Pages 1 - Insurancewest Media Ltd.

12,000 copies distributed coast-to-coast
january 2012
Power of
the people
Big Mike
Love at
first sight
Ride on
Still
paddling
Publications Agreement #40027261
The goose
and the
gosling
Is Blue Goose becoming
an endangered species?
Insurer Showcase starts page 29
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Appointment Notice
RSA’s Private Client Insurance Team
RSA is pleased to announce the appointment of a dedicated team of underwriting, claims and appraisal experts to support its
new Private Client Insurance proposition for high net worth personal lines clients. The team of experienced professionals brings
an in-depth understanding of high-value assets and unique lifestyles of this client base to RSA’s broker partners. The team will
work closely with brokers to understand and service the distinct needs of this customer segment. RSA Private Client Insurance
will be rolled out in 2012 following a pilot launch in Ontario and Alberta in November 2011 and in B.C. in January 2012.
Congratulations to the following appointees of the dedicated RSA Private Client Insurance team:
Veronique Simard, National Underwriting Lead
Veronique Simard has nearly 14 years of industry experience, having worked with Chartis, TD Meloche
and Wawanesa. This includes seven years of high-value underwriting, an expertise that she brings to
her role as Underwriting Lead of Private Client Insurance at RSA. Veronique is working toward her CIP
designation.
Magda Jurczak, Senior Underwriter
Magda Jurczak brings 10 years of experience to her role at RSA as a Senior Underwriter of Private Client
Insurance. She has worked for Dominion, Kingsway and The Guarantee, where she honed her high-value home
and auto underwriting skills. Magda holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a CRM certificate from the Global
Risk Management Institute and is a designated FCIP.
Christopher McCaughey, National Residential Appraisal Lead
Christopher McCaughey brings 25 years of insurance industry experience to RSA Private Client, including 12
years with Chubb and The Guarantee. Christopher’s experience includes positions in underwriting, claims,
commercial loss control and high-value residential appraisals. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Commerce
degree and his CIP designation.
Alex Walker, Claims Relationship Manager
Alex is RSA’s Claims Relationship Manager. In this role he is the dedicated leader who collaborates with broker
partners and key internal stakeholders to ensure that clients’ Claims needs are tailored and met. He will lead
and oversee the Claims handling for Private Client. Alex has worked with RSA for over 10 years and brings more
than 18 years experience in the Canadian Claims industry. He previously worked for Chubb Insurance and
Zurich Canada. He is a past President of Blue Goose Ontario and currently sits as Vice-president of the Ontario
CICMA (Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association). Alex holds his CIP designation.
Scott White, Property Claims Team Leader
Scott White has held many positions over the course of his 18-year insurance career – including a post as
commercial underwriter at Gore Mutual Insurance Company. He is currently the Property Claims Team
Leader at RSA, where he oversees the Ontario Property Claims Examining Team. He also serves as the Ontario
Ombudsman representative for Ontario regional Property Claims.
Gisèle Kupsch, Claims Examiner
Gisèle Kupsh, a bilingual Claims Examiner with RSA, handles automobile and property claims for both personal
and commercial lines. Her 12-plus years of claims experience (all lines) include a position as Claims Adjuster
with Chubb Insurance Company in Toronto. She holds her full Québec Adjuster’s licence and is currently
working toward her CIP designation.
Barb Bolduc, Senior Claims Representative
Barb Bolduc, Senior Claims Representative for RSA, handles commercial and personal lines property claims in
addition to specialized accounts. Barb has extensive claims-handling expertise and has been with RSA for more
than 30 years. She is actively involved in various insurance associations and is an executive member of the
Central Ontario Chapter of the Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association.
