They gained huge market position by offering free use for long trials to consumers and then enticed them to purchases with plug-ins for image enhancement. Many adjusters, sensitive even to the whisper of image manipulation, have rejected photo archiving for that reason alone. But the advantages of having software dedicated to making photo retrieval simple and fast can balance that attitude. We’ve done a quick comparison of some archiving alternatives, focusing only on the tracking component and ease of use. We compared Adobe Photoshop Album, Jasc ACDSee Picasa Continued on page 37 38 Insurancewest July 2004 www.insurancewest.ca www.insurancewest.ca July 2004 Insurancewest 39 JULY 5 04 5:30PM It only takes a minute to become a customer for life… Our reputation for fast, fair, compassionate claims service has earned us a host of lifelong customers. With more than 100 years of experience behind us and a solid future ahead, you can trust that Wawanesa has the resources and the know-how to pick up the pieces when the unexpected occurs. Earning Your Trust Since 1896 40 Insurancewest July 2004 www.insurancewest.ca