Alberta Broker, April-May 2012

ON TARGET 2012 IBAA Convention

Low-Cost Ways to Market Your Brokerage Education Day Takes Aim at Marketing How Companies Help YOU Market

NETWORKING 10 Things You Need to Know

April - May 2012

Ensuring Your Clients’ Goods Are Covered in Transit

NEW We Ask, You Answer Page 4

Cdn Publication Mail Registration 40018149

strategic plan, ensuring that the association aligns with our members and continues to be a relevant factor in our collective success.

Increased member usage of the professional development programs developed and delivered by your association was a key goal for us. I am pleased to report that we have seen a dramatic increase in enrollment in our various courses and webinars. Members are recognizing the quality and affordability of these programs and I encourage all of you to “kick the tires” and see what Lori Bartlett and her team can do for you.

Dean Bailey

Message from the President

Well that was a fast year! It seems like only yesterday

I was speaking at the convention in Jasper, thanking

you all for allowing me to serve as your president and

outlining my goal of increasing member engagement over the next year.

During the past year, I had the opportunity to meet with members at all the local councils throughout the province.

Of all the things I had the chance to experience this year, this was by far my most enjoyable and exciting duty.

I used this time to gather information on what members saw as the important challenges we face going forward. The need to continue advocating with government on behalf of our customers, the challenge of competition from direct writers and other distribution models, the need to attract and retain employees in the broker distribution model and the use of technology to enhance the interaction between brokers and company partners were all identified as critical to our continued success. With this important input from members, the executive and board will be developing our next three-year

This past year, we finalized our partnership with Victim Services in Alberta. Each local council established contact with local Victim Services offices in their respective areas.

We provided Bipper blankets as well as sponsored the cost of producing books used to assist Victim Services when dealing with tragedies involving Alberta families. Member involvement with this important group provides us all with a tremendous chance to give back, and we should all contact our local councils to see what we can do to help them. We also developed a program in conjunction with the Alberta Junior

continued on page 4

IN THIS ISSUE

April - May 2012 The Alberta Broker is the official publication of the

I am pleased to report that we have seen a dramatic increase in enrollment in our various courses and webinars.

3010 Calgary Trail, Edmonton, AB T6J 6V4 T: 780.424.3320 •1.800.318.0197 F: 780.424.7418 • www.ibaa.ca

President Dean Bailey Chief Executive Officer George Hodgson Published six times annually by:

9249-48 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2R9 T: 780.448.0936 • F: 780.465.6201 E: albertabroker@linkpr.ca Publisher and Editor Annette Hubick Printing McCallum Printing Group Design and Layout Ron Leckelt Advertising Michele Schuldhaus 780.448.2890 michele@linkpr.ca The Alberta Broker welcomes articles about the insurance industry and its people. Letters to the Editor are welcome.The opinions and viewpoints expressed in The Alberta Broker may not necessarily be those of the association and its members.

Material in The Alberta Broker may be reproduced with the credit to the author and the following: “Reprinted from the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta’s magazine - The Alberta Broker (date).”

Please send a copy to the publisher.

3

Message from the President 4 Message from the Editor 6 Brown Bag Marketing 12 Make Your Connections Count 17 Did You Know?

18 Northern Exposure 20 The Advocate

It’s Election Time!

22

Up For Discussion

30

32

The 2012 CEO Panel

Know E & O 4 Ways Certs Lead to Claims

HICCUP Your Way Past Competitors on Facebook

34

Viewpoint

36

Banker’s Box

38 40

Chinook Country Report Legal-Ease

44 46

Keep Your Blackberry Out of Bed PYIB Perspective

48

Commercial Break

50

Professional Development

54

IBAA Convention Agenda

The Voice – IBAC’s Message Goes Global Got Credit?

Broker Sued Over Coverage Over Stolen Pharmaceuticals

If You Serve Them,They Will Come Planes,Trains and Automobiles Marketing Day at 2012 Convention

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

3

Message from the President

continued from page 3

Hockey League and Victim Services under the banner of the “Insurance Goal of the Game.” We will be formally rolling out this initiative at our convention this May in Calgary. It is a great marketing opportunity for brokers while enabling us to demonstrate our commitment to the local communities we serve.

Speaking of conventions, I was lucky enough to attend the PYIB fall convention in Edmonton. While I just missed the cut off point for membership in the PYIB (by about 18 years), I, like all of you, was able to attend this informative and fun-filled event as a member of the IBAA. It was great to see the enthusiasm and dedication that these young brokers bring to our industry. I call on all brokerages to support PYIB activities and to encourage all your staff, regardless of age, to become part of this great group.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Mardene

Watson for her dedicated service to our association. After six years, she is retiring from the board at this year’s convention.

I have known and admired Mardene for over 20 years but I really grew to appreciate her even more over the past four years that we have worked together on the board and executive. During that time, she has demonstrated what it is to be a professional insurance broker. Her knowledge of our industry and the issues, and her commitment to the advancement of the broker distribution channel, has been inspirational to me and all the members of the board who have had the opportunity to serve with her.

Once again I thank each and every one of you for the opportunity you gave me this past year. It has been the most memorable of my 35 years in this great business and I look forward to continuing to serve you under our new president, Scott Treasure.

Annette Hubick

Message from the Editor In a January 1991, Regis McKenna published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Marketing Is Everything.” In the article McKenna states, “Marketing today is not a function; it is a way of doing business.”

This is as relevant today as it was in 1991 – a statement supported by the hundreds of brokers who have requested more marketing information in this magazine and from the IBAA’s professional development department. Well, ask and you shall receive.

With “Target Your Market” as its theme, the IBAA convention’s education component aims to deliver a wide-spectrum of marketing-related programming.

Lori Bartlett gives you an overview of the speaker and seminars in her column on page 50. On page 56, you’ll find the complete convention agenda.

One of the hotly anticipated events at the IBAA convention (other than

4

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

moose milk) is the CEO panel. With marketing on our minds, we asked each of panel’s participants to describe what their companies do to assist insurance brokers’ marketing efforts. Read their responses beginning on page 22.

I’m pleased to announce that Karen Rutherford has agreed to lend her considerable industry experience and expertise to The Alberta Broker. Karen is well-known and respected by many brokers who’ve attended her seminars at past IBAA conventions and professional development events or viewed her work in the association’s video on demand

We Ask.

series. Each issue will feature an article “penned” in her own inimitable, practical, thought-provoking, no-holes-barred style, starting with one on, you guessed it, marketing. Take a look on page 6 and let us know what you think (albertabroker@linkpr.ca).

As always, I look forward to the convention as an opportunity to gain new insights, discover story ideas, renew friendships, gather feedback and thank you, and our advertisers, for your support. Please seek me out. You’ll find me by the moose milk.

One last thing…

We’re launching a new feature: We Ask. You Answer. Each issue, we’ll pose a new question in the magazine (and in IBAA E-News). We’ll run answers in the next issue. Note: respondents can request anonymity.

You Answer.

What can the insurance industry do to improve its public image?

Email your replies to albertabroker@linkpr.ca

by April 30, 2012.

G A B N W O BMRARKETING Low-Tech, Low-Touch and Low-Cost Ways to Market Your Brokerage Image

By Karen Rutherford

6

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

When Christopher Columbus left Spain in 1492, he didn’t know where he was going.

When he got here, he didn’t know where he was.

When he got back to Spain, he didn’t know where he had been.

Chris’s story reminds me of some insurance brokers I have met over the years who couldn’t answer these basic questions about their marketing plan: Do we have an in-depth understanding of what differentiates us from the competition?

Do we have an in-depth understanding of where our growth will come from?

Do we have a documented marketing plan with results traceable on our agency management system?

Marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

For insurance brokers, it is important to remember that your image is part

of your marketing campaign. In this article we are going to focus on the “society” or community relations aspect of a broker’s marketing plan.

Brokers in Alberta need to ask some hard questions about their image. Can you articulate how you want to be perceived in your community? When you aren’t in the room and folks are discussing insurance, what is their perception about fairness, value of the product, claims service and the value proposition of doing business with you? Have you differentiated yourself in any way? I think this is often the toughest question to answer honestly yourself. So many brokers offer competitive prices, great service and lots of choice. In other words, they offer NO compelling reason to do business with them as virtually the entire insurance world offers the exact same thing.

I encourage brokers to be honest when doing self-evaluation. If you are, you will quickly realize there is much room for improvement, and I think a smart broker is up for the challenge.

Working on your image and marketing plan is a long-term project. Let’s take a look at the marketing that you will direct to the community at large.

There are many low-tech, low-touch, and low-cost ways to market your brokerage image in your community.

How do you want to be seen in your community? Your community might be the actual town and county where most of your clients reside but it can also be a niche market such as the oil and gas business or the construction industry. Knowing exactly which community you are marketing to will help you focus your plan.

Spend time to determine how you want to be perceived. Do you want to be the cheapest broker in town? Do you want to be known as the guy who gives the fastest quotes (but has no growth)?

Do you want to be considered professional, helpful, reliable, and knowledgeable? These are questions you and your staff must debate until there is clarity.

continued on page 8

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

7

continued from page 7 Marketing is a long-term game and you will want to be sure the big picture is clear before you spend more time and money.

“Many brokers do this kind of thing almost on a daily basis, but darn few leverage it to help their community recognize the value the brokerage brings to the community.”

Then think about your customers’ demographic status. Will you be marketing in social media forums or is your audience easily influenced by your activities in the community.

For a moment let’s consider a broker who wants to have an organized campaign in the community where most of his personal lines clients live.

The broker has identified that his key competitors for personal lines business are the direct writers. Banks and companies based in Eastern Canada often don’t support the local community in any way. The broker may decide that, in addition to being a great broker, he can differentiate himself from the competitor by being a great corporate citizen in his community and making sure this message is shared with the community.

Lots of brokers I know consistently support minor sports, fundraisers for virtually every human organ and disease, help out with community initiatives and are generally good folks to have in town. Unfortunately, many don’t leverage what they are already doing to their best advantage and make a clear statement that people in the community can understand.

Look around your office. What tells your customer that you are consistently a great community supporter? Do you have a wall of fame full of photos of the minor sports teams you have

continued on page 10

8

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

continued from page 8 helped out? Do you have pictures of your staff at various fundraisers or town events where they have been volunteers? Do you have your thank you notes from charities you have supported nicely framed and on display?