About RSA
RSA Canada includes Roins Financial Services Limited, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company
of Canada, Quebec Assurance Company, Johnson Inc., GCAN Insurance Company, Western
Assurance Company, Ascentus Insurance Ltd., Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Company, RSA Travel Insurance Inc./
Assurance Voyage RSA inc., and is part of the RSA group of companies headed by RSA Insurance Group plc. RSA Canada
employs approximately 3,700 people and is represented by a large network of brokers across the
country. In 2010, the Canadian Group wrote $2.1bn in direct premiums with assets exceeding
$5.8 billion. Internationally, RSA Insurance Group plc employs about 22,000 people and has the
capability to write business in 130 countries, and in 2010 its net written premiums were £7.5bn.
RSA is a trade name of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada.
Volume 17 Number 1
january 2012
Contents
Hundreds of shutterbugs
submitted work recently to a
SGI photo calendar contest.
Thirteen images were selected,
one for each month, plus the
cover. This shot of a wheat
field and a couple of eager
farmhands heading to work was
submitted by Joslin Freeman of
Imperial, Sask. More about the
calendar is on page 48.
The goose
and the gosling
CO V ER STORY
According to some, Blue Goose, the industry’s do-good and have-fun-doingit fraternity, is fated to be grounded due to a lack of fresh-feathered recruits.
However, according to Lorena Kohlruss, a Calgary insurance lawyer and the
venerable organization’s new Grand
Gander, a membership drive and a
savvy use of social media should keep
the old bird in the air for years to come.
Story page 10
F e at u r e s
14 Big Mike Look up, look waay up, to Nova Scotia’s Mike Brien. Not only is he a large fellow,
testify friends, but large of soul, mirth and accomplishment. His brokerage, Atlantic Canada’s Macdonald
Chisholm Trask, which Brien co-owns with Intact Insurance, is no small potato either.
16 Love at first sight Prairie editor Ron Shorvoyce talks with Lori Cumming, a
lifelong lover of trucks, director of the special risk extension at Manitoba Public Insurance and the catalyst
behind the carrier’s sponsorship of an entry-level truck driver training program.
18 Ride on
Burlington, Ont.’s John Thorpe co-founded and organizes that community’s Paris to
Ancaster bicycle race and co-chairs the city’s Ribfest, which draws more than 100,000 people and raises
millions for charity. Somehow he also finds time to run Utter Morris Insurance Brokers.
22 Power of the people Gordon and Heather Gorecki, owners for the past 25 years
of Saskatchewan’s Esterhazy Agencies, were pleased to hear that son Sean, who had been attending university,
had decided to move home after graduation. They were even happier when he decided to take up brokering.
Insurer Showcase
begins page 29
d e pa r t m e n t s
50 Still paddling In the late 1970s Rosemary Hrudy of Houston,
Texas was visiting McBride, B.C., 500 kms northeast of Vancouver, with her husband
David and her parents Joe and Rose Lucius. They all liked the place so much they
decided to return – permanently, as immigrants. These days David is the town fire
chief and Rosemary runs her own brokerage, Advantage Insurance Services.
7 StreetTalk 21 Briefly Speaking 25 Storefront 52 TechWatch 54 TradeTalk 54 Ad Index
Cover: Blue Goose Grand Gander
Lorena Kohlruss.
Will Young photo.
‘‘
It was a nice surprise to have him come and work with the agency,”
says Gordon Gorecki, co-owner, with wife Heather, of a small brokerage
in Esterhazy, Sask., about his son Sean, 22 (pictured). “We didn’t want to
force the issue. It had to be his decision. I always hoped the apple wouldn’t
fall far from the tree.
Story page 22
www.palcanada.com
Applications, quotes, policy issuance
For more information, give us a call.
Western Office
#400 - 1400 1st Street S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2R 0V8
Eastern Office
2 Norfolk St. South
Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 2V9
Phone:
403-261-3900
Toll Free: 1-800-661-1608
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streeTtalk
Please email StreetTalk suggestions to [email protected] in Vancouver or to our Prairies editor at [email protected]
WFG’s Tannas announces senate bid
S
cott Tannas, CEO and
president of High River,
Alta.’s Western Financial Group, is planning
to seek the nomination of
the provincial
Progressive
Conservative
Party to stand
for election to
the senate of
Canada at the
Tannas
next opportunity, probably in the spring.
