Canadian Underwriter

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Professional Development


News InsuranceProfessional Development

Valérie Lavoie, Desjardins General Insurance Group

March 10, 2021 by Greg Meckbach

Valérie Lavoie, President, Chief Operating Officer, Desjardins General Insurance Group Family responsibilities and unconscious biases are among factors that can hold women back from advancing into the C-suite, says Valérie Lavoie, a senior executive with Canada’s second-largest P&C insurance carrier.

News InsuranceProfessional DevelopmentRiskTechnology

What the future underwriter will look like

March 1, 2021 by David Gambrill

Underwriters of the future are going to look a lot more like technology trailblazers, data pioneers, dealmakers, portfolio optimizers, and risk detectives, according to a new report by Deloitte. “To remain competitive, insurers should accelerate underwriting transformation,” Deloitte states in

News ClaimsClaims CanadaCommercial LinesEmploymentLegalLegislation / RegulationProfessional DevelopmentRisk

Risk management lessons from the governor general’s resignation

January 26, 2021 by Greg Meckbach

If a commercial client has any inklings of a toxic workplace, an independent investigation is one way of managing reputational and liability risk, an expert says. The resignations last week of Governor General Julie Payette and her secretary may have

Feature BrokersProfessional DevelopmentRiskTechnology

Western Perspective

December 4, 2020 Greg Meckbach, Associate Editor

Meet Clint Smith, chief operating officer of Manitoba-based Andrew Agencies Ltd., which recently acquired several brokerages in Saskatchewan. Smith gave us his take on the challenges brokers face in Western Canada, the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the inside

News BrokersInsuranceProfessional DevelopmentTechnology

How ‘extra steps’ can make for a bad customer experience

October 27, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

Brokers who are concerned about carriers having “too direct” of a relationship with the broker’s customers should consider what service those customers are expecting, an industry consultant suggests. “As an industry, we have a number of places where we have

Feature EmploymentInsuranceProfessional Development

Finding that swagger

October 20, 2020 Adam Malik, Managing Editor

Insurance is a cool industry, but not enough people know it. John McNeil, program coordinator and full-time professor at Humber College’s insurance management program, explains how to change that   – As told to Adam Malik   We as an

Feature BrokersProfessional DevelopmentTechnology

How to survive a pandemic

October 20, 2020 Rob Vosseler, Executive Vice President, Principal Broker, Union Power Insurance Brokers Inc.

A broker principal shares his story about how his fledgling brokerage managed to navigate its way through the various business disruptions caused by COVID-19

News Professional Development

The business case for diversity and inclusion at a brokerage

October 9, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

If you truly want to connect with your customers, your organization must be diverse, an industry consultant suggests. “There is room for improvement in corporate Canada, not just in property and casualty insurance, in ensuring women, visible minorities and people

Feature Professional Development

Mental health check

October 6, 2020 David Gambrill, Editor in Chief

Take care of yourself, so you can take care of your clients

Feature EmploymentProfessional Development

‘We have a lot of work to do’

October 3, 2020 Greg Meckbach, Associate Editor

How can the Canadian P&C industry ensure its workplaces reflect the communities they serve? We asked senior industry executives what can be done to make sure everyone feels respected and valued, regardless of demographic factors such as gender, skin colour, sexual orientation or gender identity. Here’s what they told us….

News CatastrophesClaimsClaims CanadaProfessional DevelopmentRestoration

Adjuster training: How the industry can up its game

August 31, 2020 by Greg Meckbach

Canada’s property and casualty insurance industry needs to cross-train more claims adjusters if it wants to have enough property adjusters to be available in the event of a catastrophe, industry experts said last week. “Cross-training is important because it is

Feature BrokersLegislation / RegulationProfessional Development

Balancing Act

August 8, 2020 CIP Society

What happens when an agreement is breached due to COVID-19? Experts share their thoughts