Or are you like a lot of brokers who display ancient fire marks of companies long gone? Now I like fire marks as much as the next insurance person, but they don’t tell your story do they?

Look at your website. Where would someone see all the great causes that you and your staff are associated with?

Are there links to the boys and girls clubs, or the boy scouts or whatever non-profit your staff volunteers with?

Your brokerage may be generous in other ways. Some brokers lend their board room to non-profit organizations for their meetings — it is low cost and with a nice thank you notice in your front office and posted on your website, your audience will better understand what good people you are.

10

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

“There is no place for modesty in the game of marketing.”

If your brokerage is in a smaller town or city, there are many local notfor-profit groups that need support in small ways. For example, do you have a projector you can lend to groups when they need one? Or can you offer a bit of photocopying for free for a local choir, or your scanner for a few photos for a function at the local senior’s centre? Many brokers do this kind of thing almost on a daily basis, but darn few leverage it to help their community recognize the value the brokerage brings to the community. With just a little work, you can create a presence in the minds of your clients and your non-clients.

You may have read the many studies conducted over the years about the types of companies Canadians like to buy from. The studies all agree: Cana-

dians like to support good people and many would like to see their money staying in the local economy.

Let’s take a different example. Your brokerage has determined its best opportunity for growth is in the oil and gas sector. All the contractors and their employees are the “community” with which you need to establish and maintain an image. Some brokers may join the various associations and attend the golf tournaments; some will give prizes to those events — not bad ideas as first steps, but they won’t differentiate you from the other brokers attending, will they? If you want to be known and respected in a business community, follow the example of brokers who have volunteered for the association board of directors of the targeted community, or drafted and presented risk management seminars that are helpful to that group. For example, one broker designed a kickass risk management checklist for landscapers involved with snow removal.

It was a huge success. Clients and non-clients alike knew the reputation of this broker, which helped grow its business significantly.

Build a community campaign that you can sustain for several years. Simple things that will tie your message and your actions together is taking the time to brand everything with your corporate colours, your motto or tag line if you have one, and if you don’t it is time to craft one.

Once you have determined your long-term goal for your community image and marketing, it will be easy to round out your full plan. You will be able to build a better website, offer newsletters if appropriate, blog or tweet if it meets your clients’ needs, create risk management programs, and select the best value-added services your clients will need and want.

Marketing is a battle for the consumer’s mind. Consistency in your approach in all aspects of your communication is critical to getting the message out. Your advertisements, your letterhead, your website, your office, your signage, your document delivery style all come together as a comprehensive plan to market your brokerage.

As you read this article, you may well be thinking, we do all the good stuff in our community already. Good.

Now I want you to leverage all the small things into an actual plan. Strut your stuff so that clients – current and potential – can see that they are doing business with a solid community leader, not some distant bank or direct writer. There is no place for modesty in the game of marketing.

Want more low-cost community-marketing ideas?

Attend Karen Rutherford’s seminar at the IBAA convention on May 8th in Calgary.

Register at www.ibaa.ca

KAREN RUTHERFORD International Accelerated Learning kruther@telusplanet.net

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

11

Make Your Connections Count 10 Things You Need to Know About Successful Networking

By Vickie Milazzo Many people spend a lot of time and nergy trying to make effective business connections, only to find that their networking is not working. Vickie Milazzo shares her insight on how to build meaningful relationships with the right people.

In the business world, we’re often advised to network. Interested in changing careers? Network! Need to attract some new clients? Network!

Wish you had a knowledgeable mentor? Network! The fact is, networking is a valuable and effective tool that can enrich and advance your career … when you use it properly. The problem is that many of us are wasting our time with a type of networking that is not working.

I see many people investing a lot of time and energy into meeting new people and making those people like them. The problem is, they’re making connections with the wrong people or they’re approaching the right people the wrong way … or both!

As the founder and CEO of a multimillion dollar company, I didn’t achieve my current level of success by having breakfast with the same 16 people every Wednesday. I cultivated selective relationships with careful planning. I started my professional life as a nurse, and I later started a company that consults with attorneys on medical-related cases.

People often comment that I must have known a lot of attorneys when I started my business, but the truth is, I didn’t. I didn’t live in their neighborhoods or get invited to their parties. What I did do was reinvent traditional networking.

To see good results, you need to know what type of person can help you and where you can meet these individuals.

You also need to build meaningful relationships once you do meet the right people. It’s all about being smart and being selective.

12

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

If you’re ready to put an end to “not”working and see the results you want, read on.

Don’t just socialize — select.

Perhaps because the strategy is so ubiquitous, many people confuse networking with simply being friendly. Any time you meet new people and make new connections, the thinking goes, you’re adding on to your social circle and thus networking. But that line of thought is stretching it a little thin.

True networking isn’t “just” hanging out and being friendly — it’s meeting the right people.

Think about it: you can chat and laugh and make friends all day — and that’s great for your social life. But unless your new buddies are also connected to you professionally, your efforts won’t have an effect on your resume.

Remember, successful people are selective about where and with whom they network. They don’t expect a block party to change their businesses. Instead, they research what they need, they locate its source, and then they connect.

Make sure your group makes sense. Understanding that the neighbours’ cocktail party isn’t an opportunity

to network is Step One. Step Two is realizing that even among professionals, you must still continue to be selective.

In other words, you won’t necessarily find the people you need at your typical networking social hour. You must create a personalized network of colleagues, clients, consultants, vendors and acquaintances on whom you can depend to give you anything from information to referrals.

I know a woman who joined a networking group that a friend had recommended. The group turned out to consist of businesspeople, yes—but once she got to know them, my friend realized that none of her fellow group members had anything to do with her own profession. Still, she stuck it out for a year because the group had come highly recommended, and—surprise— got absolutely no business. Once she joined a group for attorneys, CPAs and bankers, all of which related directly to her own job, her career took off. Believe me, it’s worth it to research the makeup of a group before you join or the guest list of an event before you RSVP.

continued on page 14

continued from page 12 Get outside your comfort zone. Generally, we tend to gravitate toward people who are similar to us: people who think similarly, who find similar things fun and who are in similar walks of life. That’s fine when it comes to your friendships, but you need to aim higher when it comes to networking. Over 60 percent of people find jobs through networking, for example, and you can bet that most of them didn’t achieve this goal because they knew someone at the bottom of the pecking order.

No, I’m not advocating snobbery. It’s normal to gravitate toward people who are the same as you—but in business, one of the main reasons why people don’t get ahead is that they don’t get out of their groups. Make every effort to meet people who are a rung or two higher than you on the professional ladder. If you impress people who are more successful than you are, they’ll have a lot more influence than someone whose position is equivalent with yours.

Know when to move on. You’ve heard of beating a dead horse … but when it comes to networking, that saying could be amended to “mining a dead prospect.” In other words, no matter how selective you were on the front end, don’t make the mistake of giving any particular individual or group all of your time if you aren’t seeing results or getting quality advice.

Remember, networking is about business, not pleasure. That’s not to say that you can’t develop a friendly relationship with people in your network. You can, and if you do, congratulations! Just don’t allow your own hopes or your liking of someone anchor you to an unproductive group. Your time is valuable, and while you’re spinning your wheels over cocktails, you could be engaging big.

Instead of casting a wide net, go after individual fish. When you cast a wide net, you might garner a large number of possible contacts, but chances are you won’t be able to spend enough time building a relationship with each of them in order to make

14

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

it a worthwhile networking experience. However, when you try to hook individual fish, focusing on one or two specific contacts at a time, you can build stronger, more meaningful relationships.

You’ll get to know their wants and needs and they’ll have a better understanding of yours.

Develop a system for keeping up with details. How often have you attended a conference or other event, met a bunch of different people, and then returned home without cultivating any of those relationships?

In fact, you probably went right into planning mode for the next event on your schedule. Instead, put the information you learn from and about people to work. There are tons of apps and other software available today that can help you keep up with important details about people immediately after you meet them. When you meet someone new, take note (electronically) of what the person looked like, what you discussed, and one or two things you

continued on page 16

continued from page 14

found unique about that person. That way, the next time you speak with him or if you want to reach out after the event, you can mention something that will personally interest him, allowing you to make a stronger, more lasting connection.

Manage the follow up. Rubbing elbows at one or two events with a new contact does not automatically create a beneficial relationship. How you follow up with that contact is just as important as how you made your first impression.

When you do check in with a new contact, find a way to create value. Send her an article that you think might interest her or connect her with someone you know who might be a potential new customer for her or who might be able to help her with her business. Tell her you recently put a piece of her advice to work, and thank her for her valuable insight on the matter. When you do these things, you create reasons to stay in touch and that’s a great way to keep the relationship growing.

Don’t wait until you need something to follow up.

Remember, the new relationships you’re forging aren’t all about you trying to get anything and everything you can out of your contacts. Be careful that you’re not constantly reaching out to them, always asking for this or that. Show how you can benefit the person as well. Simply waiting until you need something to reach out to the person will make him feel like you’re taking advantage of him.

Network outside social media. While networking through social media is an important way to make a connection, it’s not the only way to maintain it. You can’t and shouldn’t depend on millions of LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to do the trick. Simply having an online connection with a huge group of people is not going to drive that much action for you.

You have to connect with social media connections offline in order to really form meaningful relationships with them. Write them letters or thank you notes. Heck, actually pick up the phone and call them! A colleague recently told me that she met with a high-level

16

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

businessperson who told her he calls four different people in his network every morning just to reach out and see how they’re doing. The lesson learned?

You simply can’t lose when you create a systematic way for staying in touch!

Give as much as you get.

Successful networking is a two-way street. Most of us start by asking for help and advice, but as we become more knowledgeable and successful, we gain the means to help others. Remember, success isn’t a monopoly: the more creative, intelligent, and effective people there are, the more successful your entire industry will be. Whenever possible, give younger (or at least more inexperienced) people a piece of advice or a leg up whenever you can.

On the flip side, no matter how successful you become, do whatever you can to help those who have helped you.

Successful people are often bombarded with requests for help. They respond to the individuals they like and have a positive history with. This is where developing meaningful relationships

comes into play—if you are there for someone in your network, he or she will probably be there for you in the future.

Ultimately, taking ‘not’working to networking isn’t difficult—it simply requires you to be smart about who you’re spending your time with. Always engage in powerful and meaningful networking, not just a pocketful of business cards and a glass of cheap white zinfandel. And never stop expecting high performance from your network — if it’s not productive move on!

