Message from the President (April 01, 2010)

I am very pleased to report that the CIAA strategic planning initiatives are taking shape. By the time this message goes to print, some of our absolutely key projects will be underway and we will soon deliver some important changes to the membership. Our critical areas of focus are communication, education, advocacy and benefits.

The CIAA/CICMA Ontario Joint Conference in February was not only a sold out event, but also a huge success. Great attendance, attentive audience, fabulous speakers and even a terrific comedian at lunch made it an event people will want to ensure they attend next year! Congratulations to the very hard working planning committee! On the communication front, we distributed a condensed version of the CIAA Insurance Industry Stakeholder Survey on a memory stick, to all joint conference attendees. This same survey will be made available to all CIAA provincial association presidents for local distribution in April. We will also upload it onto our website in May for the members.

Our next communication initiative is to provide provincial presidents with an overview of our strategic goals and objectives, so they can ensure all members are aware of the direction and the benefits we are moving toward, Our communication methods have already started to shift with the use of an e-blast NewsFlash to bring members timely information.

Our biggest educational goal is to develop a subsidiary to the current, highly esteemed, Chartered Loss Adjuster (CLA) designation, providing members an additional opportunity to distinguish themselves as insurance claim professionals. As independent adjusters we build our careers on the fundamentals of claims adjusting and should be recognized in the public for the educational achievements we attain. Our plan is to achieve that recognition through CIAA’s professional accreditation program.

Other educational goals are already starting to take shape with our Writing Skills for Claims Professionals webinar in March. The response was terrific and at this point a second date has been added. On the webinar front we have several others in the pipeline, specifically for claims professionals, providing concrete tools to our members for application to their claims work today.

In February my husband, Pierre Coupey, and I enjoyed an entertaining evening with AESIQ in Montréal at their Sugar Shack celebration — they know how to party! Linda Brunette, the national CICMA president joined me at the celebration. It was a great opportunity for the two presidents to be together. With over 368 attendees, I was honoured to represent the CIAA. My personal thanks to Sandra Ross, Charles Berthiaume, Jean-Marc Laurin and Denis Duchesne who made it a great evening.

On a personal note I’d like to comment on the Vancouver Olympics. This truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Canadians, especially Vancouverites, to really show the warmth and generous nature we are known for around the world. We took in many of the events in Vancouver and were excited with the spontaneous enthusiasm. Pierre and I were in New York for the last few days of the games. My Canada hoody gave us away and with that we had a warm welcome wherever we went — to include one guard in the Museum of Modern Art breaking into Oh Canada! What a great time for Canadians! •