New look

Just over a year later and I am proud to declare that I can properly identify at least 30 industry-specific acronyms–probably more!

When I first started at Canadian Insurance, I knew very little about the inner workings of the P&C industry. At that time, I would have been more comfortable conversing about the inverse relationship between risk and return, the dilemma with sovereign wealth funds (SWF), or the impact of graduated driver licensing when this was first introduced. (Prior to CI, I held positions at publications that covered retail financial services and the automotive industry.)

Fast-forward a year and my, how the conversations changed. Now, I am delighted when I sit in a room and hear the term combined ratio–particularly when it’s below 100; I relish the conversations I have with contributors on the importance of touch points and customer relations and the detrimental impact changing weather patterns have on claim costs.

Yet, the biggest lesson I have learned over the past year is that many of the hot-button issues we have pursued in these pages–such as banks selling insurance or credit scoring–are cyclical issues that were present before I came on board and will exist long after my tenure ends.

While I cannot discredit the importance of covering these issues–to provide analysis, and help shape actionable goals based on principles and priorities–there is also a need to support the largest distribution channel for P&C insurance in Canada: the brokers.

That was the impetus for this relaunch. After many lunches, breakfasts, roundtables, telephone calls and e-mails, the Canadian Insurance team knew it was time to create a product that supports the national broker network.

For the reader this means a shift in content focus. In the following months expect to see photos of your events, news regarding your charitable contributions, tips on how to make the most of your business strategies, and examples of who in the industry is achieving the results.

Over the past 14 months, I have appreciated your feedback–both on and off the record–and I encourage you to give me a call, send me an e-mail, or even post me a letter. Now, more than ever, we want to hear from you, our readers.

Romana King
Editor

© Copyright 2010 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the April 2010 edition of Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine.

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.