Message from the President

Four years ago, in her final ‘President’s Message’, CIAA Past President Patti Kernaghan posed the question: Who will advocate for the independent adjusting profession in Canada, if not independent adjusters themselves?

Today as the 60th President of our association, once again I can not help but think back to that fateful day in December 1953 when a small group of independent adjusters, having asked themselves the same question, formed what would eventually become the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association – the only National body that promotes the interests of the independent adjuster in Canada.

It has been a true honour and privilege to represent our Association and to serve as its President this past year. Admittedly, I find when ever I am sitting in the CIAA boardroom, and I look around the room at all those photos of Past Presidents, I cannot help but feel a sense of humility.

Having been involved with CIAA in one capacity or another for over 20 years, I must admit it came as no surprise the amount of time and effort required to effectively carry out the duties of President. It never ceases to amaze me how a relatively small group of volunteers across the country can accomplish so much, keeping our torch alive for the betterment of the independent adjusting profession, our association and its members.

I am proud of what we as a team have accomplished this year. With the help of our NIIAB members and IBC, we now have received approval from the majority of provincial regulators across the country for use of a simplified one page application we designed for temporary licensing in the event of an insurable event. With the help of our Education Committee, we have defined and finalized the course content for our new CLA designation. The courses, accredited for those who require CE credits, will not only serve as a means of continuing education and training for our members; the end result will be an industry recognized designation available only to CIAA members. With the help of our Regional Executives, our members continue to benefit from EMO work. And with the help of our Executive Director Patricia Battle we have met with and responded with CIAA’s formal position paper to a Department of Finance initiative regarding their examination of the GST/HST treatment of financial services in Canada.

In my more than 30 years in the insurance industry, I have always felt extremely proud to be an independent insurance adjuster and proud of the company I have worked for, now half my life. I am grateful for the opportunities that have come my way and for the career this profession has helped me to build. And as the old saying goes, I have found the harder I work and the more I give of myself, the “luckier” I become.

I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet so many of our members as I travelled across the country this year. Our members are a dedicated and hard working bunch. We are the heart and soul of our profession. We are professionals. We care. We are committed. We give unselfishly of ourselves for the benefit of our association. As CIAA members, we will continue to build on the dialogue CIAA has established with our industry stakeholders and we will continue to be the voice of the independent adjuster in Canada. Because if it were not for the combined efforts of our members, who will advocate for the independent adjusting profession in Canada?

I know our association is in good hands with the recent election of David Porter as President and Albert Poon and Gary Ellis respectively as First and Second Vice Presidents, not to mention the tireless and much appreciated efforts of our Executive Director Patricia Battle and Executive Assistant Mina Cerulli.

This is a year I will never forget. Thank you to all who put their faith in me and gave me this wonderful opportunity to serve as CIAA’s National President. Thank you to all those who volunteered their time to our association this year. And to my employer, my family, my co-workers and my friends, a big thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement throughout the year – I couldn’t have done it without you!

Salut!