About the Author Educator and nationally acclaimed speaker,Vickie Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is a multimillionaire entrepreneur and the author of the New York Times bestseller Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman.

Milazzo is the owner of Vickie Milazzo Institute, an education company she founded in 1982. Featured in the New York Times as the pioneer of a new profession, she built a professional association of 5,000 members.

Did You Know...

Under Distracted Driving Legislation (Bill 16), you could receive a ticket for combing your hair while stopped at a red light?

This offense will result in a $172 fine and no demerit points and it will not show on your drivers abstract.

The projected population of Alberta in 2036 will be between 4.5 and 5.3 million people?

This will be an increase from the 2009 population figure of 3.7 million in Alberta.

Over 85% of vehicles are insured for at least a $1,000,000 limit of third party liability in Alberta?

Talk about upsell opportunities. Learn this technique and many others in the Professional Selling for Insurance Brokers seminar April 17-19, 2012, in Calgary.

Approximately 4% of every insurance premium dollar collected goes toward insurance company profit?

The other 96% goes toward paying claims, taxes, and administrative expenses.

Under Alberta provincial law, businesses must provide rails for tying up horses?

And they thought the Insurance Act needed updating!

Sources: Alberta Finance, AIRB, IBAA and Statistics Canada

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

17

Who? What? Where? Chris Lewis

Northern Let me start by first thanking Mother Nature for a wonderful winter.

It’s pretty hard to complain about the winter season when we get such gorgeous weather for the majority of the year. That said, it’s time to put away the curling broom and take out the golf shoes and clubs.

What’s new?

On February 4th, the Insurance Sip & Slip took place and was a blast. With 14 teams eager to hit the ice and throw some rocks, the event went off without a hitch. Congrats to Norm Genge (Peace Hills Insurance) for doing such a good job at organizing this year’s event. If you are interested in attending next year’s Sip & Slip, keep Norm in mind and get your entry in early.

Rumour also has it that Kevin Webster (Intact) even hogged a rock or two.

Shocking!

Aviva Canada Inc. was pleased to announce the recipients of the third Aviva Community Fund competition.

This year, Canadians helped select 12 worthy ideas representing communities nationwide. A total of $1,000,000 will be awarded to these diverse local projects, including school yards in Ontario and Alberta, an animal rescue facility in British Columbia and a youth camp in Quebec, among others. This unique competition created by Aviva Canada aims to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country. The two Alberta winners of this year’s Aviva Community Fund competition were G.S. Lakie Convertible Theatre/Summer Arts Institute

18

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

(Lethbridge) and Holyrood School Courtyard Classroom (Edmonton).

Congratulations to all the winners!

On June 6-10, 2012, the Canadian Association of Insurance Women national convention will be held in Edmonton at the Mayfield Inn & Suites.

The event includes everything from an exhibitor’s night to a gala awards night.

Please contact Tracy Fata (Portage Mutual) for more information regarding the event.

Last but not least, I have completed the annual list of insurance golf tournaments. If you are interested in a copy of the list, please send me a quick note: clewis@phgic.com.

In Sympathy In very, very sad news, Carol Huddelstone, branch manager of WFG Lac La Biche, suddenly passed away on the weekend of February 18th. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all friends and family of the Huddelstones.

Who? What? Where? When?

Where to start? Where to start?

Roberts McClure Insurance purchased Wrigley Insurance Services. The former Wrigley office was shut down and moved into the Roberts McClure office along with all the staff.

Keegan McLennan, formerly of Economical Insurance, decided to move over to the dark side and join Roberts McClure Insurance as a partner.

Tracy Moore, long-time Aviva Canada supervisor, took a supervisor’s position at Intact Insurance.

Scott Macduffie of Intact Insurance moved from business development to a commercial supervisor role. I may be a little late on this one, but as they say, better late than never! Congrats, Scott!

Robert Fox joined Peace Hills on April 1st on a contract basis to help rollout the PHIX (Peace Hills Insurance Exchange).

Sean Kanee, formerly of Excel Insurance, was looking for a change of scenery and joined Leibel MacMillan.

Matt Bergin, formerly of Aviva Canada, also decided to join the dark side with HUB International.

Wawanesa is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandra van Raalten, MA, CIP, to the position of claims manager. Sandra has over 15 years experience in the industry and joins Peter Kennaugh as the second claims manager for its Northern Alberta region.

In April, Nona McCreedy of Aurora Underwriting Services bought out her partner, making Aurora a truly independent Alberta wholesale brokerage.

The Aurora team has settled into a new office in Edmonton’s south side.

As always, please continue to fill me in with any tidbits of information that you would like to see in next issue’s article!

CHRIS LEWIS Business Dev. Advisor, Peace Hills Insurance clewis@Phgic .com

The Advocate

George Hodgson

It’s Election Time!

By the time you read these words, Alberta will very likely be well into a provincial election. We will be exhorted by politicians, pundits, coworkers, friends and family to get out and vote. While voting is the responsibility of each and every one of us in a democratic society, merely casting a ballot is minimalist involvement. A truly functioning democracy requires a greater contribution from its citizenry.

Get Informed!

The political theorist Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good (people) do nothing.” Becoming informed, and then acting accordingly, helps prevent undesirable public policy. In fact a misinformed or ill-informed vote is often little better than not voting at all.

Currently, there are around eight political parties in Alberta; five of them were represented in the legislature before the election. Three of those five parties have new leaders, including Premier Alison Redford, while one party did not exist at the time of the 2008 election.

Each of these political organizations will employ many means to convey information to the voting public. These methods include coverage of their message or event on provincial and local newscasts, advertising on radio, on television and in newspapers, and distributing their information through websites, brochures and old-fashioned door-to-door and telephone canvassing

20

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

by the candidates and their campaign volunteers. Likely the five leaders representing the parties in the legislature will hold at least one debate before the election, while numerous debates will be held between the candidates in each of the 87 constituencies in the province.

Properly informed voters do more than absorb the information that comes their way as significant research is required in order to be fully informed. This may involve looking at websites, talking to the candidates and/ or their campaigns and looking at the legislative records of the incumbents and/or their party. Many general questions such as those below may affect a broker’s business directly or indirectly: • What are the candidates’ views on the economy?

• What are the candidates’ views on Alberta’s tax system and rates? What about a sales tax or lower/higher income taxes?

• What are the candidates’ environmental policies and what effect if any would these policies have on the economy?

• What about infrastructure? Should the highway to Fort McMurray be twinned? Should we have a high speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary?

Also ask questions that directly relate to the P&C insurance industry in

Alberta. For example, • What are the candidates’ views on the New West Partnership Trade Agreement and in particular as it relates to the financial sector?

• What are the candidates’ views on credit unions and other credit granting institutions retailing insurance from their premises and/or websites?

• What are the candidates’ views on auto reform of 2004? Does the candidate think it is working?

• How does the candidate view regulation of other P&C insurance such as home insurance?

All of these issues are likely to land on the desks of our MLAs over the next few years.

Get Involved!

Modern elections would not take place without volunteers and money—both of which are donated by committed people. Campaigns and political parties

welcome both particularly during elections. Anyone contemplating donating to a candidate or political party should consult the donation limits published on the Elections Alberta website.

The amount of time one can volunteer to a campaign, candidate or political party is limited only by the volunteer’s personal circumstance and commitment. The volunteer services needed by campaigns are varied; however, the most common are door-to-door or telephone canvassing as well as data entry. The short time period combined with the multitude of tasks make the opportunities for volunteering great.

Senators-in-Waiting Along with the provincial election, we will be electing a new list of senatorsin-waiting; Prime Minister Stephen Harper is committed to appointing the next senator from Alberta from this list.

Some of the provincial parties in Alberta will be putting one or more names forward, and a number of independent candidates will also run.

Opportunities for involvement similar to those in the provincial election are available here as well.

Why get involved?

Most government relations interactions in other sectors such as banking or utility companies occur between corporate government relations departments and the responsible government ministries. The advocacy function of IBAA occurs at the local level between local brokers and local MLAs. Such local and personal interaction means government relations for the insurance broker is truly an exercise in relationship building, and relationship building takes great effort over a long period of time. That exercise often starts with the election campaign. In some cases, the relationship is established during the campaign by volunteers reaching out to the candidate of their choice. This relationship, once established, is built over time between elections.

Moreover, a very small percentage of the public gets involved in the political

process. Those people that do take the time to participate have great influence over the direction of public policy. As the saying goes, those who play a part usually punch above their weight.

How do I get involved?

The best way to get involved is to find the website of the political party of your choice and either email or call them.

Their staff will direct you to your local candidate.

In the end, our governments have a huge impact on our daily lives and levy significant taxes in order to accomplish this. It only makes sense for us to take part in the process that defines who will determine our public policy and who will look after our tax dollars.

GEORGE HODGSON CEO, IB AA ghodgson@ibaa.ca

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

21

Up for Discussion The 2012 CEO Panel On Monday, May 7th, delegates at the 2012 IBAA convention will gather for a Q&A session with leaders of eight of Canada’s leading insurance companies.

In keeping with the convention’s “target your market” theme, we’ve posed one question to the panel’s participants:

What programs does your company have in place to support brokers’ marketing efforts?

22

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

MAURICE TULLOCH President/CEO Aviva works very closely with its broker distribution partners in Alberta to help them win in the marketplace.

Primarily through its business development team, Aviva helps create broker specific marketing campaigns and programs. In addition, all broker distribution partners have access to 300+ marketing templates that allow them to create professional marketing collateral covering all lines of business via a simple online interface. Aviva is a proud supporter of broker development and has created a program called “Broker Business Solutions,” which provides access/funding to consulting, education and marketing experts.

Aviva Community Fund is Aviva’s signature community investment and awareness building activity, and more and more brokers are getting involved in local submissions. They are able to express their commitment to their local communities, generating greater awareness for their own leadership activities through both traditional and social media.

KAREN GAVAN CEO Your Marketing Store — Brokers can access and download Economical marketing collateral through an online marketing storefront, Your Marketing Store, allowing them the opportunity to co-brand client-facing material and digitally share or print specific pieces.

Marketing education — Economical has recently launched a broker training unit that has extended our awardwinning employee development programs to our broker partners.

Training programs were specifically developed following focus groups and questionnaire completion with our broker partners and the program has achieved a very positive response in the first nine months post launch.

