Insurance Business Canada 9.03 by Key Media

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These 61 young professionals are the future of Canada’s insurance industry 5-STAR AWARDS: CANNABIS

Brokers name the go-to insurance partners for an ever-changing industry

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INSURING THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

How the sector is grappling with a hard market, climate change activism and more

SUPPLY CHAIN BREAKDOWN

Ways to help manufacturing clients prepare for supply chain disruption

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ISSUE 9.03

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CONTENTS

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UPFRONT 04 Editorial

The inherent exposures in a supply chain under stress

06 Statistics

Key data that should be on your radar

10 News analysis

SPECIAL REPORT

5-STAR AWARDS: CANNABIS INSURANCE

Brokers name the insurers and MGAs that have stepped up to deliver solutions to a burgeoning market

Recent events have underscored the myriad supply-chain risks in the manufacturing sector

12 Intelligence

This month’s big movers, shakers and new products

14 Technology update

Insurtechs are working to meet customers where they want to buy insurance: online

16 MGA update

SPECIAL REPORT

Armed with a new name, TruStar is bringing an updated perspective to the MGA market

RISING STARS

18 Opinion

Agile is the watchword for insurance in a post-pandemic world

IBC spotlights 61 enterprising young professionals who are bringing new ideas and fresh energy to Canada’s insurance industry

FEATURES

PEOPLE

COVERING CRUDE

INDUSTRY ICON

Environmental pressure and a hard market are putting oil and gas insurers in a tight spot

48 Other life

In the driver’s seat with classic car collector (and insurer) Scott Smith

After earning his stripes in the London market, CHES Special Risk president and CEO Gary Hirst brought his entrepreneurial spirit to Canada’s MGA space

PEOPLE

NEVER STOP LEARNING

Joshua Girouard tells IBC about his transition from broker to brokerage president

INSURANCEBUSINESS.CA CHECK IT OUT ONLINE

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

Just in time … or not?

ave you ever given the just-in-time supply chain a second thought? Probably not. We take the supply of consumer goods as a given. We expect the cogs of the global supply chain to keep on spinning so that our every demand is met at the click of a button. But what if a massive container ship – one longer than New York City’s Empire State Building – becomes beached on one of the world’s key trading routes, potentially slowing the supply of essentials like toilet paper and coffee? Then you might take note. In March, the world’s attention was drawn momentarily from the COVID-19 pandemic when one of the world’s largest container ships, the Ever Given, became lodged in the Suez Canal during strong winds and a sandstorm. The giant vessel was stuck at an angle, blocking the critical trade route – through which about 15% of all global shipping passes – for six days. The blockage delayed about 300 cargo ships, and many others were rerouted, causing significant disruption to the global supply chain.

A disruption in one part of the world can have a profound impact on supply in another part of the world Beyond the immediate impacts of potential market supply challenges, there were also domino effects at destination ports and terminals due to schedule disruption, yard capacity strains and the accumulation of cargo. Final-mile delivery carriers also felt the brunt; a shrinking driver pool was expected to pick up the slack and help the market fulfill its just-in-time guarantee. The grounding of the Ever Given has highlighted the delicate nature of the global supply chain at a time when it was already under monumental stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was proof of how a disruption in one part of the world can have a profound impact on supply in another part of the world. And these disruptions can come in all shapes and sizes: a natural disaster, political tension, war or, these days, a mass technology failure. The point is, there are risks to the offshoring and just-in-time delivery model that dominates the global supply chain – risks with more significant consequences than the caffeine jitters from a coffee shortage. The team at Insurance Business Canada

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EDITORIAL Managing Editor Paul Lucas Senior Editor Bethan Moorcraft Writers Lyle Adriano, Terry Gangcuangco, Roxanne Libatique, Pete Miller, Gabriel Olano, Jonathan Russell, Mitchell Scrimgeour-Brown, Ryan Smith, Ksenia Stepanova, Mia Wallace Copy Editor Clare Alexander

CONTRIBUTORS Vijay Pahuja

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Joenel Salvador Production Coordinators Kat Guzman, Loiza Razon Customer Success Coordinator Bernz Jalandoni

SALES & MARKETING Senior Business Development Manager Desiree McCue Business Development Manager Jennifer Hudson Head of Insurance – Sales & Marketing Cathy Masek Vice President - Sales John Mackenzie Global Head of Media Marketing Lisa Narroway Project Coordinator Jessica Duce

CORPORATE President & CEO Tim Duce Office/Traffic Manager Marni Parker Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil Global CEO Mike Shipley Global COO George Walmsley

Editorial Inquiries paul.lucas@keymedia.com Subscription Inquiries subscriptions@keymedia.com Advertising Inquiries desiree.mccue@keymedia.com

Key Media Canada (Insurance) Ltd. tel: +1 416 644 8740 www.keymedia.com Offices in Toronto, Denver, London, Sydney, Auckland, Manila, Singapore, Seoul

Insurance Business Canada is part of an international family of B2B publications, websites and events for the insurance industry Insurance Business America cathy.masek@keymedia.com T +1 720 316 0151 Insurance Business UK gemma.powell@keymedia.com T +44 20 7193 0935 Insurance Business Australia peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Insurance Business NZ peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO Insurance Business Asia peter.smith@keymedia.com.au T +61 2 8437 47OO

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Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS NATURAL CATASTROPHES IN 2020 AT A GLANCE

STORMS THE TOP SOURCE OF NAT CAT LOSSES Among natural catastrophes, severe convective storms inflicted the most insured losses over the past decade, according to Swiss Re. This was especially the case in North America, where the total insured losses caused by severe convective storms from 2011 to 2020 exceeded those from all primary perils put together. Swiss Re’s study revealed that insured losses from both primary and secondary perils have been on the rise since 1970 – a trend that’s expected to continue in the foreseeable future, due to increasing property values and the effects of climate change.

274

CUMULATIVE NAT CAT INSURED LOSSES, 2011-2020

Total number of catastrophe events worldwide

NORTH AMERICA Severe convective storms

WORLDWIDE

$192.0 billion Floods

Severe convective storms

$16.2 billion

$217.9 billion

Wildfires

Floods

$53.1 billion

$67.3 billion Wildfires $56.2 billion

$202 billion

SOUTH AMERICA

Global economic losses due to catastrophes

Floods $1.2 billion Wildfires $200 million

$89 billion Global insured losses due to catastrophes

M&A ACTIVITY EXPECTED TO BOUNCE BACK After two years of declining M&A deals globally, Willis Towers Watson expects the number of deals to rebound sharply in 2021. Recovering confidence in the market has already led the number of M&As to surge by 21% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2021.

QUARTERLY GLOBAL M&A DEAL VOLUME 270 240 210

0.24%

Percentage of global GDP lost to catastrophes in 2020 Source: Natural Catastrophes in 2020, Swiss Re Sigma No. 1 2021; all figures in US$

180 150 120 90

Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021 Source: Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, Q1 2021, Willis Towers Watson

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CANAL BLOCKAGE AUGMENTS SUPPLY CHAIN WOES The Ever Given’s six-day blockage of the Suez Canal added yet another burden to the ongoing disruption of global supply chains. According to Allianz, other issues, such as shortages in shipping containers and semiconductors, are already expected to reduce real trade growth by 1.4 percentage points in 2021; the Ever Given fiasco could add between 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points to that figure.

EUROPE Severe convective storms $15.6 billion Floods $20.1 billion Wildfires $200 million

19,000+

ASIA

Ships passing through the Suez Canal yearly

Severe convective storms $200 million Floods

1.25 billion

$26.7 billion

Tons of cargo that passed through the Suez Canal in 2019

$9 billion

OCEANIA

Daily worth of goods disrupted by the Ever Given blockage

Severe convective storms $9.4 billion Floods

$230 billion

$2.8 billion

Expected decrease in real trade growth in 2021 due to supply chain disruptions

Wildfires $2.5 billion

Source: Natural Catastrophes in 2020, Swiss Re Sigma No. 1 2021; all figures in US$

KEY AREAS OF INNOVATION FOR INSURERS Demand for digital insurance premiums and online distribution could displace around 5% of the global insurance market’s revenue by 2025, according to a new report from Accenture, which highlighted four areas of innovation for insurers to focus on to capture this revenue. Sharing economy, climate change and cyber threats

Health/wellness and life products and services

IN REVENUE

$120 BILLION IN REVENUE

INSURERS EXPECT HIGHER MEDICAL TREND RATES As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the majority of group benefits providers worldwide expect higher medical trend rates in 2021, according to a study by Mercer Marsh Benefits, which attributed this to several factors, including the resumption of elective treatments, delays in care and a continuation of COVID-19-related claims.

Shift to alternative distribution

$125 BILLION

$115 BILLION

IN SHIFTING PREMIUMS Technology integration within traditional products

$120 BILLION

Source: “The Suez Canal ship is not the only thing clogging global trade,” Allianz, March 26, 2021; all figures in US$

10% Higher than 2020 Same as 2020

27% 63%

Lower than 2020

IN REVENUE

Source: Insurance Revenue Landscape 2025, Accenture; all figures in US$

Source: MMB Health Trends: 2020 Insurer Perspective, Mercer Marsh Benefits

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26/05/2021 4:08:25 am

CLAIMS TRANSFORMATION AT ECONOMICAL INSURANCE “Serving our customers well is our greatest source of pride,” says Hans Reidl, Senior Vice President of Claims at Economical. It’s also the main reason the company is modernizing its claims capabilities. “In this industry, a great customer experience is the differentiator, so it’s always been our priority,” he says. “Now, by harnessing digital tools and implementing even more responsive processes, we’re future-proofing that commitment.” To achieve this, Reidl and his team have developed a multiyear strategy that focuses on delivering a superior claims experience. They’re also working toward efficiently managing indemnity, streamlining the supply chain, and building a scalable model that accommodates growth. Launched in 2018, the multifaceted plan takes a modular approach in reimagining how technology, processes, and operations can be enhanced to improve the bottom line and the experience of each and every customer.

It starts with first notice of loss (FNOL) With a new Claims Customer Care Centre in place — staffed by highly trained, empathetic representatives — the stage is set for a quality initial contact. Here, all the right information is collected, allowing Reidl’s teams to more effectively segment assignments, reduce the number of customer touchpoints, and resolve claims more quickly. The system also helps the company better identify scams, since initial data capture is structured to flag potential fraud. Taken together, dedicated teams, less fragmented workflows, and advanced analytics translate into “fewer handoffs and a greater focus on the customer and adjudication.” Additionally, Reidl points out that this has a positive impact on the expense ratio, “something that also benefits customers in the long run.” In Ontario and Alberta, FNOL for vehicular accidents can be processed via an application programming interface. At Collision Reporting Centres in these provinces, drivers now have the option of submitting the information to Economical through this specialized software. The minute details are received, customers get an automated text with

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their claim number, as well as advice on next steps that can help them avoid unscrupulous tow operators and repair facilities in favour of the insurer’s vetted network. This also saves unnecessary costs and helps to alleviate customer stress during an emotionally charged moment.

Technology improves safety and claim accuracy There are many other ways the frontline team has been using technology to support a better customer experience. For example, professionally piloted drones have become a small but powerful ally that can expedite the claims process while keeping field staff safe. Originally deployed in catastrophes to assess things like roof damage, these units have recently been adapted for wider use, sometimes even allowing for resolution without a personal visit. It’s becoming common for staff to use platforms like Facetime and Google Hangouts to connect with property claimants remotely, a practice that’s been particularly advantageous during the pandemic. Economical has also been exploring the use of downloadable apps that could help them assess damage in real time and collect information like measurements. “We want to keep our customers feeling like help is at their fingertips, but sometimes without the potential inconvenience or exposures of an onsite visit,” Reidl says.