An active and long-standing
supporter of the party, Tannas
will run under that banner. If
successful, he says he’ll resign
his position with Western
once appointed by the Harper
government. Tannas said he’d
like to continue in some leadership role with the company
while serving as senator.
Alberta is the only province
with legislation allowing for
an elected senate, however
Saskatchewan is considering
introducing a similar bill.
In other news at Western,
Lana Wood has stepped down
as president of its network
division. She’d been with the
company since 2004, when
it had 51 offices in Western
Canada. It currently has 120.
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
The Insurance Brokers
Association
of Ontario
presented its
annual Awards
of Excellence
at the association’s 91st
Musico
convention
held recently in Toronto.
The Individual Broker
award went to Craig Musico of
www.insurancewest.ca
Sarnia’s Callister Musico Insurance Group. The award for
Young Broker
went to Morgan
Girouard of
All Insurance
Ontario in Ottawa.
“I couldn’t
Girouard
have been more thrilled,” says
Girouard. “I wanted to win so
bad. At the hospitality suites
the night before everyone
knew my name; I didn’t have
to introduce myself. It was
like instant respect.”
Also receiving awards
of excellence were Ottawa
Insurance Brokers Association (for affiliate), Johnston
& Mackie of Pembroke (for
a brokerage with less than
10 employees) and Donavan Insurance Brokers in
Kitchener-Waterloo (for a
brokerage with more than 10
employees).
HOCKEY HELPS
It’s not often a page of prose in a trade magazine inspires a hockey game, but hey, this is
Canada, and the publication in question is the one you’re leafing through.
It seems the staff at Red River Mutual, based in Altona, Man., was pleased with the article
Insurancewest Prairies editor Ron Shorvoyce wrote about the company for our annual Helping
Hands supplement. They also appreciated the $1,000 donation magazine publisher Bill Earle
made to RRM’s charity drive, his way of thanking contributors for participating in the popular
industry feature.
The insurer’s social committee decided to come up with a scheme that would match our
donation as well as raise an additional $2,000, for a total of $3,000, all of which would be
earmarked for those in need. Since many of the company’s 76 employees, both men and women,
played hockey, a charity game seemed like a deft way to have fun and do some good. So the
hockey-playing staffers divided themselves into two squads (pictured), the Parago Pack and
Five Minutes for Fighting, and the puck, as they say, was dropped.
When the final buzzer sounded, Five Minutes for Fighting was ahead 12-8, and not a single
serious head injury was reported. More importantly, a total of $4,510 had been raised, which
was shared by the local food bank and The Empty Stocking Fund. There’s already talk of another game next year.
The article that started it all, which explains the many ways in which Red River Mutual gives
back to its community, appeared on pages 28 and 29 of our September 2011 issue. It’s worth
another read at www.insurancewest.ca. IW
Insurancewest January 2012 7
®
W E ST E R N C A N ADA ’ S I N SURA N C E M AGA Z I N E
January 2012
Volume 17 • Number 1
Editor
Don McLellan
604-875-7765 • toll-free 1-800-998-5211
[email protected]
Prairies Editor
Ron Shorvoyce
403-601-6123 • toll-free 1-866-601-6555
[email protected]
Editorial Contributors
William Crossland, Laurie Jones,
John Lekich, Stan Sauerwein,
Ron Shorvoyce, Monte Stewart
Advertising Sales
Linda Helme, Tonya Earle
604-874-1001 • toll-free 1-800-888-8811
[email protected]
[email protected]
Publication Managers
Fran Burnside, Susan Mellor
Art Director
Wil Wong
Accounts Receivable/admin
Cathryn Day
Associate Publisher Jim Bensley
Publisher Bill Earle
Kenneth R. Wilson Awards
Honourable Mention
Insurancewest is published six times
a year in Jan., Mar., May, Jul., Sep., Nov.
for the general insurance industry by
Insurancewest Media Ltd.
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­adjusting firms, insurance companies, wholesalers and risk managers throughout Cana­da’s
four western provinces, Ontario, the Maritimes
and three northern territories. Included are
major insurance associations and ­organizations
as well as selected insurance services, suppliers and trades.