Economical delivers the training in brokers’ offices or in settings to accommodate larger groups.

Advertising — Economical Insurance supports co-operative advertising through aligned strategic opportunities with our brokers. This is an area where we believe we can take this form of advertising in a new direction by supporting public service ad campaigns targeted to specific market segments rather than the focus on selling a product. Economical has created some excellent campaigns so far in 2012.

Economical recognizes that effective marketing is critical to achieve brokerage success and we are more than willing to work with our broker partners to support direct mail campaigns enclosed within policy renewals.

We have an extremely creative internal marketing design and communications team to work with brokers in creating engaging marketing materials.

Brochures, tip sheets, etc. — Our marketing collateral is designed with our brokers, for our brokers and approved by our brokers. As such, collateral is customized to meet the needs of each brokerage and not a one-size-fits-all approach. We work with our brokers to create customized campaigns to inform clients of services and products.

Economical is in the midst of a refresh of our corporate brand to be released by mid-year. Watch for some great collateral in the coming months.

JEAN-FRANCOIS BLAIS President At Intact Insurance, we believe strongly in working with brokers to attract and retain customers by building strategic and targeted marketing campaigns. Some of the programs we offer include co-op advertising, ad campaigns that promote the benefit of a broker, access to in-depth research data, product marketing including brochures, tip sheets, posters, etc., website development, and prevention education materials for consumers.

As we have relationships with different brokers who have specialized needs (urban vs. rural, for example), we don’t believe in a one-size fits all marketing solution. Rather, we work in conjunction with brokerages to conduct a market assessment and needs analysis and then build individual programs that help them achieve their goals.

Additionally, we offer comprehensive education programs for brokers on our leading-edge products and offerings, such as our new liability protection, that helps them better match customers with the right coverage.

We also recently changed our structure to offer brokers one main point of contact with Intact Insurance. Our business development experts work with brokers to discuss their needs and identify practical and applicable solutions that will work for them. We believe this system allows brokers to be more informed — and thus able to take advantage — of the value proposition we offer.

continued on page 24

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

23

continued from page 23

SERGE LAVOIE President/CEO JEVCO offers a wide variety of services and support tools to aid brokers in their marketing efforts. We work to tailor our approach to each brokerage knowing that brokers have different strategies from a marketing perspective. Marketing support can consist of all or part of the elements below.

How much of each component would depend on many factors including the partnership we have with the brokerage, alignment of our strategies, opportunities for growth, etc. Please contact your marketing representative for more information • Co-op advertising fund — JEVCO can support brokers with their ad-

vertising efforts. We generally offer brokers financial support to develop their own advertising campaigns and do not require brokers to also advertise JEVCO in their ad. The sole focus of the advertisement can, and should be, on the brokerage itself.

• Company ad campaigns that promote your broker network — JEVCO currently advertises in a variety of publications. In each case, the underlying message is to contact your broker if they are interested in learning more about our organization.

• Mailing services should brokers want to enclose marketing materials in policy renewals — JEVCO has their own in-house marketing team, including a graphic design team, which can develop and produce material for brokers to provide their clients.

• Presentation templates and support materials for commercial markets — Support material is readily available for brokers. It can be specific to the broker or material that can be passed along to clients.

• Brochures, tip sheets, etc. — Brochures, tip sheet, marketing kits, etc. are currently available with JEVCO. Stay tuned, however, for updated, enhanced and additional brochures that will become available for our brokers in the near future.

• Marketing education — JEVCO offers product specific training that often is accredited for brokers.

DIANE BRICKNER CEO In addition to offering exceptional, personal and responsive service to our brokers and their clients, Peace Hills Insurance offers the following items to further our brokers’ marketing efforts:

• Co-operative advertising has been in place for many years and should brokers want to advertise locally we are only too pleased to assist and support them any way we can.

• Product training — When a new product is introduced we will bring the brokers together for training, which will ultimately assist them in selling the product.

• Marketing merchandise — Peace Hills offers products like golf balls, calendars, pink card holders, etc.

• Brochures that market our unique product offerings [e.g. Entrepreneur Plus (for home-based businesses), Farm Plus and Oil & Gas Contractors Plus] as well as other publications that provide helpful information to insureds, e.g., identity theft, home inventory.

• Our website, which includes a list of all our brokers and our products.

BOB TISDALE COO Pembridge has many programs in place to support our brokers’ marketing efforts. Our approach is to take a consultant approach and work with our brokers to identify their specific needs and objectives and then recommend the tactics that best support them. We adjust our support to be as robust as the broker needs. Some brokers want some consulting, advice or ideas, whereas others want those as well as some assistance in executing the programs. At Pembridge we are flexible and adapt our approach to suit each broker’s unique situation. Some examples of the tools we offer: • Co-op advertising fund — We don’t advertise directly to consumers in the traditional sense. We believe in putting

those funds to work to promote our brokers rather than ourselves. We have funds dedicated to support brokers who wish to do advertising and local marketing. As we are dedicated to supporting our brokers’ success, our program also covers education and software expenses.

• We have several brokers who choose to have the client’s policy renewals sent to the brokerages where they can incorporate any marketing/advertising material they choose before sending the renewals to their clients. Should our brokers also need assistance in printing material, another one of our perks is that we extend our corporate discount to them should they choose to use our printing house.

• We have a wide variety of brochures, tip sheets and additional marketing resources available on demand on our broker website.

• Marketing education — We give one-on-one consulting to our brokers as each office, market and broker’s objective is unique. In addition, we regularly

continued on page 26

continued from page 25 share tips and tricks on our broker website and our broker newsletters. We also host webinars to share knowledge with our broker force; our most recent one was on social media. We solicit feedback from the brokers on what future topics they would like to see offered.

KEN McCREA CEO We take pride in the knowledge that Wawanesa is a company that brokers value and customers recognize and ask for by name, particularly in Western Canada. To assist our brokers with their marketing efforts …

• We offer co-op marketing funds and support a wide range of ideas. Recent uses of the plan have ranged from signage at sports complexes, to customer appreciation events and contributing towards buying a bull for a 4-H club!

• We feel brokers are best positioned to promote the broker brand so the customer does not receive mixed brand messages. As a result we focus our marketing efforts towards our brokers and we offer brokers a calendar program, use of tradeshow booths and banners, and product brochures.

• Starting in 2012 we are implementing national policyholder renewal inserts on behalf of our brokers, designed to raise awareness of the risk of distracted driving and the need for emergency preparedness.

• Through our broker website, we have rating tools available for several of our commercial packages, all commercial policy wordings, and many forms and brochures to assist our brokers.

• We offer our brokers seminars and training on our new and existing products so they can match the customer with the products that are best suited to their needs.

26

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

Know E & O David Holt

4 Ways Certs Lead to Claims A certificate of insurance is a document generally provided to a third-party as a snapshot of the insurance carried by a particular insured at a specific point in time. It is nothing more than that. It confers no rights on the holder. It does not alter the terms and conditions of the policies listed on it. Nonetheless, a significant number of professional liability claims are asserted against insurance agencies based on certificates of insurance they have issued.

Claims involving certificates of insurance can arise in several ways: • Allegations that a certificate of insurance contains inaccurate information • Improper use of the certificate form to alter the policy’s coverage, usually to add an additional insured • Opinions or representations made by an agent in connection with a certificate of insurance • Alterations to the form of the certificate

1

Inaccurate Information in a Certificate of Insurance While it is often said that a certificate of insurance is not a contract, liability claims are frequently made against insurance brokers on the basis that the certificate holder relied to its detriment on the information shown by the certificate. Take the example of an insurance broker who provides a general contractor with a certificate of insurance stating that a subcontractor has a liability policy. If the contractor experiences a loss attributable to the subcontractor’s negligence, and it turns out the subcontractor did not actually have coverage in force at the time the certificate was issued, the general contractor might allege liability against the broker on a theory it would not have used the subcontractor if it had not been led to believe there was coverage in force.

These inaccuracies can simply be the result of a typographical error regarding limits or policy period; however,

30

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

certificate holders are generally entitled to rely on the certificate’s accuracy.

Brokers should never issue certificates in anticipation of a policy’s issuance. The policy does not exist until the carrier says it exists, and any certificate showing otherwise is inaccurate.

Claims arise where a contractor, typically new to the business, requires coverage and a certificate to bid on its first job but doesn’t have the means to pay the initial premium and asks the broker for a “favour.” The broker issues the certificate (usually with a bogus policy number), and the contractor gets the job. The carrier ends up rejecting the application, and the brokerage is left holding the bag for any claims that would have been covered by the policy had it been issued.

Brokers should take greater precautions when issuing certificates reflecting coverage placed through an intermediary, as there is an extra layer of opportunity for inaccuracies to arise, much like inaccuracies arise in the children’s game of “telephone.” Thus policy numbers, limits and other information should be compared against the policy itself or double checked directly with the carrier, if possible, to reduce the chance that a mistake by the broker ends up on a certificate issued by the brokerage.

Unfortunately, there have been claims where unscrupulous brokers have fabricated policy numbers for coverage that didn’t exist, and the innocent brokerages (and their E&O carriers) that issued certificates with the bogus information have been left to defend the claims by the certificate holders. Checking the information directly with the carrier also guards against such predicaments.

2

Using Certificates to Change the Policy Certificate of Insurance forms typically state that the “certificate does not amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies” shown on the

certificate.

However, brokerages have attempted to use the certificate as a vehicle to change the policy’s coverage, most commonly to add additional insureds to the policy. There are several problems with this practice. First, the broker may or may not have the carrier’s authorization to add additional insureds – or, a particular additional insured may require some underwriting attention (and perhaps an additional premium) beyond what the carrier authorized the brokerage to do. Second, issuing the certificate does not endorse the policy to add the additional insured. Therefore, the certificate would inaccurately indicate to the certificate holder that a party is an additional insured when that party has not been endorsed as an additional insured on the policy.

Certificates should be used to show the state of the policy — if a party has been endorsed as an additional insured, then a certificate is the proper vehicle to provide a certificate holder a document reflecting the additional insured’s status. Certificates of insurance should never be used to alter the terms and conditions of the policy.

3

Opinions or Representations by Agent Regarding a Certificate of Insurance Third parties sometimes ask a broker to confirm whether a policy

covers specific risks presented by a contract in conjunction with issuing a certificate of insurance, particularly with respect to construction contracts. Such a request might, as a practical matter, involve an intricate legal analysis of complex issues of construction law and insurance law.