Shorter cycle times benefit customers Efficiencies like these have increased appraisals from 25 to 30 assignments per week to more than 125. The cycle time in this enhanced, express process has also been shortened, with completed damage estimates obtained from vendor partners now processed internally more than 20% sooner. Overall, Economical is targeting to improve cycle times by 50% for simple claims. For Reidl, it’s rewarding to see this vision come to life. “By effectively managing indemnity through improved recoveries, supply chain management, technical file handling, and reduced cycle times, we’re helping to ensure claims processes and platforms are efficient, scalable, and ready for future growth,” he sums up. “But really, the biggest reward comes in the form of satisfied customers: that’s what it’s all about.”

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26/05/2021 4:09:38 am

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Stress-testing supply chains COVID-19 and the Ever Given crisis have revealed the deep-rooted fragility of the manufacturing ecosystem. Where do supply chains stand now, and how can insurance companies support their manufacturing clients?

THE MANUFACTURING sector has been shaken by the COVID-19 crisis, which has buffeted the global supply chain and forced businesses of every size to rethink their operating models. While various manufacturing businesses have been impacted in different ways and thus require varying solutions, there are several cross-sector challenges that COVID-19 has exacerbated. Chief among them is global and domestic supply chain disruption, which is interrupting both upstream and downstream processes. This disruption has been building for some time, says Michael Burg, managing director of Gallagher’s manufacturing practice in the US,

ance solutions that are available to address those risks rather than just retaining them on the balance sheet.” The manufacturing space evolves in waves, says Riskonnect CEO Jim Wetekamp, who first noticed the new wave that came with COVID-19 when supply chains in China first started being impacted. Organizations began looking for better ways to assess their risk, understand the challenges they faced and build agility as COVID-19’s impact started to pivot from transportation to hospitality, healthcare and financial services. “What [manufacturing businesses] have had to do is work through the crisis to

“We see both supply- and demand-side challenges to the supply chain, so we’re helping our clients evaluate those risks” Michael Burg, Gallagher as supply chains have been getting tighter and more focused on just-in-time delivery. “COVID has certainly accelerated some of the supply chain challenges and risks that we advise our clients on,” he says. “We see both supply- and demand-side challenges to the supply chain, so we’re helping our clients evaluate those risks and exploring the insur-

establish what continuity looks like moving forward, to think through better workforce planning, alternative inventory policies and planning parameters such as how they think about their supply chains,” Wetekamp says. “They’ve had to give greater visibility to inbound materials, and while they always had that for critical goods, they may not have the

same level of traceability for some of the more indirect goods or smaller components.” Awareness of the exposure that exists around single-source suppliers has been growing for some time now, Burg says, so it has long been a part of enterprise risk management evaluations for manufacturers. Wetekamp says that during COVID-19, manufacturers have had to understand not only their tier-one supplier risk, but also the second- and third-tier risk because of the extent to which the pandemic has challenged freedom of supply. COVID-19 was something of a black swan event for the insurance sector, but this didn’t stop insurance businesses from working to actively protect their clients throughout the crisis. According to Brian Gerritsen, manufacturing practice lead at Travelers, as soon as the pandemic emerged, Travelers’ risk control team proactively connected with agent and broker partners and customers to provide

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26/05/2021 4:10:46 am

WHAT’S LIMITING MANUFACTURING GROWTH IN CANADA?

40% of manufacturers said insufficient domestic demand

36% said a shortage of skilled labour

26% said insufficient foreign demand

23% said foreign competition Source: 2020 Management Issues Survey, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

employee safety recommendations and help businesses understand the emerging risks associated with the pandemic. “As part of this effort, we released a robust suite of industry-leading risk management

One tool Travelers was able to offer is a supply chain pressure test that can help manufacturers identify the links in their supply chains that might be most at risk. Melander says tools like this complement

“Manufacturing businesses are thinking about what it really means to fight a war on multiple fronts at the same time” Jim Wetekamp, Riskonnect resources for businesses to help them manage the emerging risks to people and property and, where applicable, safely reopen,” says Erika Melander, manufacturing practice lead at Travelers. “We engaged with business customers and their agents and brokers to address specific needs based on underwriting and state regulatory requirements.”

Travelers’ insurance products and services to address supply chain exposures beyond traditional coverage. The uncertain lay of the land when it comes to supply chain risks is neatly surmised in an anecdote Burg tells of a client who was dependent on manufacturing in China, but who felt confident in their

ability to withstand a loss from a key supplier because they had approximately 10 different suppliers. However, Gallagher’s tools were able to pinpoint that all of these suppliers were located within a single region that faced catastrophic weather events. From his perspective, Burg believes the COVID-19 crisis has opened manufacturers’ eyes to the challenge that supply chain disruption poses to their business and their ability to deliver a product. In the example above, he says the early impact of supply chain disruption in China due to COVID-19 made the client think differently about their contingent business income exposure, resulting in a deeper conversation that wasn’t being had before COVID-19. “Manufacturing businesses have faced each of these challenges before,” Wetekamp says, “but now they’ve seen these block, bit by bit, next to each other. And so they’re thinking about more comprehensive scenarios, of the interplay of these different risks happening at once and about what it really means to fight a war on multiple fronts at the same time.”

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26/05/2021 4:10:51 am

UPFRONT

INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER

TARGET

PRODUCTS COMMENTS

Arcturis Group

Brovada

Arcturis has purchased Brovada’s connectivity platform, which is used by more than 2,000 brokers, from Willis Towers Watson

GroupAssur

Evolution Insurance

The two MGAs will continue to operate under their existing brands, with plans for full integration in 2022

HUB International

Wessex Financial

HUB’s purchase of the employee benefits firm further expands the brokerage’s footprint in Canada, following several transactions earlier this year

Sun Life

Pinnacle Care International

Sun Life’s $102.5 million deal for US-based healthcare firm PinnacleCare is expected to close mid-2021

Westland Insurance Group

MBS Insurance Brokers; Hillcrest Insurance; Pinks & Plates Insurance; Moon Insurance

Westland’s acquisition of three brokerages in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan significantly expands its presence in the Prairies

Duuo expands tenant insurance to Quebec

Duuo, the digital insurance brand of The Co-Operators, has expanded its tenant insurance offering to Quebec. Renters in the province can use Duuo’s online platform to quickly get a quote and purchase coverage. The on-demand nature of the coverage prevents renters from being locked into annual policies that they might not need. Duuo has also partnered with property managers to help them effectively manage their tenants’ insurance with one simplified dashboard view; in addition, the company offers property managers automatic liability coverage updates and education campaigns for tenants.

Westland Insurance Group expands in the Prairies

Westland Insurance Group has added to its operations in the Prairies, finalizing four acquisitions in early May. The acquired brokerages include three Albertabased firms (MBS Insurance Brokers, Hillcrest Insurance and Pinks & Plates Insurance) and one in Saskatchewan (Moon Insurance). All four companies offer homeowner’s, auto, travel, farm and commercial insurance services. MBS is one of the largest brokerages in Edmonton and has been in business for more than 50 years. Hillcrest Insurance has nine employees across two offices in Strathmore and Rockyford, Alberta. Pinks & Plates Insurance is based in Chestermere, Alberta, while Moon Insurance serves the Saskatoon, Radisson, Colonsay and Vanscoy areas in Saskatchewan. These acquisitions bring a total of 27 employees in Alberta and Saskatchewan into the Westland fold and give the company 170 locations across seven provinces.

CHES Special Risk grows cannabis insurance offering

CHES Special Risk has added new capacity to its insurance solutions for cannabis businesses, creating a more comprehensive offering that covers more exposures. CHES Special Risk’s full suite of cannabis insurance products includes cover for property, commercial general liability, product liability, product contamination and construction of a cannabis facility. According to CHES, these products are well suited for retail operations that have been struggling to secure insurance, as well as for building owners that lease space to cannabis retail operations.

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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26/05/2021 4:14:36 am

PEOPLE Petline launches new pet health insurance product

Economical Insurance subsidiary Petline Insurance Company has introduced a new pet health insurance product for dog and cat owners in Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan. Offered in collaboration with Armour Insurance, the new Pet Shield product offers four plan options, each of which covers 80% of pet health expenses, including exam fees and taxes. “As more Canadians are welcoming a dog or cat into their home during these unprecedented times, we’re happy to partner with Armour and provide their customers the opportunity to protect their pet’s health now and into the future,” said Raegan Ahlbaum, Petline’s AVP of operations.

Aon initiative aims to protect vaccine shipments

Aon has spearheaded an industry collaboration to provide supply-chain protection for COVID-19 vaccine shipments. The initiative – which involves Parsyl, Ascot Group, Chubb, AIG, Munich Re and others – will provide transparent cargo insurance coverage, combined with sensor data and analytics, for vaccine shipments. The offering promises timely payment for doses that fall outside of the agreed-upon temperature range while being transported or stored. Real-time reporting of temperature deviations will also help mitigate losses and maximize the number of doses available.

PolicyMe introduces new life insurance product

Digital life insurance platform PolicyMe has launched a new life insurance product in collaboration with Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company. PolicyMe now allows Canadians to purchase up to $5 million in life insurance coverage online. PolicyMe aims to reduce costs and speed up the process of buying life insurance by eliminating traditional barriers such as medical exams and paperwork. The platform is powered by an algorithmic underwriting engine designed to automatically determine a consumer’s risk and give them an immediate decision.

NAME

LEAVING

JOINING

NEW POSITION

Cheryl Fortier

Cansure

Burns & Wilcox

Manager, Western Canada

James Bennett

Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company

Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions

Senior vice-president, management liability

Jim Putt

Gateway Insurance

Archway Insurance

Broker, commercial insurance

Julia Graham

Willis Towers Watson

Gallagher

National practice leader, disability management

Lauren Gorte

N/A

Chubb

Chief operating officer, Chubb North America accident & health

Matthew Hamel

Willis Towers Watson

NFP

Senior vice-president, complex risk solutions

Murray Houck

Cansure

Burns & Wilcox

Senior P&C underwriter

Neil Parkinson

N/A

Gore Mutual

Chairman, board of directors

Suresh Krishnan

N/A

Chubb

Executive vice-president, head of North America specialty accident & health

Wayne Connelly

ONE Insurance Group

Amynta Specialty Equipment Insurance Services

President

Gore Mutual names new board chair

Gore Mutual Insurance Company has appointed Neil Parkinson as chair of its board of directors. Parkinson has been a member of Gore Mutual’s board since 2016; he succeeds Farouk Ahamed, who will remain an active director on the board. A 40-plus-year financial services veteran, Parkinson was a partner at KPMG from 1988 to 2016, serving as national leader of its insurance practice for nine years. He also chaired the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions’ Insurance Auditors Advisory Committee for more than a decade. “Neil has a long history with Gore Mutual and is well respected within our company and industry,” said Gore Mutual CEO Andy Taylor. “His financial, auditing, governance and insurance expertise have been valued additions to our board.”

NFP brings in new leader for Canadian P&C team

NFP has named Matthew Hamel as senior vice-president for the company’s Complex Risk Solutions (CRS) Group in Canada. Hamel has more than 12 years of industry experience in executive risk placements, risk management and complex claims. He most recently served as a vice-president and senior risk control executive at Willis Towers Watson. In his new role, Hamel will be charged with supporting NFP’s energy and natural resources clients and driving the company’s continued P&C growth in Canada. “We’re thrilled to welcome Matthew to the team,” said NFP Canada COO John Belyea. “We remain focused on building out the capabilities of the CRS Group, and Matthew will play a key role in pursuing that goal.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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26/05/2021 4:14:39 am

UPFRONT

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Duuo forms partnership with farmers’ market group

Duuo, The Co-operators’ online insurance distributor, has formed a new partnership with Farmers’ Markets Ontario (FMO). Duuo will provide FMO vendors with on-demand liability insurance coverage; the packages offered range from one-day coverage to a season pass. All policies will cover vendors at farmers’ market events in any location over a six-month period. “The lack of affordable liability insurance coverage has been a barrier for farmers and small businesses wishing to sell at markets,” said FMO executive director Catherine Clarke. “Our partnership with Duuo removes that barrier.”

