On The Scene

Every year Plant Hope Adjusters honours the Top CIP recipient in New Brunswick with the Brain D. Taylor Professional Award. In this photo Luc Aucoin of Plant Hope presents Kristina Scott, CIP of The Co-operators, Moncton, NB, with the 2011 award.

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Fred Plant, President of Plant Hope Adjusters, was elected president of the International Institute of Loss Adjusters at that organization’s 55th Annual General Meeting held in Queenstown, New Zealand on Nov. 5, 2011. Other Canadians who have guided IILA over the years have included such distinguished adjusting leaders as Stewart Ponton, Bill Seaman, Skip Sutherland, Lee Stewart and Doug Holmes.

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Glenn Gibson, senior vice president of global strategy, projects and development at Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. is the recipient of the Canadian Insurance Professional (CIP) Society’s ‘2011 Established Leadership Award.’

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The award recognizes individuals who have shown exceptional leadership abilities and a strong commitment to upholding the CIP Society’s tenets of imparting knowledge and instilling professionalism within the insurance industry. Gibson is the only recipient named this year, according to a Crawford release.

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“Glenn is a very worthy recipient of the Established Leadership Award because of his dedication, the pride he has in his profession and the insurance adjusting community, and his affinity for mentoring others,” said John Sharoun, CEO of Crawford’s Canadian operations.
“His passion for learning extends to his colleagues and staff, and he has always been a strong advocate and member of industry associations.”

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The International Institute of Loss Adjusters recently held its Annual General Meeting and Conference at Queenstown, New Zealand. Canadians attending the event included current CIAA national president Greg Merrithew (centre) and two former CIAA national presidents, Skip Sutherland (right) and Fred Plant.

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CSL Global has opened a new business operation in Canada.
CSL Global (Canada) Ltd will initially operate from key offices in Toronto and Vancouver, led by Captain John Hosty, effective Jan.1, 2012.
Other key members of the team include Andrew Rayner, Philip Vardon and Ken Rayner, based in Toronto, and Kaivan Chinoy in Vancouver.
CSL Global (Canada) Ltd provides a comprehensive range of specialist marine survey and claims handling services including cargo, transit, hull and machinery and P&I.

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On Sept. 16 to 17, 2011, GUS celebrated its 20th anniversary at the Hilton in Gatineau QC, with more than 275 Quebec and Ontario franchise personnel in attendance. It was a great evening of recognition and included a special tribute as to how the GUS brand began. (left to right) Louise Larochelle, Lorne McIntyre, Steven Chin, Pierre Bedard and Doris Landry.

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On Sept. 15, 2011, GUS held its annual golf tournament and raised $28,000 for their charity La Foundation. The charity raises money for families who have suffered a property loss and was under insured. Since its inception 10 years ago, GUS has raised $300,000 for those families in need.

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Granite Claims Solutions has purchased Vancouver-based Advance Claims Service Ltd. This is the company’s fifth acquisition in the past twelve months.
Advance Claims is an independent adjusting firm in British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kelowna, Penticton, Vancouver Island and Squamish/Whistler. Known for providing innovative claims solutions to an impressive client roster, Advance Claims for the foreseeable future will continue to operate under the Advance name as a division of Granite Claims Solutions.
The founder of Advance Claims, David Porter, will assume the role of vice president, Western Region for Granite Claims Solutions.

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The Canadian Insurance Claims Managers’ Association and the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association Alberta Chapters held its annual joint educational conference on Oct. 20, 2011. The event, held at Coast Edmonton Plaza, provided a broad spectrum of timely material through both an educational and a networking component. Nearly 100 guests attended the four educational sessions:

• Condominium Losses – Working with multiple policies and reluctant property managers; Randal Carlson and Peter Gi bson, Field Law

• Top Ten Property Coverage Issues – A review of recent case law developments; Jill Shore, Dolden Wallace Folick LLP

• Priority of Liability Insurance for Rental Vehicles… reviewing the March 2011 legislative changes; Shawn Sipma and Galan Lund, Brownlee LLP

• Recent Developments in Canadian Tort Law; Kathleen Duffield, Dolden Wallace Folick LLP

The lunch hour included a meet and mingle, where local vendors were invited to join the delegates to network.

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The national directorate of the Canadian Insurance Claims Managers Association held its annual general meeting on September 17 and 18.
The meetings were held in beautiful Niagara on the Lake.
The AGM wrapped up with a Toronto Chapter meeting which included a panel discussion that included Wayne Ross, VP national property claims, Aviva Canada; Harold Hopf, senior VP claims, Swiss Re;  Carol Jardine, senior VP claims, TD Insurance; Lyndon Friesen, VP claims, Red River Mutual. The discussion centered around “the status of claims” on a national perspective.
The CICMA executive for 2011-2012 term is: past president, Lyndon Friesen, Red River Mutual, (Manitoba); president, Robert Hertner, Allstate Insurance (Ottawa); vice president, Lynn Ross, Aviva (Nova Scotia); treasurer, John Russell, Aviva (British Columbia); secretary, Sharon Clark, CAA, (Toronto)

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Kristel Doucet, representing CICMA’s Bluenose Nova Scotia Chapter, presented Tara Blenus with the Highest CIP award.

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Queenstown, New Zealand was the site of the International Institute of Loss Adjusters’ annual general meeting and conference Nov. 5, 2011, which featured the election of the IILA’s 2011-12 executive board. Pictured are (left to right): Tom Moss (USA), secretary; Fred Plant (Canada), president and treasurer; Hakan Ileri (Turkey), first vice president;  Ted Wheeler (Australia), director at large; Michael Hale (USA), immediate past president. Absent: Paul May (England), second vice president.

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The International Federation of Adjusting Associations (IFAA), hosted its third International Claims Conference in London on Oct. 12, 2011. The seminar, held at the Association of British Insurers, f
ocused on CAT claims and incorporated insightful presentations by Bob Wedoff of LWG International as well as independent adjusters.
Mark Ellis from Thornton Tomasetti spoke on the Christchurch earthquake catastrophes and the many complex issues associated with those events. Claims professionals from around the world attended the Conference.
Pictured (left to right) are immediate past president of IFAA and conference organizer Paul May of Concordia Consultancy with delegates Chad Hancock of Windsor Partners (London) and Fred Plant of Plant Hope Adjusters (Canada).
The next IFAA Conference is being planned for June 2012 to coincide with the NAIIA’s 75th convention in Puerto Rico.
Further details about the IFAA can be found at www.adjustersworldwide.org

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Stephen Robb, current president of the CICMA New Brunswick chapter, presented the Top FCIP award to Sarah Gibson of TD Insurance at the annual convocation for the Insurance Institute.

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Correction: In the October/November 2011 issue of Claims Canada, a photo of Michael McLeod, which appeared on page 42, was incorrectly labeled. We apologize for the error.