That sort of analysis is clearly beyond the purview or expertise of most insurance brokers. Even in the rare case where a particular broker has the legal training to perform such analysis, she would be taking on additional legal duties that would otherwise not be imposed on her and, therefore, increase her exposure to professional liability claims. Thus, a broker should avoid offering opinions or making representations in connection with a certificate of insurance regarding what the policy covers or whether the policy satisfies requirements of an underlying construction contract or other agreement. Rather, the broker should remind the certificate holder of the language on the certificate form: “the insurance afforded by the policies described herein is subject to all the terms, exclusions and conditions of such policies.” If the certificate holder requires more specific information, the brokerage can offer to obtain a copy of the policy itself, perhaps certified by the carrier, and suggest that the certificate holder take the policy to its attorney to evaluate whether the policy provides the desired protections. The insurance broker should not endeavour to make such an evaluation.

Changes to the Form of the Certificate of Insurance Changes to a standard certificate of insurance form can change the coverage of the policy and/or create additional obligations for the carrier and brokerage. The most common modifications to the form involve the notification language, typically changing the number of days notice promised and eliminating the “endeavour to” language. Essentially, these simple changes create an obligation for the carrier and/or the brokerage to provide mandatory notification

to the certificate holder of any early cancellation of the policy. However, if the language modification is absolutely required by the certificate holder, and sometimes it is, be sure to get written confirmation from the carrier that it is willing to meet the modified notification obligation. This duty would be a tremendous burden for most brokerages to meet and creates tremendous exposure to professional liability claims for failure to notify certificate holders of the cancelled policy. Thus, insurance brokers should avoid changes to the certificate of insurance form whenever possible.

Sending Copy of Certificate of Insurance to Insurance Company As discussed in the preceding paragraph, a carrier’s failure to notify certificate holders of a cancelled policy can create liability for the carrier, as the certificate holders are relying on the coverage stated on the certificate to remain in place through the stated term. Obviously, in order for a carrier to send such notification, it would have to possess a complete list of all certificate holders.

Many insurance companies take the position that they do not want insurance brokers to send them copies of certificates of insurance issued by the broker.

Such policies can effectively shift the burden of maintaining an accurate list of certificate holders from the carrier to

the brokerage and, concomitantly, create additional professional liability risks for the brokerage. Despite a carrier’s stated policy rejecting copies of certificates, brokers should send them anyway, and, if returned, send them again. Carriers are simply better equipped to send cancellation notices to certificate holders than most brokerages,and should retain any obligation to send such notices.

The limited scope of this discussion does not permit addressing anything remotely close to all issues with respect to certificates of insurance or strategies for avoiding potential liability claims. However, even this brief discussion should convince readers that certificates of insurance are not the simple documents they might seem. Their issuance is not a simple clerical task carrying little risk of involving an insurance broker in a potential liability claim.

The material contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal or other professional advice. Please procure the appropriate legal or other professional advice and services to address your individual needs and circumstances.

DAVID HOLT Claims Expert/ Vice President Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

4

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

31

HICCUP Your Way Past Competitors on Facebook

By Genae Girard Every company is trying to use Facebook in an attempt to move business forward and stay connected to customers in this fast-paced world. Why are some companies more successful at this than others? Content is the key to staying in touch with your customers and keeping them informed. The content, however, must be a rich mix of information, education, humour and fun. Use the HICCUP approach to make your Facebook page more successful:

HUMOUR Humour allows your audience to come away with a warm fuzzy feeling and a friendly attachment to your message. It doesn’t have to be industry specific, although it can be. You can do viral searches on YouTube and/or sites that plug social media. Always watch a video all the way through before posting as you don’t want it to include any profanity or other unmentionables.

Remember video is king. Written blogs are being trumped by the clever, colorful and often fun video blogs.

INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS Don’t be afraid to ask open-ended questions to your group. For example, if you are a financial advisor, you may want to ask, “what is your biggest concern with the down economy?” The purpose here is to begin the conversation. People posting their answers will create a community buzz. Letting the responses unfold naturally also gives you a marketing advantage. The financial advisor can track the concerns and create future training or webinars around his/ her consumer’s needs.

32

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

CONTENT If you don’t provide a myriad of interesting topics, information and current trends, current customers as well as future customers simply go away. Clicking “Unlike” on Facebook is just as easy as clicking “Like.” Smart, clever and challenging content will keep your audience waiting for more. With most companies having a presence on Facebook, competition will become fierce and you have to stand out.

CURRENT EVENTS If you haven’t done so already, get plugged in to all online media, and/ or trade publications online. When something interesting pops up, pass it along for other people’s knowledge. If something political occurs that impacts your industry for example, pass it along.

Never make a personal judgment about the event. Let your community unfold.

Use Google Alerts in which you can program in key words to notify you of events and news feeds that pertain to your industry.

UTILIZING INDUSTRY FACTS Keep your followers abreast of changes in your particular industry and relate them back to your own business. For example, if you are an accountant and there are some tax changes around the corner, keep people aware by posting them on Facebook. If you are a medical office, you may want to post information on when a flu vaccine is available and what days and times people can sign up for the office visit. (If you are an insurance broker, you may want to post information about the new impaired

driving regulations.) These are specific actions that endear your customers to your brand.

PROMOS and SPECIALS Mention specials, promotions, new products and services. You can get creative here and run a coupon or contest.

Talk about new employees, business awards, community support initiatives or articles written by your staff. You can drive traffic to your business and services by using this concept. The one caution is that you shouldn’t overuse Facebook to market to your customer base. They can grow tired of it and quickly choose “Unlike” on your page, causing you to lose a potential client.

To be successful, all categories should be represented on your posts daily. If you personally don’t have time, assign this process to an employee or virtual assistant. Give them these rules for your industry and explain the process. Generally, creative, idea-generating minds are best suited for this task. If you follow this model for promoting your business on Facebook, customers will stick around to see what you post next.

As the Facebook community grows, we will all have to fight for the attention of the consumer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Genae Girard is a speaker, author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com, an online social media tribe of over 20,200 breast cancer survivors, and regularly speaks on the topics of women in leadership, building a tribe and social media.

Viewpoint Dale Rempel

The Voice Sometimes Canadians don’t realize how much we know — or how effective or noticed our voice is on the world stage. As president of IBAC, I am often amazed and impressed about how much international influence we have, as Canadians and as insurance brokers. Let me give you an example.

As the Canadian federation of insurance brokers, IBAC is also a member of the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries (WFII) — the IBAC of the world. As a member of WFII, IBAC participates in international advocacy with governmental and regulatory organizations in the area of insurance. IBAC also participates as an observer at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

This body is a grouping of insurance supervisors from over 100 countries.

The organization meets and works together in order to discuss emerging issues and propose regulatory changes in order to deal with these issues. The Canadian regulators, from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Québec regulators, l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), are members of IAIS and have a lot influence on its decisions and positions.

As a result of many discussions with IAIS members, IBAC was invited by the Spanish brokers association to address its members on the issue of banks and insurance. It had heard that Canada has a fairly robust regime of separating the two industries. The issue the Spanish association has in its marketplace is that a very high percentage of written insurance policies are sold by banks. They wanted to understand the history of this issue in Canada, the current regime, and what role IBAC played, and continues to play, in this debate.

IBAC’s Manager of Public Affairs, Steve Masnyk, was dispatched to make a presentation to its annual conference in Madrid last November. He spoke about the history of the debate

34

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

IBAC’s Message Goes Global

in Canada, the creation of the broker federation in 1921 as a response to the banking demands to be able to retail insurance and of the creation of a broker “brand” to easily identify the profession to politicians. He spoke of the grassroots political activities insurance brokers have been involved in over many decades. He spoke of the advocacy activities IBAC organizes yearly in Ottawa. He also centered his remarks on the incredible job we do as defenders of consumer rights and interests.

In attendance at the conference were representatives of the French, Dutch and German brokers associations. The audience was quite impressed to hear the effectiveness of Canadian brokers in communicating and advocating on behalf of consumers to federal legislators. In comparison, most European countries have a massive bank presence in the insurance marketplace. There is no separation between the two in most EU countries. Canada is an anomaly on the world stage in this regard. It is for this reason that they were interested in hearing the Canadian experience. I am very proud that every contact we have with our MPs brings about tangible positive change.

We have heard over decades, both from within Canada and from abroad, that these two pillars will inevitably merge. In discussions with regulators from around the world, and at the Spanish conference, IBAC has managed to plant a seed that the Canadian regime is alive and well, consumers are protected and both sectors thrive and are healthy. This seed is also beneficial as Canadian federal legislators will start hearing from their counterparts abroad that the Canadian experience is something to be looked up to.

As a result of IBAC’s message, the Spanish brokers association was so

impressed with the Canadian “BIP” branding program, they have embarked on creating a brand for their brokers to rally behind. In addition, several other EU brokers associations are also working on developing their own brands to represent their members. Steve managed to speak with several Spanish government officials and regulators afterwards, and they shared with him that the Canadian model was indeed very interesting to them.

It brings about a lot of pride to be a member of IBAC as well as its president. Canada, thanks in large part to IBAC, has a banking-insurance model that is unique in the world. Consumers are well protected, both sectors haven’t gone through a major crisis like other countries and the broker distribution channel is envied by others. I am proud that IBAC has started to export some of the achievements and success we have achieved here at home. As Canadians, and especially as insurance brokers, we should all be proud.

DALE REMPEL President, Insurance Brokers Association of Canada drempel@ibac .ca

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

35

Banker’s Box John Knotek

Got credit?

I

f you are like the majority of consumers, chances are you have utilized some form of credit, such as loans, mortgages or credit cards.

Credit can be a convenient method for purchasing goods and services and, if used wisely, it can also assist in attaining many personal goals earlier in life such as a house purchase or making investments. So with credit forming an important component of an individual’s financial situation, it only makes sense that one should understand how to maintain a healthy credit profile.

One of the tools that credit granters use in their decisioning process is a personal credit report. This report provides a historical summary of how consistently individuals meet their financial commitments and includes information such as details of an individual’s credit accounts, repayment history, banking information, insufficient funds activity, history of collections or bankruptcies and a listing of those organizations who have requested copies of the report.