Willis Towers Watson unveils updated DataValidator

Willis Towers Watson has updated its DataValidator software, which helps P&C and life insurers use data more efficiently by validating, cleansing, and transforming it for use in financial modelling and reporting processes. Features of DataValidator 2.2 include faster processing speed and deep integration with WTW’s Unify platform. According to WTW, the updated software ensures a consistent approach to data validation, eliminating reliance on manual legacy approaches, while also providing comprehensive data quality assessments and thorough audit trails.

Onlia teams up with FRISS to digitize risk assessments

Online home and auto insurer Onlia has partnered with fraud and risk solution company FRISS to leverage its AI- and Big Data-powered solutions. The partnership will allow Onlia to digitize its risk assessments with the aim of

improving underwriting, fraud detection and claims processing. “Working with FRISS, we are able to unlock the power of predictive analysis to assess risk in real time,” said Onlia CEO Pieter Louter. “With this innovation, we can legitimize claims faster and improve the overall customer experience.”

CatIQ partners with university tornado detection project

Catastrophe Indices & Quantification (CatIQ) has teamed up with Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), which will provide its tornado tracks and downburst extents to the CatIQ platform. In return, CatIQ will offer its insured loss estimates to catastrophic severe weather event documentation in NTP’s open-access database. “The addition of the Northern Tornadoes Project’s precise tornado tracks and downburst extents provides CatIQ subscribers with a comprehensive catastrophe hub that helps them to quickly assess the damage area in large loss events,” said CatIQ managing director Laura Twidle.

Sapiens International launches AIpowered chatbot

Insurance software provider Sapiens International has rolled out Sapiens BotConnect, an AI-powered chatbot module, and Sapiens LiveConnect, which enables bot conversations to be escalated to humans. BotConnect can be implemented on a variety of channels, including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, improving resolution time for internal customer service teams. Engaging customers on their preferred channels, BotConnect can resolve questions, provide quotes and service claims. If necessary, LiveConnect enables a frictionless hand-off between BotConnect and a live representative.

Is the future of insurance online? Insurtechs are competing with carriers and brokers on the customer experience battlefront The COVID-19 pandemic gave the insurance industry a hard reality check: Insurers and brokers can no longer ignore digital disruption, especially when customers want more convenient ways to purchase coverage. Recognizing this demand for convenient insurance shopping, insurtechs have launched their own digital sales platforms, which allow consumers to directly quote, bind and purchase insurance online. Foxquilt is one insurtech that recently launched its own underwriting platform, Foxden, designed to serve small business owners. But Foxden is more than just a program with ‘quote’ and ‘buy’ buttons; it aims to deliver a truly personalized insurance purchasing experience to meet customers’ exacting commercial insurance needs. “Foxden is a full-stack underwriting platform,” explains Foxquilt co-founder and CEO Mark Morissette. “Similar to the best-inclass e-commerce retailers, our platform is comprised of data-layered, micro-service architecture. Each of its services, including underwriting and rating, are powered by data algorithms to drive actions across the platform.” Morissette adds that because Foxden is designed to build modular insurance products with proprietary rating and underwriting

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Q&A

algorithms, each business is provided with a bespoke insurance product and price that matches its unique needs. Foxden looks to serve smaller niche businesses that have trouble securing commercial insurance that fits the scale of their operations.

“[Brokers] will not be able to compete long term with technologyenabled providers of low-touch, transactional small business products” “Today’s incumbent carriers provide customers with a one-size-fits-all product at a segment level,” Morissette says. “But painters, locksmiths and stone masons are very different businesses, and the profitable industry classes should not be subsidizing the unprofitable classes when it comes to price. New technology like ours can peel it back to the industry code level to discern the risk of the actual operations of the business.” But are online sales really the future of insurance? Morissette believes there will still be a place for insurance brokers, even when online insurance sales become more popular – but there’s a catch. “I believe in diversified distribution channels and omnichannel experiences to satisfy the needs and demands of different types of customers and products,” he says. “The broker channel will continue to serve a purpose for specialty and risk-managed business. But economically, it will not be able to compete long term with technology-enabled providers of low-touch, transactional small business products.”

Nino Tarantino

Fuelling the rise of telematics

CEO IMS AMERICAS

Years in the industry 12 Fast fact Prior to joining IMS, Tarantino helped launch Octo Telematics North America and guide it to $50 million in sales and more than 1.5 million connected users in four years

How does IMS’ Vehicle Data Exchange benefit insurers? Insurance companies need insights about existing and potential policyholders. Data solutions like the sensor-agnostic IMS Vehicle Data Exchange can provide those insights with real-time data points like mileage and location, stand-alone or in combination with additional data collected from aftermarket sensors.

Why is it important to create a data exchange that can gather data regardless of vehicle brand, model and/or telematics hardware? Would it be more practical in the long run to establish a data standard for telematics? IMS supports universal and open standards for telematics and other data related to vehicle and driving behaviour, but unfortunately, there are no viable standards that meet the needs of all insurance without sacrificing fidelity, quality or the unique strengths of specific vehicles. IMS is investing to continuously improve the data, and its quality, included in the Vehicle Data Exchange. IMS provides a common set of interfaces for insurers to consume while preserving the lineage, fidelity, and breadth of all available data from diverse brands, models, and embedded or aftermarket telematics hardware. While there are many standards, with some proposed and some adopted for specific use cases – i.e. remote diagnostics – none are in widespread use by OEMs or available yet. In the absence of a universally available and adopted standard for insurance-related telematics data, IMS continues to manage the complexities of rapidly evolving APIs and interfaces to proprietary telematics systems while delivering a practical universal integration interface today for the benefit of the insurer. It is best to think of connected vehicle data as a rich source of additional insight that can be combined with other data sources to deliver unique value. The IMS Vehicle Data Exchange is futureproofed to enable valuable insight today and to harness oncoming advancements in automotive technology.

How does this technology intersect with self-driving cars? Is there a point in tracing a car without a driver? While we still have a long road ahead with drivers behind the wheel, understanding the behaviour of vehicles is important with or without a driver. For example, understanding vehicle dynamics, distance travelled, vehicle use patterns, garaging location and risks associated with vehicle activity related to the context around the vehicle are important today, and they will continue to be important with or without the driver. The intersection between embedded telematics data and self-driving vehicles is captured by the drive to achieve even higher-fidelity information to both inform and characterize driving decisions. In the same way that the Vehicle Data Exchange provides a universal interface to enable services based on aftermarket and embedded telematics sensors, the same services can be enabled whether the vehicle does or does not have a driver behind the wheel.

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UPFRONT

MGA UPDATE

A time of transformation One MGA is tackling the challenges of COVID-19 and the hard market with a new look and a new vision

transformation of our business,” Moses says. “Our firm has changed since our initial launch in 2018 due to shifts we made to quickly respond to various dynamic market changes.” Moses adds that the rebrand has been an opportunity to declare what the company can offer as a growing and experienced specialty MGA. “As a company that represents the next generation of underwriting, our mission has evolved to create industry-leading digital

“As a company that represents the next generation of underwriting, our mission has evolved”

TruStar president and CEO Daniel Moses

During what has been a challenging time for the insurance industry, MGAs have thrived. Daniel Moses, president and CEO of TruStar, attributes this to several factors, including insurer consolidation, market hardening, capacity challenges, claims activity and a lack of technical underwriting. “With fewer insurers willing to directly underwrite specialty lines, brokers are challenged to find a solution they can actually trust,” Moses says. “Brokers want an under-

NEWS BRIEFS

writer who genuinely knows what they are doing and who can be a lasting partner of their insured – not somebody who will have to non-renew the policy after 12 months.” TruStar itself has undergone a massive change recently. Previously known as Merlin Underwriting, the MGA rebranded to TruStar in March – a reflection of its promise to provide reliable navigation through the complexities of the specialty insurance market. “The recent rebrand to TruStar is a natural

Cansure joins ProNavigator’s Sage platform

Cansure has become the first Canadian MGA to join the growing network of insurance organizations on ProNavigator’s Sage knowledge management system. The platform places business-critical information in a single place, allowing brokers to easily access data across all their markets from a single source. At the same time, Sage allows carriers and MGAs to keep up with their broker networks and ensure that everyone is working off the most recent and up-todate information.

tools that will support collaborative underwriting and sales services for our brokers.” While COVID-19 and its economic impact brought uncertainty to the long-term viability of various industries, Moses says TruStar has adapted, ensuring that its overall portfolio is balanced across all of the company’s practices to counter COVID-19’s macroeconomic implications. Not even the mass shift to remote work has deterred TruStar. “One of the greatest lessons to have come out of the pandemic is the importance of relationships,” Moses says. “This is very much a people industry, and so MGAs must find the time to check in and interact with their brokers.”

APOLLO becomes a coverholder with Lloyd’s

APOLLO Insurance Solutions has attained coverholder status with Lloyd’s of London, giving it access to an expanded product portfolio and the capability to create unique products in response to emerging opportunities. “It’s great to see innovative new insurance companies like APOLLO working with Lloyd’s, and we are excited for this partnership,” said Lloyd’s Canada CEO Marc Lipman. “The expertise of the Lloyd’s market, combined with APOLLO’s innovative approach, will make a positive impact on the insurance industry.”

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Q&A

Jean-François Raymond

Changing the MGA landscape through mergers

President GROUPASSUR

Years in the industry 22 Fast fact Raymond has worked in several areas of the insurance industry during his career, including as an actuary, commercial retail broker, risk manager, underwriter and now head of an MGA

Groupassur recently merged with MGA and wholesaler Evolution Insurance. How does this move enhance your business? For years, Groupassur has been working on expanding its product offering to meet all brokers’ needs. While we were very successful on most commercial lines business, our competitors always had an edge over us when it came to niche or specialized liability. The merger with Evolution Insurance is a game-changer in that regard – we have now gained incredible underwriting sophistication for those lines, as well as large internal capacities.

How competitive is the independent MGA market right now? While rates and results always remain important, MGA competition is and always will be on service. Capacity for certain lines of business is scarce, and brokers have to be imaginative to complete their placements. They cannot wait weeks, and the first MGA to answer, more often than not, gets the business. The servicing challenge is even greater today with an all-time high number of requests – only the most organized MGA will stay ahead of it. We are continuously adapting our structure to be more streamlined and efficient, and now our size allows for granular adjustments specific to the type of business we are approached on.

What are your thoughts about independent MGAs being acquired by major carriers? It was inevitable that, at some point, insurance carriers

Amwins brings logistics division to Canada

US-based MGA Amwins Specialty Logistics Underwriters (ASLU) is expanding its business to Canada. ASLU delivers niche insurance solutions for freight forwarders and third-party logistics operators. The MGA said its expansion into the Canadian market will provide retail brokers with an efficient solution for securing coverage that previously would have taken days to confirm. ASLU has set up claims agents in each province to ensure “high-quality support and service” for its Canadian clients.

would look to get more out of the MGA distribution. We have field knowledge, experienced underwriters and extensive data on all sorts of lines of business. Today’s wealth worldwide revolves around data and how much more can be gathered, and MGAs already have a lot more than they realize. But not all MGAs have the capacity to truly exploit their data; insurance carriers do. Although this all sounds very positive, it leaves one to wonder why other insurance carriers would provide capacity to an MGA owned by one of their competitors – and if they pull out that capacity, would it still be an MGA or simply an extension of its owner?