All rights reserved. Material appearing herein
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CPC Publications Mail Agreement #40027261
Printed in Canada • ISSN 1203-6706
8 January 2012 Insurancewest
JB golfers top challenge
Three Canadian broker teams have raised a total of $63,000 for charitable causes
at the annual Chubb Charity Challenge held in October at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort
in Naples, Florida. The overall winner of the Challenge was the team representing Calgary’s Jones Brown Inc. (Dave Moss, John Federico, Brad Inkster and Don Taylor), who
brought home $50,000 for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. A Jones Brown
team from Ontario won $15,000 at last year’s Challenge. Teams from Aon Parizeau of
Montreal and KRG Insurance Brokers of Toronto each won $6,500 for their designated
charities. Since 2000 the tournament has raised nearly $10 million for charities in North
America. The 2011 Challenge raised more than $900,000.
Photo shows Chubb’s Michael Rousseau at the cheque-giving ceremony with winning
golfers Don Taylor, Brad Inkster, John Federico and David Moss. IW
MERRITHEW HEADS CIAA
The Canadian Independent Adjusters’
Association has elected Greg Merrithew
its 28th president. The managing director
of Arctic West Adjusters based in Yellowknife, N.W.T., Merrithew
takes over from Mary
Charman.
“Mary put her heart and
soul into our association
over the last year,” says
Merrithew Merrithew, who has been a
member for much of his 31-year adjusting career. “She was diligent in pushing
forward our objectives in promoting
a harmonized insurance regulatory
system, developing CIAA’s CAT Response
Resource for Insurers, as well as enabling
the association’s National Insurance
Industry Advisory Board.”
XL HIRES
XL Insurance has boosted its presence
in Toronto with three new hires.
... enabling brokers to do more!
Admitted Paper - Foreign / US • CGL (US Sales) • Construction / COC & WU
Contractors Equipment • Directors & Officers • Environmental Liability
Film & Entertainment • Insurance Brokers E&O • Food & Beverage
Oil & Gas • Manufacturing (Ind., Plastic, Metal & Wood Products, etc.)
Marine / Motor Truck Cargo • Marine (H&M and P&I) • Medical Equipment
Mining & Exploration • Municipalities • Health Food Products
Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals • Product Recall • Subscription
Dave Weinberg, CIP
Western Regional Manager
Direct: 604-678-5405
Email: [email protected]
Karen Stewart, CIP CAIB
Client Service Manager
Direct: 778-331-8607
Email: [email protected]
Toll-free: 1-866-904-8146 • www.tsw-management.ca
www.insurancewest.ca
Betty Bingler joins the insurer’s North
America p&c team as VP of sales and
marketing. Bingler previously worked with ACE,
Liberty, Liberty Int’l Underwriters, Willis Canada,
Aon and Marsh Canada.
Melissa Plaxton is the
new senior underwriter for
Bingler
excess casualty. She has worked for
GCan, Chubb and Ingle
Life & Health.
Martina Perdue joins
XL as the team’s environmental underwriter. Most
Plaxton
recently she worked as an
environmental specialist with Canada’s
Technical Standards and Safety Authority.
EDMONTON BRANCH
After several months helping the residents and businesses of Slave Lake, Alta.
rebuild after the May 2011 fires, FirstOnSite Restoration has decided to open a
permanent branch in the provincial capital. Earlier in the year the firm opened a
branch in Medicine Hat.
Dan Hislop, the former operations
manager of the Grande Prairie operation
who has been leading the Edmontonbased team since the spring, will manage
the new branch. A FirstOnSite employee
for more than 18 years, Hislop will also
serve as district manager for Northern
Alberta and oversee the Grande Prairie
and Fort St. John, B.C. branches.
The Edmonton branch is located at
11404 – 184 St. Tel: 780-733-3399.
merce has named John Baizana, owner/
operator of Baizana Insurance Brokers
in Barrhaven, an Ottawa suburb, its 2011
Businessman of the Year.