This information is gathered by a credit reporting agency from those companies with whom consumers have credit relationships, plus court records and collection agencies. This, together with a purging of most information older than six years, ensures that the credit report is both accurate and current.

“Normally, no more than 35% of your gross income should be used to repay debts.”

Information in the credit report is used to create a credit score which has proven to be an accurate predictor of financial risk. While not the only factor

36

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

used by credit granters in making credit decisions, in general the higher the score, the more favourably lenders look upon an individual as a credit risk. As the credit report is continually updated, the score also changes to properly reflect any new information.

Here are some tips to achieving a positive credit score: • Pay all bills on time as paying late has a negative impact.

• Apply for credit only when needed as each credit application has an impact.

Type, limit and outstanding amounts of credit impact the score. A mix of credit accounts and loans will aid in improving a score.

• Only establish the credit you need and can comfortable carry. Normally no more than 35% of your gross income should be used to repay debts, including items as monthly credit card payments, loans and mortgages.

• For credit cards or lines of credit, if you are carrying a balance, try to keep it below 50% of the limit.

• An established good credit history improves a score, so consider this carefully before closing old credit accounts.

Understanding and monitoring your report helps provide insight as to how your credit looks from a creditor’s perspective and ensures that the information is accurate. You can access your credit report for free with the credit agencies via mail or for a fee can access various versions on line, including ones that contain a credit score. More information can be found at equifax.ca or transunion.ca.

While no one can access your credit report without your consent, it is a requirement for a wide array of reasons beyond borrowing money. They are used by some landlords, utility companies and employers. By having an understanding of your credit report and monitoring it on a regular basis, you will have greater control over your financial well being.

JOHN KNOTEK National Manager, Insurance Broker Services BMO Bank of Montreal john.knotek@bmo.com

Who? What? Where? Darrell Verbonac

Broker News Calgary has seen a new operation start up, a couple of office moves, and two acquisitions over the past couple months.

New to the scene is Wilson M. Beck Insurance, which is a BC-based broker making its first foray into Alberta.

Brent Williams, who moved to Calgary from northern BC, is the managing partner, and he is joined by Rhawnie Tremblay. They are situated at 14148 Street SW, just outside of the downtown core.

Anthony Clark Insurance moved into new premises at 7909 Flint Road SE, which is just off of Macleod Trail, a little bit north of its previous location.

As well, Anthony Clark closed its Dyck Insurance office on Crowchild Trail (which it purchased a couple years ago) and moved the operations into the new office.

Lucas & Wright Insurance is also in new premises at 134-17 Avenue NW. Lucas & Company had bought Wright & Co Insurance in mid-2011, and have now merged both operations into this one office. As well, congratulations to Emad Rizk on becoming a new dad with the birth of a son, Isaac, on January 17th.

Alpine Insurance and Westland Insurance merged their operations and will be known as Alpine Insurance. All of the principals, including Ken and Denise Hughes and Cam and Cathy Clay, will remain with the firm and they will now have five locations across Alberta. They will be headquartered out of Westland’s southwest Calgary location and will keep the previous Alpine locations in Lethbridge, Canmore, Red Deer and Edmonton.

38

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

Another acquisition involves Palliser Insurance, which was purchased

by Westland Insurance out of British Columbia. Westland BC is different than the Calgary Westland that merged with Alpine, although the Clay family does have a connection to the Wubbs family who owns Westland BC. The BC Westland purchased Calgary’s Ashford Insurance in 2011, and Palliser represents its second broker purchase in Alberta.

Staffing Moves and Acquisitions Involving Calgary Brokers • New at HUB International is Kyla Boruck, who was with Rogers Insurance; Shawna Seah-McDonald moved from Jardine Lloyd Thompson to join Lloyd Sadd Anthony; and new at Canyon Insurance is Steve Passey, previously with Brokerlink in Airdrie.

• Nona Curran, who was a commercial underwriter at Peace Hills Insurance, joined Collis & Associates; Fawn Mah, previously with Aviva, is new at Lanes Insurance; new to CRS/Merrill Insurance is Cheryl Clark; Nanci Klaasen joined Brokerlink; and Lynn Newton left BKI Risk Management to go to Rogers Insurance.

• Congratulations to Andrew Shareski who was promoted to office manager of Costen & Associates, and new staff at Costen are Shauna Banner, previously with Brokerlink, and Kishor Lalwani.

• New hires at McFarlane & Company Financial Group are Lindsay Sinclair and Susan Brost.

• At Underwriting Solutions LP, Terry McGrath is its new marketing manager, having recently moved to Calgary from South Africa, where he had worked as a broker.

• Dejong’s Insurance has had a number of additions, with Diane Abbott joining as its general manager, having previously been with Brokerlink. Other newcomers include Linda Toth, who had been at MHK Insurance, Jocelyn Payne from Lundgren & Young, Sara Wolfe from CJ Campbell and Karen Campbell from Blue Circle Insurance.

In Central Alberta • Randy Enns joined the Red Deer office of Hub Phoenix; Randy was with a family brokerage in Campbell River, BC. • Raquel Schumacher is new at All Service Insurance • Clayton Dexter left Mooney Insurance to pursue opportunities outside of the insurance business.

• In Lacombe, Lorne and Heather Rye sold their Brown & Ward Insurance operation to Western Financial Group (WFG), although they both stayed on to manage the office.

• WFG opened a new office in Airdrie, which is being run by Braden Bosch, who also is the manager of the WFG Drumheller and Hanna offices. Landon Bosch, who is Braden’s brother, is also helping out with this location. Also in Airdrie, Adam Taylor left Brokerlink’s office and joined Canyon Insurance.

In Southern Alberta Best wishes go to a good friend, Mel Snyder, who retired as manager of WFG’s Medicine Hat South office. Prior to his tenure with Western Financial Group, Mel owned Gateway Insurance in Medicine Hat and was involved in the industry for many years.

Company News At Intact Insurance, best wishes go to Derek Iles who retired after a long insurance career. Derek was the senior vice president for Intact based out of Calgary and has moved out to his home on Vancouver Island. Replacing Derek as the senior vice president is Jennie Moushos, who was previously in the role of deputy senior vice president with Intact.

Other Intact news includes welcoming back to Calgary two staff who were with its Edmonton office: Sheri Shafer and Orla McGregor. Congratulations to Genevieve Belanger and her husband Brent on the birth of their second child, a son named Jenson, and to Ashley Batke who joined the business development department after having been in commercial underwriting.

Over at Wawanesa Insurance, Savy Nhanh is its new marketing representative, promoted from his previous role as a personal lines supervisor.

A southern Alberta group received an Aviva Community Fund donation

as the G.S. Lakie Middle School in Lethbridge will receive funding to add lighting and other technical items to change their foyer into a theatre for school use and arts groups for various programs and festivals.

DARRELL VERBONAC, FCIP, CRM Regional Business Development Manager Intact Insurance Company darrell.verbonac@intact.net

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

39

Legal-Ease

Shelley L. Miller and Terry J. Williams

Drug War Souren Agemian (“Agemian”) operated a Main Drug store on Avenue Road in Toronto. The store was owned

by Agemian’s company, CJ Drugs Ltd. In 2001, Agemian incorporated a second company, Main Drug Mart Group Limited (“Main Co.”). Main Co. acted as a central buying facility for pharmaceutical products, which it purchased in bulk, repackaged in smaller quantities, and then distributed to other Main Drug stores owned by independent associates. Main Co. operated from the basement of Agemian’s retail store.

On August 13, 2005, pharmaceutical products worth $207,638.98 were stolen from the wholesale company’s storage area in the basement. Agemian filed a claim in the name of CJ Drugs under the retail store’s insurance policy.

However, the claim was denied because the stolen products were the property of the wholesale company, not CJ Drugs, and the insurer had not been notified of the wholesale operations in the retail store’s basement.

Agemian had hired Amal Gendi (“Gendi”) to manage the wholesale operations for Main Co. Some time in October 2003, Agemian and Gendi discussed the fact that the couriers used to transport the wholesale products to the individual stores had insufficient insurance coverage. Agemian spoke to Ben Malik (“Malik”), the retail store’s insurance broker, and asked the broker to speak to Gendi to arrange insurance coverage for Main Co. Gendi’s testimony was that he called Malik in October 2003 to inquire about general coverage for the wholesale operations. Gendi told Malik that he needed to cover the wholesale inventory while in storage and while in transit to the other stores. Gendi testified that Malik told him that he did not need to be concerned about the inventory in storage as it was covered by the store’s retail policy and that all Gendi needed

40

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

Broker Sued Over Coverage for Stolen Pharmaceuticals

was a transportation policy. Malik faxed him the application form for the transportation policy. Gendi filled out what he could and faxed it back to Malik.

Both Gendi and Agemian testified that they exchanged handwritten notes on an envelope from the insurance broker. On the back of the envelope, Agemian wrote “Hi Amal, please check with Ben for cost of coverage for inventory of $250K and $500K.” Gendi wrote on the same envelope “Ben [Malik] advised that we don’t need such coverage because it is protected under the store policy.” Agemian testified that after he received Gendi’s note, he called Malik and Malik confirmed that the inventory was covered by the retail policy.

Malik testified that he received a call from Gendi inquiring about a transportation policy for Main Co. Gendi explained that they were shipping products from the store and that the couriers did not carry sufficient insurance. Gendi said he needed protection for these products while in transit.

Malik obtained a transportation policy application from Eagle Underwriting (which specialized in these policies), and faxed it to Gendi. When Gendi sent it back only partly completed, Malik went to the store to help him fill it out. On their way to the boardroom in the basement, Malik noticed some boxes. Gendi explained that those were products that were going to be shipped out to other stores. Malik told Gendi that this was a wholesale operation, that the retail policy would not cover the inventory and that the transportation policy would only cover the inventory while in transit and not while on the store premises. Gendi said he was not concerned since the inventory was not on the premises for very long. The prod-

ucts were received in bulk in the morning, broken down and then shipped to the stores by courier the same day.

Gendi then asked if there was a market for such coverage. Malik said that he did not have a market for wholesale inventory, but could inquire about it.

Malik testified that Gendi told him not to worry, he was not concerned about it, because of the short period of time that the inventory was on the premises.

The threshold question is whether the client is relying on the broker for full coverage or is seeking specific coverage only.