In these conditions, what’s your growth strategy? How has it changed since Novacap acquired a majority interest in Groupassur last year? Groupassur was already a market consolidator prior to Novacap coming on board; now it gives us the means to match our ambition. We will continue to look for acquisition opportunities to reach our goal of being the most complete MGA for both our brokers and carriers. Starting from Evolution and Groupassur, executives added to exceptional talents recruited outside the insurance industry; we want to put together the MGA standard for the next decade. Broker needs and carrier expectations are both rapidly increasing, and we need to push the MGA business model much further if we want to stay relevant for all stakeholders. Our growth strategy goes far beyond where we are today – we are really just at the beginning of our journey.

CAMGA launches national MGA directory

The Canadian Association of Managing General Agents (CAMGA) has unveiled a national directory of its member MGAs for brokers to use. CAMGA members and their products and services will be listed on the new Bridge-MGA directory, which the association touted as a “one-stop shop” for brokers. “Brokers have been searching for additional markets during the past little while, and MGAs are providing that additional capacity,” said CAMGA managing director Steve Masnyk. “Bridge-MGA offers brokers close to 40 markets.”

Intact rebrands Frank Cowan Company

Intact Financial Corporation has rebranded Frank Cowan Company, the MGA it acquired in 2019, as Intact Public Entities. The rebranded MGA will focus on serving municipal, public administration and community service organizations across Canada. According to Intact, the move offers new opportunities for both clients and brokers, including new product and coverage availability and development, access to data and technology, and a focus on important social impact pillars like climate change.

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca

Staying agile post-pandemic Following the massive disruption of COVID-19, the insurance industry will need to embrace new agile operating models, writes Vijay Pahuja LAST YEAR brought the insurance market increased competition, changing consumer expectations and agile opportunities, thanks to the pandemic’s working models. As COVID-19 bleeds into 2021, traditional insurers are increasing their investments in digital, agile and partnerships. The certainty of these investment decisions is likely to be with us long after the pandemic fades. We will continue to adapt to new agile operating models – likely at a pace that we historically have never experienced. Insurers are increasingly comfortable with experimentation, a ‘fail fast’ attitude and quick partnership explorations with tech startups to scale their business. Agile is a matter not just of resources or market reach, but also of creating new bedrock business platforms and processes. Carriers’ ability to work with multiple partners simultaneously enables the quick movement from pilot to market to business as usual. The apparent winner will be the one that innovates, creates and can scale. Claims processing, for instance, has always been conducted by an insurance adjuster. This model worked well in the past, but today the average insurance company can expect to have hundreds or even thousands of claims submitted in a single day. The quantity of information on a single claim has also skyrocketed to include information ranging from telematics to property sensors. Despite this surge in data, only 5% of insurance companies currently depend on process automation to review claims. Why is that? Well, it could be as simple as vocabulary. It’s been documented that

most adults have a vocabulary range of 30,000 to 35,000 words. The experts tell us that to be conversationally fluent in a foreign language, we need to know 1,000 to 3,000 words. Applying this logic to insurance, the terms glossary of the US National Association of Insurance Commissioners contains approximately 600 definitions, the Construction Design catalogue approximately 500 terms, and let’s add a 1,000-word vocabulary used by every adjuster communicating with agents and insureds. Tools are being built today with that

a machine grasp the complex techniques and abstract aspects of the game, but it was becoming one of the greatest players of it as well. Practical AI has been born. Insurance executives have long struggled to assess the business value of AI. They understand the potential, but the general lack of institutional AI knowledge has made the evaluation process somewhat uncertain. Despite the uncertainty, executives remain undeterred from doubling down on their AI investments: 71% of AI adopters plan to increase their spending by an average of 26%, according to a recent Deloitte study. The reason for the flurry of investment is that insurance C suites envision several operational benefits too exciting to pass up. • Machine learning to determine repair costs and automatically categorize the severity of damage to vehicles involved in accidents, whether the damage is from a collision or hailstorm • Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to mitigate risk and reduce losses, plus the use of home and industrial IoT data to build operational intelligence on the frequency and severity of accidents and feed into

“Insurers are increasingly comfortable with experimentation, a ‘fail fast’ attitude and quick partnership explorations with tech startups to scale their business” 2,000-plus-word vocabulary and the ability to ingest large amounts of data, including unstructured text, and to parse and learn from that data. My favourite example of this type of deep learning is Google’s AlphaGo. Google created a computer program with its own neural network that learned to play an abstract board game called Go, which requires sharp intellect and intuition. By playing against professional Go players, AlphaGo’s deep learning model learned how to play at a level never seen before in artificial intelligence. It caused quite a stir when AlphaGo defeated multiple world-renowned masters of the game – not only could

underwriting and product pricing • Process mining techniques to identify bottle necks and improve efficiencies and conformance with standard claims processes • Increased transparency for all parties, faster claim settlements, and better customer experience and CSAT scores Agile insurance could be the new AI. Vijay Pahuja is corporate SVP of client services for WNS, a provider of global business process management services.

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2021 Recognizing the best products, policies and services in the market based 100% on research and recommendations from customers

5-Star Environmental Insurance 5-Star Carriers

5-Star Construction Insurers

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For further details on our research, please e-mail meghan.bille@keymedia.com

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

A TRUE ENTREPRENEUR MGA advocate and CHES Special Risk president and CEO Gary Hirst tells IBC why the Canadian insurance market is one of “the best-kept secrets in the world”

LONDON IS a beacon for entrepreneurs like Gary Hirst. It’s the beating heart of business and finance in the UK, and it’s home to the world’s oldest insurance marketplace, Lloyd’s of London. It was the hustle and bustle of the city that attracted Hirst fresh out of school and gave him the drive to walk the streets of London, knocking on door after door in an attempt to follow his father’s advice: “Go and find a job working at Lloyd’s.” Hirst’s persistence paid off when he landed a job in 1984 at Fenchurch Group, which was the largest independent wholesale broker in the London market at the time. He started at the bottom, tasked with filing, photocopying and making the occasional run to the sandwich shop, before he was given the opportunity to shadow a senior broker and learn the craft of broking to underwriters and Lloyd’s syndicates. He started in the North American department and later joined the international department, where his experience spanned international property, construction, multinational programs, general liability and personal accident placements. By the age of 26, Hirst had become the youngest director at Fenchurch Group, taking a leadership role in the international division. Reflecting on his early successes,

Hirst says, “I think the exposure, trust and responsibility I gained during that early start has helped me to give direction and opportunity to the people I’ve worked with throughout my career.”

Coming to Canada In 1993, Hirst left Fenchurch Group for JK Buckenham, where he spent five years building a book of facultative business for

its gross written premium from $0 to more than US$120 million, expanding from one small office in London to three offices across two continents and three time zones. “The Canadian market turned out to be a real jewel in the crown,” says Hirst, who moved from the UK to Toronto in January 2012 to become head of Chesterfield Canada. “It was full of great people, and there was so much growth potential.”

“Previously, not a lot of people really understood Canada or thought of it as a very fertile place to come and invest – but our thriving MGA market says differently” the Lloyd’s broker. After that, he became a founding director and shareholder in Chesterfield Group, which was made up of Chesterfield Canada, Van Wagoner Companies (based in Dallas, Texas) and a fully accredited Lloyd’s broker known as Chesterfield Insurance Brokers. From the founding of Chesterfield Group in November 1998 to its eventual sale to Kaufman Financial Group in January 2012, Hirst and his fellow core shareholders grew

Hirst departed Chesterfield two years later and, after a short stint as a Lloyd’s market consultant, purchased the Canadian MGA CHES Special Risk, where he remains to this day as president and CEO. “I was attracted to CHES because they were in the MGA space, which I have always found extremely exciting,” he says, adding that his experience with the London market enabled him to set an effective strategy for the business, built around strong partner-

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<profi

PROFILE Name: Gary Hirst Title: President and CEO Companies: CHES Special Risk, Hirst & Partners, CAMGA Based in: Toronto Years in the industry: 37

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PEOPLE

INDUSTRY ICON

ships at Lloyd’s and with domestic carriers and retail brokers. “In the early years, we spent an awful lot of time and energy trying to find a good software system that would enable us to capture the best data. That’s key to being a successful MGA,” he says. “We also focused on building out our team. We have a mantra at CHES of employing the best person for the job, regardless of their educational background or their life experience. What we’re attempting to do is build an organization that attracts top talent, while also attracting business partners that feel we can deliver quality distribution of their products.

Hirst & Partners, a fully accredited Canadianbased Lloyd’s broker, and he also serves as president of the Canadian Association of Managing General Agents (CAMGA), a non-profit organization that advocates for the MGA industry both in Canada and worldwide. “I think the MGA industry in Canada at this moment in time is hugely exciting because of the hard market,” Hirst says. “We’re in a market that drives innovation. We’re seeing a lot of carriers, both domestic and within Lloyd’s, reviewing their books of business. A lot of that remediation has already taken place, so we’re now

“Retail brokers are making [the MGA] segment of the market innovate because they’re desperate for new ideas and new capacity” “If there are insurance companies and/ or Lloyd’s syndicates that are interested in a particular class of business, we will go out and hire a team that will make that particular class of business successful for them. We’ve found that the combination of collecting data and having the best possible team to deliver the distribution has actually attracted a lot of support from Lloyd’s syndicates and domestic carriers in the Canadian marketplace.” CHES thrives on what Hirst describes as “out-of-the-box thinking.” Often, new ideas come straight from the MGA’s retail broker partners, and the CHES team is always happy to explore them. “They give us the business,” Hirst explains. “It’s important for retail brokers to know they’re dealing with someone who understands their local market issues and can provide unique solutions.”

The MGA advantage In addition to running CHES Special Risk, Hirst is the founder, president and CEO of

in a very stable but hard market. We know what domestic partners and Lloyd’s syndicates want and what they don’t want. That allows the MGA industry to develop new product offerings and bring new capacity to the market. “We’re seeing a lot of new startups in the MGA industry, as well as new investors and a lot of mergers and acquisitions. International players are now looking at the Canadian marketplace and buying an existing distribution, which allows them to come to market far quicker. The MGA industry – not only in Canada, but elsewhere in the world – is very exciting. Retail brokers are making this segment of the market innovate because they’re desperate for new ideas and new capacity. “I always say that Canada is one of the best-kept secrets in the world. Previously, not a lot of people really understood Canada or thought of it as a very fertile place to come and invest – but our thriving MGA market says differently.”

CHES SPECIAL RISK BY THE NUMBERS

2004 Year CHES Special Risk was founded

2009 Year it became a Lloyd’s coverholder

3 Number of CHES offices in Canada

250+ Products for which CHES holds in-house binding authority

48 hours Timeframe in which CHES aims to turn around all applications

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SPECIAL REPORT

IBC celebrates 61 young insurance professionals who are helping to build a more modern, diverse and tech-savvy industry

CONTENTS

PAGE

Feature article .............................................. 24 Methodology ................................................ 25 Rising Stars 2021 ......................................... 28 Profiles .......................................................... 30

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

THE NEW FACE OF INSURANCE AN INDUSTRY’S future is only as promising as its young talent – and the need to rejuvenate the insurance industry workforce is critical. “Insurers should not take their eyes off longstanding, longer-term talent objectives, such as attracting more millennials and Generation Z workers to backfill positions left open by what is likely to be a growing number of retirees in an aging workforce,” advised Deloitte’s 2021 Insurance Outlook report. “They should also bolster the recruit-

“Our industry definitely has a bad rep of being seen as an ‘old man job’ with little excitement. This is where everyone is so wrong. Things are always changing” Tiffany Reider, Reider Insurance

MILLENNIALS AT A GLANCE

What they’re looking for in a job Born between 1981 and 1995

Make up 27% of Canada’s population

Comprise 37% of the Canadian workforce

To be heard

To actively participate

Experiences that take them out of their comfort zone

Sources: Statistics Canada, Deloitte, Government of Canada

ment of those with advanced data analytics and automation skills to fuel faster, more effective digital transformation.” These findings resonate with the experience of two of this year’s IBC Rising Stars. After immigrating to Canada from Iran at a young age, Armin Habibi grew up in the GTA and got into sales at the age of 18, initially helping his mother sell products at trade shows across Ontario before discovering insurance in college. At first, Habibi believed it was a dry, boring field. “After getting a better understanding of the products and how the broker channel works, I could not have been more wrong about this,” says Habibi, who has written more than 700 new policies and managed over 500 clients since he joined Insureit Group in 2018. “I think insurance is one the most complex and fascinating industries in the world.”