The subject of an Insurancewest Storefront profile
(in July 2011, which can be
viewed at www.insurance
west.ca), Baizana, 39, was
named by the Ottawa BusiBaizana
ness Journal in 2006 as one
of its Top Forty Under 40. In 2010 he was
named the Insurance Brokers Association
of Ontario’s Broker of the Year.
“Each day I get to go to work with
people who conduct themselves with
integrity, work hard and always put the
needs of our clients first,” Baizana said
in his acceptance speech. “Tonight is a
reflection of your achievements.”
CSL OPENS IN CANADA
CSL Global, a provider of marine
surveying and adjusting services to the
international marine insurance industry
and to businesses in the cargo, shipping,
transportation and supply chain sectors,
is opening a Canadian operation.
Initially, CSL Global Canada will work
from offices in Toronto and Vancouver. It
will be led by John Hosty, VP operations,
Continued on page 48
Energize
your sales
NEW PRESIDENTS
Richard Bishop, owner of the broker-
age Jack & Co., is the new president of the
Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia. He
succeeds Carolyn James.
Jack & Co. has two
offices, in Halifax and
Dartmouth, and seven employees. It was founded by
Bishop
Peter Jack in 1860. Bishop
became the sole proprietor
in 2000.
In Saskatchewan, meanwhile, Barry Seaborn is the
new president of the provincial brokers association.
He owns Seaborn Agencies
Seaborn
in Moose Jaw, a mediumsized, full-service brokerage that traces its
history back more than 65 years.
TOP BUSINESSMAN
The Greater Nepean Chamber of Comwww.insurancewest.ca
Find out more about
Sales Focused Broker
at compu-quote.com
1-800-265-0808
Insurancewest January 2012 9
cover story
Lorena Kohlruss,
The Most Loyal
Grand Gander of
Blue Goose International, with
year-old daughter
Aria Hope.
The goose
and the gosling
Is the historic and hilarious
insurance industry fraternity
Blue Goose facing extinction?
Unless it modernizes its image,
makes better use of social media
and attracts younger recruits
– and more women – yes, say
some. But in Ontario, where
the average age of members,
once 60 to 80 years, is now 35,
Blue Goose appears vibrant.
Changes are already afoot in the
organization. The top position
at the international level – The
Most Loyal Grand Gander, a
kind of Goose CEO – is now held
by Calgary insurance lawyer
Lorena Kohlruss. She’s 39. By Monte Stewart
10 January 2012 Insurancewest
T
he mandate for Blue
Goose, the insurance
industry’s venerable social organization, can be
summed up in three basic
principles: charity, character and fellowship…but not necessarily
in that order. If members get their way,
the fun-loving fraternity that has raised
more than $100 million for charity over
the years will display more of the third
principle, largely through the arrival of
younger members.
For readers new to the industry and
perhaps unfamiliar with it, the Honourable Order of the Blue Goose International, its formal name, was founded
in1906 (see sidebar). Membership is
open to anyone employed on the p&c
side of the industry. Brokers, adjusters,
insurance company executives, lawyers –
all are welcome.
The problem is, and the reason for this
story, is that many have not. As longtime
members age, an undercurrent of concern is rippling through many ponds as
to the group’s long-term future.
“It’s fair to say that, like a lot of other
social organizations in the insurance
industry, we have suffered from a lack of
members over the years,” says Barry Slocombe, senior adjuster with B.C.’s Rush
Claims Solutions and permanent wielder
of the 131-member B.C. pond, which
will expand when a Vancouver Island
“puddle” starts to meet in the provincial
capital.
How urgent is the situation? Even after
talking to Slocombe and others across
the country, it’s still difficult to answer
that question. From B.C. to Quebec and
points in between, leaders say the Canadian flock, which has several hundred
members, is not in danger of extinction
anytime soon. But it’s obvious stones
have been tossed into many of Canada’s
11 ponds. Like other insurance industry
organizations, older members have flown
www.insurancewest.ca