In January 2004, Agemian obtained a new retail policy for the store through Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc. Agemian did not disclose the wholesale operation in the store’s basement to Aon Reed or

the insurer, Scottish & York Insurance Company. The previous retail policy with ING was cancelled effective February 3, 2004. Malik then ceased being the broker for CJ Drugs and became the broker only for Main Co. under the transportation policy.

The trial judge concluded that Malik’s testimony made more sense. The trial judge found that Gendi called Malik specifically to request transportation insurance for products shipped from the store and did not request insurance for a wholesale operation or for products being stored on the premises.

Malik advised Gendi that the retail policy did not cover the inventory while in storage and that the transportation policy would only cover the inventory while in transit. The trial judge found further that Malik never told Agemian that the inventory would be covered by the retail policy.

The trial judge observed that in analyzing the duty of an insurance

continued on page 42

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

41

continued from page 40 broker the court must first determine the scope of the broker’s mandate. The threshold question is whether the client is relying on the broker for full coverage or is seeking specific coverage only. If the client is seeking full coverage, then the broker’s role is an advisory one. The broker’s duty is to ensure that the client is adequately covered. If the broker cannot obtain coverage, he must advise the client of a gap in the coverage so that the client can take steps to protect himself elsewhere. In those cases, the duty on the broker is a stringent one. The broker is a professional with specialized knowledge and the client is entitled to rely on that expertise. On the other hand, if the client asks only for a specific type of coverage, the broker’s duty is more limited. (The writers note that clients will generally say they were relying on the broker for “full coverage.”)

The trial judge stated that the main difficulty with the plaintiff ’s case was that it was premised on the position that Gendi was seeking full coverage for the Main Co. wholesale operations and relying on Malik’s advice. However, the trial judge found as a fact that Gendi called Malik to obtain specific transportation coverage. Malik sent him the application form and met with Gendi at the store for the purpose of completing the transportation policy application. Gendi sought transportation coverage. Malik obtained transportation coverage and therefore fulfilled his duty.

The trial judge concluded that even if he had found that Malik’s mandate had become a general one as a result of his meeting with Gendi at the store, Malik had not breached his duty. Malik explicitly advised Gendi that there was a gap in coverage. The duty was to advise of the gap, which Malik did. Although it might have been more prudent for Malik to have put his advice in writing, the trial judge did not accept that Malik’s failure to do so was a breach of duty. Both expert witnesses testified that it is advisable and more prudent

42

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

for a broker to put his advice in writing.

However, the trial judge accepted the defendant’s experts’ evidence that it is not a hard and fast rule that such advice

be confirmed in writing if the broker has otherwise made the gap clear to the client.

SHELLEY L. MILLER, Q.C. and TERRY J. WILLIAMS are lawyers with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and practice in the professional liability insurance area. terry.williams@fmc-law.com shelley.miller@fmc-law.com

Keep Your Smart Phone Out of Bed … and Three Other Simple Steps to a More Productive, More Gratifying Work Day.

By Jason Womack

Tired of ending the day feeling like you didn’t even come close to getting the right amount of work done? Jason Womack offers up a few easy tips for creating the habits that will help you knock out your to-do list — so you can focus on your want-to-do list.

If being connected 24/7 was supposed to make our lives easier, the business world didn’t get the memo.

Most professionals just can’t shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn’t get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves responding to work email on their smartphones right up until their head hits the pillow. Sound familiar? There is good news: By implementing a few small changes, you can get more done in less time — which

44

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

not only staves off burnout, but leaves more time for doing what you love.

When the pressure is on to do more and more with less and less, you want what you do to really count. Burning through your to-do list more efficiently lets you go after bigger and better opportunities, sure, but the real reason you want to do it is so you’ll have time for what brings you joy.

You do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do.

It’s not about how hard you’re working—there are plenty of very hardworking people who aren’t as productive as they could be because of the way they manage their day. Here are four essential good habits, excerpted from my book Your Best Just Got Better, you can develop to become more productive and less stressed at work:

Keep your BlackBerry out of bed. I had a client who listed “Check email on BlackBerry (in bed)” as part of his daily morning routine. Note that he didn’t do anything about those emails while still in bed. He waited until he was commuting to work (he had a 40-minute train ride to the office each day) to start taking action.

Then, he said, he rushed through his morning worrying about the emails he had read in bed.

Together, he and I designed a fiveday experiment during which period he would leave his mobile device in another room and use an alarm clock to wake up instead of his phone. He would shower, dress, eat breakfast and then check email on his train ride to work.

Initially, he expressed concern that he might miss the “thinking about what I have to think about” time he had built

in to the early part of the day, but he was willing to give the experiment a try.

When I called him the following week, he had good news: The experiment had worked. He was less stressed and was using his morning more productively.

This change in his routine gave him a higher quality of life with less stress and increased productivity—one he didn’t know was possible without falling behind in his work.

Always be prepared for “bonus time.”

This is a great strategy for increasing productivity. Bring small chunks of work with you wherever you go. Then, while waiting for a meeting to start or for a delayed flight to depart—I call these unexpected blocks of free time “bonus time” — you’ll be able to reply to an email or make a phone call. In other instances, you might have enough time to review materials for another meeting or project you are working on.

If you’re prepared, you can also confirm appointments, draft responses or map out a project outline.

I can promise you that sometime during the next month, someone is going to arrive late for a meeting with you, cancel a meeting or otherwise keep you waiting. When that inevitably happens, you can look over your to-do list and pick something — anything — to work on.

Change how you manage email. The moment you click on your inbox, your focus goes and your stress grows, as you proceed to delete, respond, forward and file the messages you find there. You see names and subject lines and suddenly your mind starts racing; all you can think of are the latest projects, the “loudest” issues, and the high-priority work that shows up. If you’re not careful, all you’ll do all day is manage your email.

Rather than simply flag emails that require action, use the subject lines to catalog and organize them. For example, you might put “Follow-up Call” in the subject line of an email about a meeting you just had with a client. Also, don’t look at your email unless you have

a block of time to devote to prioritizing them and responding to them. When you are going through your email, use subject lines to catalog them and organize them so that you’ll easily be able to go back to less urgent emails later on.

Identify the VERBS that need attention. (And here’s a hint: smaller is better.) Organize your to-do list by verbs in order to manage your productivity in terms of action, delegation and progress. Actions such as call, draft, review and invite are things that you can do, generally in one sitting, that have the potential to move the project forward one step at a time.

If your to-do list has ‘big’ verbs — by which I mean verbs that are mentally demanding or longer term in nature such as plan, discuss, create or implement — replace them with action steps to just get started. That is, pick “smaller” verbs, by which I mean verbs describing tasks that are easier to start and faster to finish. This will save you time and reduce the sense of overload you’re feeling.

We all want to enjoy what we do every day. We want to get better and better, both on the job and off, and yet, many people are too overwhelmed to make the key changes that will help them do so. There is no reason to remain mired in frustration and struggling to catch up. With just a few key changes, you can work in a way that feels really good — and spend your after-work life doing things that feel even better.

• Property • CGL (Incl. Truckers) • Cargo • COC • Umbrella/Excess • Fine Arts • Product Recall • Cross Border

• Auto Physical Damage (Incl. Logging) • Special Events • CEF • Aviation • High Value Homes • E&O • D&O

WHOLESALE BROKER FOR BROKERS Tel: 780.442.2240 • Toll Free: 1.866.328.1314 E: nmccreedy@auroraunderwriting.com

auroraunderwriting.com

About the Author Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA, provides practical methods to maximize tools, systems and processes to achieve quality work/life balance. He has worked with leaders and executives for over 16 years in the business and education sectors. Author of Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter,Think Bigger, Make More, Womack shows that working longer hours doesn’t make up for a flawed approach to productivity and performance. For more information, visit www.womackcompany.com.

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

45

PYIB Perspective Jackie Webber

If You Serve Them, They Will Come

Each day we are greeted with numerous insurance advertisements from billboards to television commercials to radio ads. But are those working?

Perhaps to a degree, but we need to think outside of the box to obtain, and especially to keep, those desired clients.

Customer service — what is that? These days, people seem to choose not to deal with each other directly. Interaction is becoming impersonal. Consumers are opting to purchase their insurance coverage from alternative sources that seem more efficient, less confusing and, apparently, offering a better price. Appearance, however, is not always the reality.

As a young broker in today’s fast-

46

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

paced society, I have had to adapt my skills towards what consumers seek. It’s crucial to determine a client’s needs quickly because multiple markets are fighting for the same piece of business we are. Although insurance isn’t always the easiest thing for clients to understand, it’s our job to educate. Most consumers have a negative outlook on insurance — it’s always a waste of money. Even though most clients would like to deal with their insurance as fast as possible, rarely reviewing their coverage, they are generally thankful when I go through coverages and explain their policy in more detail.

Brokers have a great opportunity to create a relationship with each client.

When that bond is created as we talk over the phone or meet in our offices, we not only get to know more about that client but also are able to create an insurance policy that specifically fits that individual. Each client’s insurance needs will continually change over time.

Single people in their twenties may require only an automobile policy, but as they get married and have children, they may require house insurance and a life insurance policy. As clients’ lives change, their insurance needs change with them.

One of the determining factors when potential clients are choosing their in

surance coverage is price. Most people don’t understand or value insurance coverage, so they want to spend the least amount of money possible. Surprisingly enough, studies have shown that people are willing to spend more money when great service is given.

Customer service seems to be a dying trend in today’s society, but it’s what sets us apart from other insurance providers. When a client speaks well of a brokerage, that positive response will draw in other consumers who are hopeful of experiencing the same service.

If we can provide excellent customer service, a competitive premium and a convenient location, then those three things will bring in new clients simply by referral.

Keeping those preferred clients is another task by itself. Brokers must always provide exceptional service to their clients, but customer service is not enough. A brokerage must also keep up with technology, have educated staff, offer prompt service and continue to offer competitive premiums. Those four things go hand in hand to maintain our clients.

With the hundreds of advertisements that surround us daily, we are more likely to remember the referral from a friend or our positive customer service experience than a TV ad. Even with all the other insurance providers’ marketing claims, many, if not most, clients will choose to insure their property with brokers who provide one-of-akind exceptional service.

JACKIE WEBBER PYIB Calgary Local Council Representive jackie.webber@godfreymorrow.com

Commercial Break Karen MacWilliam

Planes, Trains and Automobiles Ensuring Your Clients’ Goods are Covered in Transit I have been providing moral support to a claims colleague who is handling a loss involving the theft of a tractor trailer containing several tonnes of cheese. Yes, cheese.