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Despite growing up in an insurance family – her grandfather started Reider Insurance 55 years ago – Tiffany Reider also had some misconceptions about the industry. She studied education in college but ended up making a U-turn from a teaching career to get into the family business. “Before I joined the insurance industry, I thought it was just a bunch of old men wearing baggy suits meeting for coffee all day,” Reider says. “Although there are still a lot of meetings with coffee, there aren’t nearly as many baggy suits. Our industry definitely has a bad rep of being seen as an ‘old man job’ with little excitement. This is where everyone is so wrong. Things are always changing.”

on the bottom line, making the broker’s job more seamless can reap rewards in different ways, [such as] attracting and retaining younger talent.” Reider echoes that sentiment, noting that those with more experience in the industry have been an enormous help in navigating the current hard market – but she also wishes they’d be more open to embracing new technology. “I think us younger generations have so much to learn from our older colleagues, but also have so much to teach them too,” Reider says. “They have so much experience and things to offer us that I think we sometimes overlook because we do things differently.” Even though she’s now a senior manager,

“The younger generation can learn a lot from the traditional methods of insurance and integrate that knowledge into the modern insurance world” Armin Habibi, Insureit Group

Moving with the times While both Habibi and Reider are grateful for everything they’ve learned from their elder colleagues, they also emphasize the positives that younger professionals bring to the table. “The younger generation can learn a lot from the traditional methods of insurance and integrate that knowledge into the modern insurance world,” Habibi says. “On the other side, I think that efficiency is an area which can be greatly improved on. I think the older generation should be more open to implementing technologies that would help the whole broker process. Even if these efficiencies may not have an impact

Reider admits she still struggles to overcome ageism. “No matter how many framed certificates you have hanging on your wall or how professional you dress, there will always be those people who don’t want to deal with you because you look too young to know what you’re doing,” she says. “This is a challenge that I experience at least once a week.” Meanwhile, Habibi says one of the toughest challenges he’s faced has been striving to match consumers’ expectations of super-fast turnaround times in an industry that can often be sluggish. “The marketing process can take time, especially on larger accounts,” he says. “As our world becomes more digitally advanced,

METHODOLOGY Starting in March, Insurance Business Canada invited insurance professionals from across the country to nominate their most exceptional young talent for the annual Rising Stars list. Nominees had to be age 35 or under (as of March 31, 2021) and have committed to a career in insurance with a clear passion for the industry. In order to maintain a focus on new talent, only nominees who hadn’t been previously recognized as an IBC Rising Star were considered. IBC received more than 100 nominations, encompassing young professionals working in a wide range of insurance jobs across Canada. Nominees were asked about their current role in the insurance industry, their key achievements, career goals and the contributions they’ve made to shaping the industry. Recommendations from managers and senior industry professionals were also taken into account. The IBC team used this criteria to narrow down the list to 61 of the Canadian insurance industry’s most promising young professionals.

7th Year of IBC’s Rising Stars list (formerly Young Guns)

30 Average age of this year’s Rising Stars

43% Proportion of women among this year’s Rising Stars

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

GENERATION Z AT A GLANCE

What they’re looking for in a job Born between 1996 and 2012

84%

A great boss

Making a mark

Make up 19% of Canada’s population

76%

Top three priorities:

The ability to work when and where they want to

 Enjoying life  Finding a great job  Becoming a better person

74%

The chance to be part of a team

Source: Gen Z: Your Future Workforce, n-gen

consumer expectations have increased. However, due to the nature of our work and the current market environment, the turnaround time for obtaining quotes does not always meet those expectations.” Change is happening, though – both Habibi and Reider have seen paper-based materials give way to digital technologies, and Habibi lauds new portals for quoting, binding and issuing policies, which have modernized the insurance process in recent years. Reider acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic has helped speed up

while providing extra payment flexibility to his clients. And when the first series of lockdowns came to Manitoba, Reider hit the ground running. “With more than 70% of our staff working from home due to age or being immuno compromised, suddenly we had offices that previously had 45 employees reduced to six,” she says. “We were closed to the public and had to create new, inventive ways to service our clients within the government guidelines for COVID.”

this transition. “When I first started in the industry five and a half years ago, we emailed and faxed,” she says. “You wouldn’t dream of sending in a policy without a physical signature signed in ink. Today, we are e-transferring funds, providing electronic signatures for policies, and many of our major companies have portals that we work within.” The pandemic also gave enterprising young insurance professionals a chance to shine. At the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Habibi did his best to help others

For those just getting started in insurance, Habibi advises them to take it slow and build a solid foundation of knowledge. “There are so many aspects in this business, and you should try to learn as much as you can,” he says. “Knowledge is everything in this industry, and the more you know, the more successful you will be. This will take time.” Reider suggests taking that knowledgegathering process to the next level by looking outside your own company. “Be a sponge,” she says. “Jump in and get involved in the industry. There is so much more than just the office you work in.” Over the next decade, both Reider and Habibi have their sights set on establishing themselves further as industry leaders. “In 10 years, I would like to be building a team of sales professionals and leading them to success in the broker world,” Habibi says. “I believe in the power of a team and would be grateful to be in a position to advise younger generations based on my experience.” Reider’s goals, meanwhile, revolve around making meaningful progress on improving the industry’s gender balance. “Over 70% of our industry is female, but less than 20% of those females hold senior/executive positions,” she says. “My hope is that by getting as involved as possible, I can, with my peers, help influence a change to this. It’s 2021 – there is no excuse for that percentage to be that low.”

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IBCA

2021 NOVEMBER 18 • ONLINE

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Building on the success of last year’s virtual awards attended by over 850 industry professionals, the annual Insurance Business Canada Awards is returning in 2021, for its sixth year, to celebrate the leading insurance professionals and organizations across the nation. The online nomination process across 20+ award categories is straightforward, free and open until July 30. Finalists will be announced in IBC magazine and online channels before the winners are revealed at the highly anticipated virtual awards show on November 18.

To learn more or submit an online nomination, visit

www.ibawards.ca Nominations close on July 31, 2021 (end of day)

AWARD SPONSORS

CHAMPAGNE SPONSOR

OFFICIAL MEDIA

IBCA21 Nominate FPStars-SUBBED.indd Ad.indd 41 23-36_IBC9.03_Rising 27

ORGANIZER

www.insurancebusiness.ca

24/05/2021 4:56:56 6:31:49 26/05/2021 amPM

SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

Cameron Mitchell Business development manager Gore Mutual Insurance Company

Jennifer Borges Commercial auto manager Gore Mutual Insurance Company

Mathieu Villemure Regional underwriting manager, Quebec Sovereign Insurance

Email: cmitchell@goremutual.ca Website: goremutual.ca

Email: jborges@goremutual.ca Website: goremutual.ca

Phone: 514-609-6561 Email: mathieu.villemure@sovgen.com Website: sovereigninsurance.ca

Chukwuma Ejieh Manager, reporting and analytics Gore Mutual Insurance Company

Jennifer Jackson Director of business development Cheep Insurance

Naheed Jaffer Senior actuarial manager Aviva Canada

Email: cejieh@goremutual.ca Website: goremutual.ca

Email: jen@cheepinsurance.ca Website: cheepinsurance.ca

Email: naheed.jaffer@aviva.com Website: aviva.ca

Christopher Aloussis Broker success manager APOLLO Insurance

Eddie Yu Managing partner Billyard Insurance Group – Burlington West

Cody Macpherson Commercial insurance broker KASE Insurance Phone: 905-999-1643 Email: cody.macpherson@kaseinsurance.com Website: kaseinsurance.com

Adam Di Stefano Account executive Ferrari & Associates Insurance & Financial Services Aimee Walker Junior account manager RiskTech Insurance Services Armin Habibi Associate broker Insureit Group Aun Japanwala Business insurance broker Lyon & Butler Insurance Brokers Brent LaRiviere Account manager A-WIN Insurance Christa MacNeil Technical service specialist Guardsman Insurance Services

Colette Thibodeau Technology/social media advisor Leduc Insurance Agency Connor Lea Business development manager Fuse Insurance Daniella Sam Data and analytics specialist Aon Danielle Cugliari Senior underwriter AIG Canada Darrin De Stephanis Senior underwriter Intact Insurance Denae Popp In-house insurance advisor Surex.com Dounia Khali Financial lines practice leader, claims – Canada Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Gurpartap (Garry) S. Pandher Sales director Able Insurance Brokers Haaris Karimullah Commercial account executive Leibel Insurance Group Hantao (Eric) Yang Team leader UW Insure Brokers Haris Khan Insurance broker Billyard Insurance – Mississauga East James Ciavaglia Senior underwriter, property & casualty Burns & Wilcox Canada Jessica Anderson Manager, broking services Axis Insurance Group Judith Pila Account manager Capital Insurance Brokers Julie Bordignon Broker success manager APOLLO Insurance

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Olga Tchoueva Account manager – commercial lines Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services Email: otchoueva@wmbeck.com Website: wmbeck.com Robert Holmes Senior general adjuster and complex casualty practice leader – Canada Crawford & Company (Canada)

Stephanie Duclos Technical lead, vice-president, errors & omissions, information technology & cyber insurance Victor Canada

Tony Gallo Underwriting specialist, vice-president – directors & officers insurance Victor Canada

Phone: 800-267-6684 ext. 2065 Email: stephanie.duclos@victorinsurance.com Website: victorinsurance.ca

Phone: 800-267-6684 ext. 2204 Email: anthony.gallo@victorinsurance.com Website: victorinsurance.ca

Trent Brown President dbi Brokers

Valeriu Danci Director, mid-tier and core technologies Gore Mutual Insurance Company

Phone: 289-684-3501 Email: robert.holmes@crawco.ca Website: crawco.ca

Phone: 519-442-2285 ext. 202 Email: trent@dbibrokers.ca Website: dbibrokers.ca

Email: vdanci@goremutual.ca Website: goremutual.ca

Kate Shaw Underwriter, executive solutions Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company

Mark Andrew Co Insurance broker Billyard Insurance – Mississauga East

Ryan McKenna Account executive McDougall Insurance

Krishna Patel Operations manager Burns & Wilcox Canada Kyle Albert Partner, senior advisor Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers Laurence Dubé Team leader and senior underwriter CHES Special Risk Madison Cheffins Broker engagement manager APOLLO Insurance Magdalena Sokolova Operational innovation, technical data & business performance manager APRIL Canada Maria Novelia Associate marketing broker J.T. Insurance Services (Canada) Marie-Claude Bélanger Director, Quebec office PAL Insurance Brokers Canada

Matthew Ablakan Broker of record/owner Millennial’s Choice Insurance Michael Caron Director of producer group Central Agencies Miran Saradzic Commercial multi-line account executive HUB International Monika Slomczewski Complex case analyst Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Nafees Ahmad Underwriter CHES Special Risk Paige Woodward Registered insurance broker/ accounts manager Vasey Insurance Brokers Philip Schuman Vice president, commercial lines Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services (Alberta) Ross Sabiston Commercial line advisor AC&D Insurance

Sam Eshraghi Marketing manager RSA Canada Sam Jazayeri-Moghaddas Team leader PrimeService Insurance Sharon Young Claims consultant – commercial risk solutions Aon Stephen Logush Senior underwriter Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company Steven Miotto Senior underwriter Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Tiffany Reider Vice president Reider Insurance Tijana Djokic Senior risk control consultant RSA Canada

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

“M

CHUKWUMA EJIEH Manager, Reporting and Analytics Gore Mutual Insurance Company

y mission at Gore Mutual is to turn data into gold,” Chukwuma Ejieh says with a laugh. “The culture of innovation that the company drives always keeps me on my toes and makes me always try to push the boundaries of what you can do with data.” Ejieh has been spearheading data science and analytics at Gore Mutual since 2018. Having previously worked as a data scientist for IBM, Ejieh has a background in machine learning and natural language processing and holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Windsor. He credits the team at Gore Mutual with his success, noting that the company is “always pushing for innovation, always pushing for excellence.” And in light of Gore Mutual’s long and storied history – having written its first insurance policy in 1839 – Ejieh adds that “they are not afraid of change.” It’s that embrace of change that has Ejieh excited about what the future holds. “New technology is going to enhance Gore Mutual’s data capabilities to increase business efficiencies,” he says. “New technology will help in the faster solution of claims. There are a lot of opportunities to make an impact in this industry.”

JENNIFER BORGES Commercial Auto Manager Gore Mutual Insurance Company

ennifer Borges started her career at Gore Mutual nearly 18 years ago as a summer student in the commercial lines department. Fast-forward to today, and Borges is the company’s commercial auto manager, leading a team of underwriters responsible for the profitable growth of Gore Mutual’s fleet, garage and individually rated commercial auto business. “I steadily progressed into more senior roles within the department over the years, and I feel that the mentoring piece that I was able to receive helped me greatly to get to where I am,” she says. Over the past year, Borges has played a key role in the devel opment and implementation of efficiencies and the strengthening of service levels within the department, while also continuing to grow Gore Mutual’s commercial auto line. She successfully led her team to tremendous premium growth in 2020 and into 2021. “Behind our offerings, we have a truly wonderful and talented team,” says Borges, who holds CIP and CRM designations. “I think our commitment to service and striving to become that larger mid-market player in the industry, our growth and retention, having the knowledgeable underwriters behind that who are always there to offer great service – I think that differentiates us.”

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CAMERON MITCHELL

VALERIU DANCI

Business Development Manager

Director, Mid-Tier and Core Technologies

Gore Mutual Insurance Company

“M

y approach with clients is centred around being genuine and solutions-oriented,” says Cameron Mitchell, business development manager at Gore Mutual. During his time at Gore Mutual, Mitchell has helped to close large distribution deals in BC and Alberta, piloted new technologies and operating structures, and, more recently, supported the company’s Next Horizon strategy. In 2016, Mitchell finished his CIP as the top graduate in BC, and he volunteers as chair of the IIBC’s Seminars Committee. “Gore Mutual has been incredible at nurturing talent, and the evidence is all over the organization,” Mitchell says. “We have so many rising stars in every department who deserve recognition, and I think that’s because there are concerted efforts to mentor and share experience.” Mitchell started his career with Gore Mutual eight years ago as a personal lines underwriter. Prior to moving into business development in 2019, he was a senior commercial underwriter. “Crucial to my success has been constant mentorship and support from colleagues and management at Gore Mutual, as well as from my brokers,” he says. “I work with fantastic people who’ve given me more opportunities than I can count to ask questions, expand my network and take on new challenges.”

aleriu Danci believes honesty and a strong vision are crucial when working with clients. “My success is the result of a number of factors tied together: being disciplined, consistent and always putting my best work out there,” he says. Danci joined Gore Mutual in 2009 as a developer and moved into progressively more senior roles as part of the OMNI Product Engineering team. In his current role as director of mid-tier and core technologies, he plays a pivotal role in Gore Mutual’s digital transformation and the implementation of Guidewire. Danci leads a team of 20 developers in ensuring that all technical components, including external integrations, go through a rigorous design review process to ensure high code quality and the stability of core systems. Danci also oversees the architectural governance of the existing systems, as well as anything new that it is being built. Danci is described by his team as a visionary leader who has both deep technical expertise and a strong solution-oriented mindset. He credits Gore Mutual with providing an environment that nurtures technology and innovation. “Gore Mutual was able to support technology and business classes and programs where students and young talent are encouraged to be creative, innovate, and prepare to deliver viable solutions to real-world, everyday pain points that the insurance industry is confronted with,” he says.

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

“T

STEPHANIE DUCLOS Technical Lead, Vice-President, Errors & Omissions, Information Technology & Cyber Insurance Victor Canada

he key differentiator of Victor is our knowledge and experience,” says Stephanie Duclos, technical lead and vice-president in the errors & omissions underwriting department at Victor Canada. “When I speak with brokers, they acknowledge that we have the underwriting and claims expertise – and that is why they trust us.” Duclos joined Victor (then ENCON Group) in 2010 as an E&O and information technology underwriter in the special risks department. Today, Duclos underwrites large and complex accounts, oversees wording and endorsement revisions, lends her technical expertise to underwriters, and participates in departmental projects. She also mentors Ottawa University students as part of a co-op program, sits on multiple committees to improve underwriting procedures, and gives presentations to brokers and their clients on cyber, technology, and E&O insurance. “Victor has been underwriting cyber and technology for many years now before it was actually on people’s minds – so we do have that expertise underwriting cyber, along with E&O exposures,” Duclos says. “We also have a commercial insurance portal, V Squared, for brokers to bind and issue polices online in one place for various lines of liability insurance. I think technology will continue to play a large role in how business is conducted. It will shape the future of the industry.”

TONY GALLO Underwriting Specialist, Vice-President – Directors & Officers Insurance Victor Canada

or Tony Gallo, excelling in the insurance industry is about knowledge and service. “We’re a very knowledgeable team of underwriters, and we’re a very service-oriented company,” says Gallo, an underwriting specialist and vice-president of directors & officers insurance at Victor Canada. “What we do doesn’t always fit within a box – you need to be a creative thinker, and you need to be able to create an overall risk management program for your clients,” Gallo adds. “For me, I’ve always strived to help educate my clients on the complexities of D&O insurance. Clients know that I’m always available to help.” In 2011, Gallo took a position as an underwriter in the D&O department at Victor (then ENCON Group) and has since been promoted from senior underwriter to underwriting specialist and has received the 2020 Victor Insurance CEO Award, a CIP designation and a Risk Management Certificate. Gallo credits Victor’s culture for providing employees with the tools needed to be successful in the insurance industry. The company offers in-house courses to all employees looking to pursue a CIP designation, in addition to skills- and knowledgebuilding seminars. “It has always come from the top down,” Gallo says. “We work hard, but we enjoy our time together; we’re always there to help each other. It really is a team mentality.”

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26/05/2021 4:57:20 am

CODY MACPHERSON

OLGA TCHOUEVA

Commercial Insurance Broker

Account Manager – Commercial Lines

KASE Insurance

Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services

ody Macpherson entered the insurance industry when he was just 23 years old – but he still wishes he had made the leap sooner. “I wish I could tell my younger self immediately, right out of post-secondary, ‘Get into insurance. Start as soon as possible,’” he says. Macpherson takes that enthusiasm into his day-to-day operations. The now-26-year-old is an account executive at KASE Insurance, Toronto’s number-one commercial insurance broker, as well as a board member for Insurance Brokers of Toronto Region. In 2020, he was a finalist for Young Achiever of the Year at the Insurance Business Canada Awards. “My approach is definitely about focused consulting,” Macpherson says. “I always like to give my clients full transparency. They know what I’m doing, they know how their decisions affect their insurance, and we can put a proper plan in place. We really like to partner with the clients. It’s not just about placing a policy; it’s really about offering the whole partner experience.” Macpherson credits KASE Insurance’s commercial trainee program for providing the right atmosphere and tools. The rest, however, is up to the brokers. “It’s very much you who is going to determine your success: getting up early, cold-calling and getting clients,” Macpherson says. “It’s got to come from within, and that’s something I’ve always had – a drive to be successful.”

lga Tchoueva’s goal is to create positive, long-term relationships with clients, colleagues and insurers. “This means taking the time to find creative solutions, asking hard questions and problem-solving,” says Tchoueva, a Vancouverbased account manager at Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services. “Being flexible and optimistic is key to how I approach my work.” Shortly after earning her CIP designation, Tchoueva graduated with a diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Insurance and Risk Management program in 2017. That same year, she was hired by Wilson M. Beck Insurance Services as an associate account manager; a year later, she received a promotion to her current role. During her time with WMB, Tchoueva has learned the ropes of construction insurance and risk management. “What makes my position at WMB unique is its hybrid nature, which allows me to work with both clients and markets on the marketing, management, and administration of annual and project insurance placements,” says Tchoueva, who immigrated to Canada from Russia with her family when she was 8 years old. “What helps me every day is staying curious and open-minded. I take every opportunity to learn from my colleagues and our clients. Every renewal or project gives me deeper insight into how insurance assists the business world around us.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

JENNIFER JACKSON Director of Business Development Cheep Insurance

ith little background in insurance when she helped launch Cheep Insurance, Jennifer Jackson challenged the status quo of brokerage business processes to deliver a truly unique experience to customers. “I came in totally fresh,” says Jackson, who jumped into the industry after finishing up her MBA at Dalhousie University. Less than five years later, Cheep Insurance continues to post more than 50% growth every year and has expanded to all Atlantic Canadian provinces. It’s the only purely digital brokerage in Eastern Canada with 100% digital customer engagement, which was driven in large part by Jackson’s expertise. Her efforts landed her the IBANS Emerging Professional Award in 2017, a place on Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine’s Top 10 under 40 in 2017 and recognition as a Top CAIB Graduate in 2019. Jackson recently became a shareholder of Cheep Insurance and acts as the company’s director of business development. She attributes her success with Cheep Insurance to her ability to embrace and implement new technologies, as well as several incredible mentors who helped her along the way. Additionally, Jackson serves as chair of the Nova Scotia Young Broker Network, which is dedicated to promoting the advantages of pursuing a career as a broker and hosting networking events to bring young brokers and insurance company reps together.

ROBERT HOLMES Senior General Adjuster and Complex Casualty Practice Leader – Canada Crawford & Company (Canada)

n March 2021, Crawford & Company appointed Robert Holmes as complex casualty leader in Canada, in addition to his role as senior general adjuster. Holmes has more than a decade of experience in the complex casualty field and remains focused on delivering quality claims handling on large and complex losses, while also driving revenue growth, broadening the company’s expertise, and delivering superior service to the Canadian complex casualty practice. Holmes says mentorship has been crucial to taking his career to the next level. “Crawford has done an excellent job identifying young talent and pairing them with senior members in a formal mentorship capacity,” he says. “They’re one of the few places that has prioritized that and formalized it, and it’s been very helpful for both the mentors and mentees to have access to one another.” With his promotion, Holmes now leads a team of 27 adjusters who handle losses in various specialty fields, including professional liability, environmental liability and product recall – and now he’s the one mentoring others. “Understanding the subject matter is key, and I would say staying at the forefront of technical expertise is a key focus for our group of specialists,” Holmes says. “We pride ourselves on having deep knowledge of ever-changing industries and subject matter and delivering practical solutions.”