Of course, I laughed. But, for the insured, this is a big loss and there were many questions about whether the product was subject to a limitation of liability and how the loss should be adjusted, given the nature of the cargo and the relationship between the trucker, the shipper and the consignee.

Many commercial property policies impose a sub-limit on the insurer’s liability for property in transit. Many insureds do not arrange their own transportation coverage when they are shipping incoming or outgoing goods.

Many truckers do not understand motor truck cargo insurance. The consequences can leave everyone scratching their heads.

Both the owner and the carrier of goods in transit have an insurable interest. In deciding who should purchase insurance on property in transit, one should consider: 1. Whether the owner or the carrier would be responsible for loss to the property; and 2. To what extent.

The extent of a carrier’s legal liability for the shipper’s goods is determined by the type of carrier involved. The carrier may be a common carrier, a contract carrier, or a private carrier.

48

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

In the case of a common carrier, the Bill of Lading will determine the extent of liability. A standard Bill of Lading will impose a limitation per pound or kilogram in accordance with the applicable tariff, which is generally significantly less than the replacement value of the goods being shipped. If there is a Valued Bill of Lading, a specific negotiated value for the goods will be stated.

If there is a Released Bill of Lading, the carrier’s liability will be specifically waived.

This all presumes that the carrier is LIABLE for the damage. It also presumes that the scope of insurance coverage (if any) is broad enough to cover foreseeable events.

With a contract carrier, a specific contract will indicate the limit of liability of the carrier.

For private carriers, they are often hauling their own goods and are

fully responsible for them. (Think of a furniture store with its own truck and driver.) If your clients are utilizing private carriers, they should not take title to the goods being delivered until they arrive safely within the customer’s premises.

Sometimes, the best thing to do is to arrange all-risk property coverage on behalf of the owner. An annual transportation floater, a single trip transit policy, a marine cargo policy or an increase in the sub-limit on the commercial property policy for goods in transit may all work.

For transportation risks, the key questions for the broker to ask are: 1. What is being shipped?

2. Is there anything unique about the cargo itself ? Is it fragile, perishable, dangerous goods, alive (such as animals), high valued, etc.?

3. What is the origin and destination of the shipment?

4. What mode of transportation is being used? (ocean vessels, trains, trucks, inland vessels, aircraft, etc.)

5. What is the replacement value of the shipment and is there a limitation of liability on the proposed Bill of Lading?

6. When does title transfer? (i.e., what are the terms of sale?) For example, if a load of metal pipe is being sent from China, the terms “F.O.B. seller’s Shanghai Dock” mean that the title transfers to the buyer when the pipe reaches the dock prior to loading on a Canada-bound vessel, and your client who is buying the pipe assumes the transportation risk. If the terms of sale are “F.O.B. buyer’s Calgary jobsite,” then title transfers to your client when the pipe arrives at its Calgary jobsite, and the seller would be responsible for transportation risks. Neither situation is better or worse — but it will change the price and who needs to arrange the transportation coverage.

7. Will there be delay costs if the goods are damaged or received late? This may trigger a need for business interruption insurance, arranged in conjunction with the transportation coverage.

8. How long would the anticipated interruption be, and what are the associated delay costs?

Relying on the carrier’s coverage may result in a number of issues: • Potentially inadequate amounts of insurance • Limitation of insured perils • Policy conditions may have been breached by the carrier • Coverage may have been lapsed or cancelled Owner-arranged insurance may have several advantages: • Prompt claims handling by their insurer/broker • Excess coverage beyond that provided by the carrier • Broader coverage • Reduced cost • Possible automatic coverage

Clients should contact your office before the plane, train, automobile, or boat leaves the station, so you can provide advice and assistance.

I recall the news report regarding the overturn of a truck full of live honeybees. Two dollars per pound. Hmmm.

How much does a bee weigh?

KAREN MacWILLIAM is an insurance and risk management consultant karen_macwilliam@telus.net

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

49

Professional Development Lori Bartlett

Marketing Education Day at 2012 IBAA Convention This year’s convention theme is “Target Your Market.” Education Day is on Tuesday, May 8, and is packed full of expert facilitators who will give you different methods of marketing yourself and your brokerage while providing you with sales techniques and strategies that are tried and true. See how you can affect the bottom line of your brokerage, your pocket book and your community.

Earn up to six CE hours while doing it.

It’s pretty much a win-win.

As the convention will be held in Calgary this year, I encourage those local brokers who will not be attending the full convention to take in Education Day. For a special price of $200 + GST get the full day of education, luncheon with entertainment and access to hospitality night festivities.

Here’s a look at the Education Day speakers line up:

important distinction to make. Anyone can recite the business headlines; only those, like Francis, who possess a thorough understanding of the business world, can make sense of the headlines.

An Editor-at-Large at The National Post, a bestselling author, and a broadcaster, Francis is an accessible guide thorugh the pitfalls and opportunities facing Canadian companies both at home and on the world stage.

A marketing and advertising columnist for both The New York Sun and The National Post, Francis looks at a plethora of new marketing challenges (and opportunities): globalization, the implosion of the traditional media business model, and newly powerful consumers. She explores the major trends to look at what’s working worldwide — and that you can apply to your own strategy.

Marketing and Branding in a Complicated World Diane Francis

“I don’t consider

myself a journal ist who covers

business,” says

Diane Francis, “but

rather a business

person who delivers insight through journalism.” This is an

Marketing:The Subtle Science of Engaging Customers Jared Smith, B.Comm.

The average

executive in North

America is exposed

to over 3000 media

messages per day. In

the midst of all

this clutter, what is your business doing to get your pros-

50

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

pects attention? How do you use the subtle science of engaging customers to drastically increase sales?

Jared Smith, principal of Incite Marketing located right here in Alberta, grew up in the insurance industry.

His grandfather was one of the first insurance brokers to open their doors in Edmonton. Jared takes us back to the basics in marketing. You may be surprised at just how simple it really is.

It’s Hard to Fire a Friend Keys to Building Long-Lasting, Profitable Client Relationships Glenn White, CAIB, CSP, AIPC

Glenn White,

broker partner, co creator and

facilitator of the

Professional Selling

for Insurance

Brokers certificate program, will present the keys to building a long-lasting profitable relationship with your clients.Using practical lessons and advice from the PSIB course, the session will cover: • Relationships — The greater the relationship, the greater the profit potential!

• Benchmarks for Success — Take a look at the latest Best Practices Agencies’ numbers and activities that help

continued on page 52

continued from page 50 them to build great relationships.

• Personality Traits — Find out about yourself and learn how to interact to your advantage with different types of people.

• The “Eight Compliance Principles” — The reasons why people act in a certain way (like buying insurance products) and how you can use these as a successful relationship-builder and selling tool.

• The “Consultative Sales Process” — Learn the necessary steps you need to take to build great relationships and improve your closing ratios with both prospects and existing clients, and how to converse with them more effectively.

Low-Tech, Low-Touch, and LowCost Ways to Market Your Brokerage Image in Your Community Karen Rutherford, CCIB Karen Rutherford is president of International Accelerated Learning and was a brokerage owner for 23 years.

52

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

At last year’s IBAA

convention, Karen

presented “Social

Media: Should

Brokers be Pursu ing Clients through

Facebook?” This year, Karen examines the community relations aspect of your marketing plan.

Karen will demonstrate ways to leverage the everyday things you do in your brokerage and in your community that will truly set you and your brokerage apart from the rest. Learn how to recognize or determine who your target market is (or who you want it to be) and how to go get them!

Our goal for the 2012 IBAA convention education day is to offer our members the “full meal deal,” so we have integrated selling and marketing topics. To be successful in business, we need to start and finish strong. Businesses can market all they want, and even have a great marketing strategy, but without the people to close the

deal or make the sale, the marketing plan could potentially be worth nothing. The same can be said about sales techniques. You may be a great sales person, but you must have a marketing strategy to generate the interest.

For yourself and your brokerage, come out to our education day, take back what you learn and use the techniques and skills in your day-to-day business.

See your business grow into its full potential.

On a final note, a big thank you to the 2012 convention sponsors. Please make sure to look for the ad in this issue of the magazine. If you have an opportunity, please take a moment to thank them. I look forward to seeing you in Calgary.

What is going on other than convention?

The spring professional development program is in full swing and we are very happy to see that our members are seeing the value in what we are offering.

Alberta brokers are fortunate to have an opportunity to take part in the Professional Selling for Insurance Brokers (PSIB) in Calgary April 17– 19 and in Edmonton October 23–25.

Because of our partnership with Intact Insurance, we are able to offer this certificate program at a 40% discount to our members. Don’t forget the PSIB qualifies as an elective course in the Canadian Professional Insurance Broker (CPIB) designation program. Check out the website (www.ibaa.ca) for more information on what this certificate course has to offer along with broker testimonials.

As a member of IBAA, you were invited to attend a free education session on the upcoming legislative changes effective July 1, 2012. Rikki McBride worked in partnership with the Superintendent’s office to prepare a 1.5 hour seminar that highlighted the upcoming changes. This seminar was available to our members in all nine local council areas from March 14–26. Below you will find a synopsis of the impending changes.

The Insurance Act amendments focus on consumer transparency, fairness, innovation and harmonization. The Act will be written in plain language intended to be easily readable by the consumer. Terms and conditions will be easily found and clear before the consumer enters into the contract. The appraisal process has been renamed “dispute resolution,” with the rights of each entity involved clearly outlined and the process slightly amended. In addition to recognizing electronic commerce, the Insurance Act now includes the ability to develop new insurance products, allowing for innovation within the insurance industry. The new Insurance Act has been designed with the idea of harmonization amongst the provinces for insurers, agents, brokers and consumers.

The major changes in the Act relate to general property & casualty insurance, life and health insurance, group insurance, and accident & sickness in-

surance. A few of the highlights of the general insurance amendments are that statutory conditions will now apply to all policies. The time frame to initiate legal action against the insurer has been increased to two years.

There are a number of other changes to the Act that could impact the Alberta broker. I recommend you take the time to review the changes and review the Insurance Act. It can be found on the

Alberta Finance website at http://www. finance.alberta.ca/publications/insurance/alberta-insurance-act.html.

LORI BARTLETT Director of Education, IB AA lbartlett@ibaa.ca

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

53

54

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012