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NAHEED JAFFER

MATHIEU VILLEMURE

Senior Actuarial Manager

Regional Underwriting Manager, Quebec

Aviva Canada

Sovereign Insurance

aheed Jaffer knows the importance of mentorship within the insurance industry – and now he’s helping other rising stars. “My mentors helped me frame my career, enabled me to develop personally and professionally, and made sure I never lost my passion for data-driven stories,” he says. A senior actuarial manager at Aviva Canada, Jaffer and his team drive pricing and analytical support for strategic growth initiatives within the Specialty Personal Insurance business, specifically for lifestyle insurance products. Jaffer also leads Aviva’s internal committee to attract, train and mentor students with actuarial aspirations. “Actuaries are more than mathematicians and statisticians – we are storytellers who specialize in translating numbers into business narratives,” he says. Outside of Aviva Canada, Jaffer is an active volunteer with the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Ontario Conference of Casualty Actuaries’ scholarship committee. He holds fellowships from the CAS and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries. “Being an actuary, and specifically the pursuit of the actuarial designations, was not an easy process, but it helped me learn about myself,” Jaffer says. “When speaking to aspiring actuaries, I want them to understand that the exam process, although not easy, will teach them lessons that they will carry throughout the other aspects of their lives.”

athieu Villemure credits his rise in the insurance industry to the relationships he has created both within and outside Sovereign Insurance. “Insurance is a people business – it always has been; it always will be,” Villemure says. “You need to create a good network of relationships to be able to navigate the challenges of the insurance business on a daily basis.” Villemure began his career with Sovereign as a senior underwriter, working with fellow underwriters to manage existing accounts and new business opportunities. Now Sovereign’s commercial underwriting manager for Quebec, Villemure has helped shaped the company’s cross-border appetite and guidelines. He also oversees the placement and underwriting of crossborder accounts on a national basis. Passionate about developing unique insurance solutions and building trusting relationships with broker partners, Villemure is also looking to the future, noting the importance of embracing emerging tools and technologies in the insurance industry. “The clientele is changing, and we need to adapt,” he says. “New technology, business intelligence and client expectations are changing as well, like in every industry. When you think about the Kodaks and Blockbusters of this world, you need to make sure you stay relevant in the marketplace.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

RISING STARS 2021

TRENT BROWN President dbi Brokers

nsuring every client has the best possible experience is at the heart of everything Trent Brown does. “A large portion of my success would be always keeping the client experience in mind,” says Brown, President of dbi Brokers in Paris, Ontario. “It is at the forefront of every interaction I have.” During a challenging 2020, Brown grew his book of business by 10% while completing his CAIB designation and leading a brokerage ownership transition. In the near-term, the 31-year-old is working toward attaining his RIBO Level II unrestricted licence in order to take on his next challenge: the principal broker role at dbi Brokers. The brokerage was founded in 1931, and Brown’s grandfather, John Brown, became a shareholder in 1968, making Brown a third-generation broker. He acknowledges that making deep connections with clients and the community is the best way to earn that kind of staying power. “We’re not a cookie-cutter insurance brokerage,” Brown says. “We take the time; we want to get to know you; we want you to know that we’re going to be there for you, providing peace of mind. We’re going to do right by you from the beginning. When you’re dealing with an intangible product like insurance, having those connections can go a long way.”

ALLIANZ GLOBAL CORPORATE & SPECIALTY

AGCS rising stars Congratulating the following three colleagues at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty for being recognized as “Rising Stars” by Insurance Business Canada

Dounia Khali Financial Lines Practice Leader, Claims

Steven Miotto Senior Underwriter, Marine

Monika Slomczewski Complex Case Analyst

careers.allianz.com

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SPECIAL REPORT

2021

CANNABIS INSURANCE Brokers tell IBC which insurers have kept up with the twists and turns of a rapidly evolving cannabis market

CONTENTS

PAGE

Feature article .............................................. 38 Methodology ................................................ 39 5-Star Cannabis Insurers 2021 .................. 40 Profile ............................................................ 41

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

5-STAR AWARDS: CANNABIS INSURANCE

REACHING HIGHER GROUND THE CANNABIS industry in Canada is growing up and gradually shedding stigmas. Back in 2018, when cannabis became legal across the country, the industry was a “baby,” says Kelli Hunt, vice-president of underwriting at Next Wave Insurance Canada. Road bumps, reorganizations and various amalgamations characterized this early stage, which was followed by the rise of micro and small business retailers, cultivators, and

“Insuring cannabis isn’t for the faint of heart. When the highs are high, it’s great, but when the losses happen, they are not small” Kelli Hunt, Next Wave Insurance Canada

WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO BROKERS WHEN CHOOSING A CANNABIS POLICY? Policy coverage

100% Underwriting expertise

94% Claims/payment processing

88% Service to the broker

84% Ability to create bespoke policies

81% Policy pricing

72% Access to risk mitigation partners

63% Online platform

22% 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

processors. In 2019, the industry matured even further as ‘Cannabis 2.0’ launched edibles, beverages and other cannabis-infused products into the market. But all that change hasn’t happened without growing pains. “There has been a lot of criticism about the first few years, but I compare it to the restaurant world,” Hunt says. “Only 50% of restaurants survive their first year. Cannabis did better than that, and I think people forget that this is a new industry in the world that North America is leading. What happens in the rest of the world with cannabis will be because of the blood, sweat and tears of Canadians and Americans alike.” Midway through 2021, Hunt says, the Canadian cannabis industry is now in its “toddler phase.” Adult-use sales increased from around $1.2 billion in 2019 to $2.6 billion last year, and they’re on track to soar another 60% by the end of 2021, according to a recent report on the market from the Brightfield Group. That report credited retail openings and price cuts for driving growth and also noted a rise in US-Canadian partnerships.

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The next evolution One of the biggest potential game-changers in Canada’s cannabis market is happening south of the border. The US is considering decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, which would help simplify the cannabis business – and the insurance that covers it – on both sides of the border. It would also go a long way toward eliminating lingering stigmas on both a professional and personal level. Matt Maurer, head of the cannabis group at law firm Torkin Manes, believes one of the biggest impacts of US federal decriminalization would be ending the stigma in the banking sector, which would have a positive effect on Canadian businesses. Despite the fact that cannabis is legal and regulated across

we desperately need more capacity in this space, I believe it’ll be a while before we see traditional markets tackle this sector, as it remains very volatile.” Maurer adds that “the industry moves exceptionally fast and is highly competitive. When you combine this with a heavy regulatory structure and the notion that the industry is still in its infancy and therefore constantly evolving, you can get into trouble very quickly if you are not careful.” Maurer has seen certain sectors, such as law and accounting, start to dabble in cannabis before committing wholeheartedly to the sector. He believes banking and insurance are now at a similar tipping point. “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve met someone in the insurance industry who

“Fortune favours the bold, and the cannabis industry is not going anywhere” Matt Maurer, Torkin Manes Canada, cannabis companies often still have trouble with their financial transactions. “Many banks will not accept cannabis clients for fear of having issues with their American operations,” Maurer says. “Clients routinely complain that banks and credit unions that will accept their business either charge outrageous fees for the privilege, lack the necessary product offerings or both.” Next Wave, meanwhile, helps manage regulatory complexities by collaborating with its sister company, CannGen, to insure companies in the US and Canada. “Until the federal rule falls in the US, I believe most insurers have to sit on the sidelines,” Hunt says. “Having said that, insuring cannabis isn’t for the faint of heart. When the highs are high, it’s great, but when the losses happen, they are not small. So, while

sees the tremendous opportunity and tells me that they are still working on convincing the powers that be that cannabis is an area the firm should be diving into,” Maurer says. “Fortune favours the bold, and the cannabis industry is not going anywhere.” Fortune has definitely favoured Next Wave, which insures a majority of Canadian cannabis businesses. As such, the company has encountered a variety of claims – everything from minor injuries on site to issues with delivery vehicles to product liability lawsuits against licensed producers. Hunt notes that familiarity with the cannabis plant can help facilitate proper coverage. She’s also amazed at how much the cannabis stigma continues to change. “Four years ago, my parents thought cannabis was an evil drug,” she says. “Now, at the ages of 75

METHODOLOGY To select the best cannabis insurers for 2021, Insurance Business Canada sourced feedback from insurance brokers over a period of 15 weeks. IBC’s research team began by conducting a survey with a wide range of brokerages to determine what brokers value most in a cannabis insurer. The research team also spoke to hundreds of top brokers across the country by phone, asking them to rate the cannabis insurers they had worked with over the previous 12 months. At the end of the research period, the insurers that received the highest ratings from brokers in terms of work quality, specialist expertise and client service were declared 5-Star Award winners in cannabis insurance.

80% of brokers told IBC they’re looking for coverage for cultivators

77% of brokers are looking for coverage for manufacturers

72% of brokers need coverage for cannabis dispensaries

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SPECIAL REPORT BUSINESS STRATEGY

5-STAR AWARDS: CANNABIS INSURANCE

CANNABIS 2021 INSURANCE

Next Wave Insurance Canada

Phone: 437-226-3499 Email: kellih@nextwaveins.ca Website: nextwaveins.ca

Burns & Wilcox Cansure CHES Special Risk SUM Insurance

and almost 80, they are using these products for pain management – and honestly, how amazing is that? If they can get past their decades of learned stigma, anyone can.”

Brokers’ wish list As part of the survey to determine this year’s 5-Star Cannabis Insurers, IBC asked brokers what changes they would like to see in the cannabis insurance sector – and they didn’t hold back. Chief among their concerns was the need for more options and capacity in cannabis insurance to drive competition and help lower prices. “Currently we have limited markets,” one broker said. “CGL and property need more

participation. Greenhouses are extremely difficult to find coverage for. Retail stores only have two markets, [and we need] broader coverage for outdoor crops.” Another broker echoed that sentiment, saying that “the challenge is that there is not enough capacity for brokers. With more capacity choice, there will be lower premiums [and] more coverages.” Among the coverage gaps brokers mentioned were a need for more options for D&O and vape coverage, along with better rates for insuring domestic and international shipments. One broker acknowledged that “the reason that there are only a few insurers and MGAs is because they want to collect more data about the cannabis industry, and most companies are scared since it’s still pretty new.” Another added that “legalization and the political implications are the reason that insurers are still hesitant to venture into insuring cannabis businesses.” Several agreed that further erasing the stigma on cannabis through increased education would be a boon for the insurance sector. Along those same lines, education for brokers came up as another area that has plenty of room for improvement. “Cannabis is a regulated industry, and I think the biggest gap here is understanding the business – brokers should be able to understand how the business works,” one broker said. Applications were another place where brokers wanted cannabis insurers to step up, whether by providing the option to complete applications digitally or by offering more uniform and specialized applications to address the needs of a variety of different cannabis businesses. Despite the complications inherent in the cannabis market and the hesitancy of many insurers to jump in, a handful of trailblazers have taken things to new heights in this burgeoning industry – and five of them earned the title of 5-Star Cannabis Insurer for 2021.

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NEXT WAVE INSURANCE CANADA

ext Wave Insurance Canada (NWIC) provides insurance solutions to the cannabis and hemp industry exclusively in Canada. NWIC is a subsidiary of Next Wave Insurance Services, a managing general underwriter with offices in San Diego and Rancho Cordova, California, as well as in Toronto. NWIC offers independent insurance brokers a broad range of commercial products to serve the cannabis and hemp industry. In addition, its staff works closely with registered producers to train them on this emerging market. “What differentiates NWIC from the competition is our dedication to the cannabis industry,” says Kelli Hunt, vice-president of underwriting. “It is the only industry that we

Phone: 437-226-3499 Email: kellih@nextwaveins.ca Website: nextwaveins.ca

underwrite, and we are here specifically for the needs of this growing business sector. Combine that with our service standards and excellent partnership with our partner carriers, and it’s been a recipe for success.” Next Wave’s US team has 10-plus years of experience in cannabis insurance and participated in the creation of the first cannabis insurance policies. With unparalleled experience and dedication to the industry, NWIC continues to develop new lines of coverage to provide producers and policyholders with comprehensive ‘seed to sale’ insurance protection for their unique business needs. In Canada, where recreational cannabis use has only been legal since 2018, the industry is in its “toddler phase,” Hunt says. “There is a lot of movement from an M&A

perspective, but there are also new and interesting businesses opening every day. NWIC will be here to grow with them as they navigate this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead the world in legalization and insuring a long misunderstood plant and product.”

NEXT WAVE INSURANCE CANADA AT A GLANCE

2018

Year founded

Number of offices

Number of employees

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: OIL AND GAS

Covering crude At a time of heightened climate change activism, IBC explores the key challenges in insuring the oil and gas industry

CANADA IS the fourth largest oil and gas exporter in the world, but the country’s oil and gas industry can’t seem to catch a break. Recent years have brought market challenges, pressure from environmental movements and, of course, a pandemic. The sector started out strong in 2020, only to get blindsided by COVID-19 and a glut of product on the market. “Many companies have gone into bankruptcy or shut their doors due to low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Mary Robichaud, AVP of underwriting at CNA. As a result of the price issue, both OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries agreed to reduce production, which is expected to increase the price of oil and help with stability. “The higher oil price per barrel will provide the opportunity for companies to start to make a marginal profit again,” Robichaud says. “Drilling is forecasted to be up 14% from 2020, which was one of the worst years in history. Drilling in the first quarter of 2021 already evidenced an increase over 2020.” On top of that, the climate change movement has stymied development and led to cross-border pipeline controversies with the US. Canada and the state of Michigan are currently locked in a feud regarding a pipeline that transports oil from Western Canada across Michigan to Ontario and Quebec.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants to shut it down, fearing an environmental catastrophe, while the Canadian government is wary of the possible economic impact. In May, the federal government filed an amicus brief in a US suit that aims to halt the pipeline shutdown, noting that “the proposed shutdown would cause a massive and potentially permanent disruption to Canada’s economy and energy security.”

THE COVID-19 EFFECT ENERGY COMPANIES’ REDUCTION IN PLANNED CAPITAL EXPENDITURES IN 2020 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

57%

54%

50%

45%

43%

40%

35%

26%

20%

Enerflex

Cardinal Energy

Husky Energy

Pembina Pipeline Corp.

Cenovus Energy

Enerplus Corp.

Crescent Point Energy Corp.

Suncor

Vermillion Energy

Source: Statistics Canada, July 2020

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Meanwhile, some companies have decided to switch from oil and gas exploration to more eco-friendly pursuits such as drilling for lithium or geothermal energy. “The industry is looking and has been looking at ways to evolve to operate ‘cleaner,’” Robichaud says. “The industry must have the ability to move the product; therefore, some projects, such as the Coastal Gaslink and NGTL pipelines, have boosted confidence. While the price of oil is unstable, the price of gas is very strong.” Mergers and acquisitions in the industry have taken their toll over the past few years, too, according to Fuse Insurance president Kevin Lea, who also notes that the use of advanced technology in the oil fields has led to substantial layoffs. “The Canadian oil and gas market is a little more hesitant in terms of the amount of

“The insurance markets in Canada that write oil and gas have not changed a great deal. A few players have exited this segment, but the traditional Canadian insurers remain” Mary Robichaud, CNA investment being put in to further grow the industry,” he says. “It seems to me that the focus right now is on maximizing production from existing assets and just sort of holding the line as it is.”

The insurance outlook While the oil and gas insurance sector has experienced some significant losses and is dealing with a hard market like every other

sector, it has remained relatively stable overall. “Losses within the energy sector for insurance have been pretty substantial over the past five years,” Lea says. “There’s been pricing pressure, especially on pure production risk, including oil and gas producers and pipeline risks. The general hard market insurance conditions have pushed prices up, and that significantly reduced capacity. So it’s definitely tougher times out there.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: OIL AND GAS

THE INDUSTRY OUTLOOK FOR 2021

$27.3 billion Projected capital spending in the oil and gas sector in 2021 (up from an estimated $24 billion in 2020)

$20.0 billion Forecast for conventional oil and natural gas capital investment for 2021 (up from an estimated $17.2 billion last year)

The oil and gas insurance sector also hasn’t been immune to environmental activism. Activists opposed to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline between Alberta and BC were set on identifying insurers of the project, hoping to pressure them into dropping coverage. In late April, the Canada Energy Regulator ruled against it, saying that “the disclosure of the names of Trans Mountain’s insurers could reasonably be expected to prejudice its competitive position in its dealing with potential insurers, including but not limited to its ability to obtain adequate insurance at a reasonable price.”

be slow,” she continues, “but there will be a need to educate ourselves on the changes in the oil and gas industry. Challenges for insurers working in this segment are a need to manage the cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry and also understand the evolution in greener operations.” Lea, meanwhile, predicts that the oil and gas industry “will basically tread water. As for production, we’ll still see relatively muted new economic investment,” he says. “In terms of new drilling and unconventional projects like the oil sands, I think it will carry on in a steady fashion. I would also expect further

“The general hard market insurance conditions have pushed prices up, and that significantly reduced capacity. So it’s definitely tougher times out there” Kevin Lea, Fuse Insurance

$7.3 billion Forecast for capital investment in the oil sands in 2021 (up from an estimated $6.7 billion last year) Source: Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, January 2021

Despite these obstacles, “the insurance markets in Canada that write oil and gas have not changed a great deal,” Robichaud says. “A few players have exited this segment, but the traditional Canadian insurers remain. There have been changes to capacity, terms and conditions, but the markets persist. There have been some new MGAs that are also operating in this segment.”

What’s next for the sector? So, where is the oil and gas industry headed in the near future? Robichaud believes that “market conditions over the next five years will be slow, but much will depend on the world suppliers (i.e. producers in other countries oversupplying the market), the economy stabilizing post-COVID-19 and incorporating green initiatives. The market is still viable and needed, and they are working on making the industry more resilient. “The growth for the insurance market will

mergers and acquisitions within the sector and that we’re going to see relatively limited economic growth within that area. “In terms of the insurance front, I think the market conditions are going to continue to stay in a hard market cycle for the time being. This is not necessarily unique to oil and gas. I think this is my future view for at least the next 18 to 24 months for commercial lines as a whole. Due to these conditions, it will continue to drive higher insurance premiums and reduce coverage within most commercial line sectors.” In the meantime, the oil and gas industry will need to continue balancing the pursuit of profits with the demands of environmentalists and others set on curbing climate change. “Many oil and gas companies have changed and evolved over several years to reduce carbon and operate greener,” Robichaud says. “Unfortunately, this is not as widely known as you would expect.”

www.insurancebusiness.ca

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PEOPLE

BROKER INSIGHT

Never stop learning Joshua Girouard of All Insurance Ontario tells IBC how a commitment to education and service has propelled his growth in the industry

JOSHUA GIROUARD was once a typical 18-year-old, fresh out of high school and unsure about his career path. Today, he’s the president of All Insurance Ontario and has grown the business from five brokers to 10 over the two and a half years that he’s been in charge. Girouard’s journey from Point A to Point B relies a lot on his father, who founded All Insurance Ontario and encouraged his son to join the industry when he was applying for college programs. In the end, Girouard chose Mohawk College in Hamilton and got his RIBO licence in 2005 while still in school, joining the family brokerage that same year. Five years later, Girouard earned a CAIB designation, but even with his education and the experience he had built up at All Insurance, he was unsure about taking over the family business when his dad was ready to retire. He recalls the transition from broker to president as a “whirlwind of not knowing what I was doing, trying to figure that out and asking my dad what to do, while also trying to keep an eye on what I wanted to do with the business and how I wanted to run it.” He credits his colleagues for supporting him during this period, particularly in the

first year of his tenure as president. One of the ways the brokerage has evolved under Girouard’s guidance – even before he was president – is in becoming more agile. All Insurance got rid of desk phones a long time ago, using cell phones instead so clients can text their brokers at any time. That change “was mostly about delivering our service to the client better than in the past, where the brokerage was a very old-school, brick-and-mortar kind of business,” Girouard says. “Putting ourselves out there to give that access to clients is what separates us from our old business model.” Despite adopting new technology with the goal of increasing agility and improving the customer experience, All Insurance’s business model remains flexible. The firm has

been careful not to alienate clients who don’t want to conduct business digitally. Girouard recognizes that the brokerage can’t provide the same service online that it can offline, so its brokers are focusing on being available to clients on Facebook and via text message, making sure to meet the client where they prefer to be serviced instead of forcing people to conform to the brokerage’s practices. As if leading All Insurance into a new era isn’t enough on his plate, Girouard is also a territory leader for the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s Young Brokers Council, which is made up of 15 talented young insurance brokers who are creating significant impact in the brokerage arena. “I’ve learned a lot – more than I ever expected to – about how the industry works,”

THE SPORTING LIFE With three older brothers to keep up with, Joshua Girouard picked up whatever stick or bat was lying around the garage, and he soon became a natural goalie in street hockey and mini stick games. He went on to play minor hockey for the Gloucester Rangers and St. Matt’s Tigers. He also played lacrosse, baseball, soccer and football, where he was an All-Star linebacker for the Orleans Bengals (and Tigers). And, following in his brother Morgan’s footsteps, Girouard won a city championship and a trip to OFSAA as a heavyweight wrestler.

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FAST FACTS: ALL INSURANCE ONTARIO Areas of expertise Home Auto Business insurance

Year founded: 1985 Founder: Ted Girouard Headquarters: Ottawa, ON Leadership: Joshua Girouard, president; Jeremy Girouard, insurance broker

“I want to really grow within [the broker] channel. There’s a lot of opportunity here because of how few small players are left”

Girouard says of the experience, highlighting the insight he’s gathered on how relationships are formed and developed between all of the insurance industry’s various participants, from vendors to carriers to associations. As he looks toward the rest of his career, Girouard definitely sees himself staying in the brokerage world. “I’ll be a broker probably for my entire life … and I want to really grow within this channel,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity here because of how few small players are left. The public is only going to get a certain level of service from certain brokers, and I think that, based on the people I’ve talked to and the people who are coming to our office, they are very happy to have a professional who knows exactly what they’re talking about, who knows the client inside and out and has a personal relationship with them.”

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email insurancebusiness@kmimedia.ca

Smith’s favourite car is a 1958 Ford Wagon with a Police Interceptor F E engine that belongs to his father-in-law

Years Smith has been an auto enthusiast

His age when his father bought his first car for him

Total number of cars in the Smith family’s collection

FAMILY RIDE Second-generation automobile aficionado Scott Smith extends his passion to his work, providing insurance for classic cars SCOTT SMITH has been into cars for as long as he can remember, having been born into a family of auto enthusiasts. He was in second grade when he brought a 1958 VW Beetle for show and tell. “I remember the day as clear as a bell,” Smith says. “My father brought the car to my school, and the class got to go outside

and see it. He always told me that Beetle was my car.” Smith’s father, the late John E. Smith, founded the first vintage motorcar insurance program in Ontario with Zehr Insurance in 1968. Today, the younger Smith is in charge of the program, and he says he admires the knowledge, skill and cama-

raderie among classic car collectors. “Just last year, I was getting my 1955 Ford Fairlane ready for a car show and discovered two of the rims were bent,” he says. “My friend Jeff Norwell dropped everything for me and pulled two rims and tires out of his collection and allowed me to use these for the 2020 season.”

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