Moves (September 01, 2006)

Crawford Adjusters Canada welcomes John Taylor as vice president, human resources and training. Taylor began his career as an independent insurance adjuster at Crawford after graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Bachelor of Business Administration program in 1986. He worked as an all-lines adjuster in the firm’s Guelph branch upon graduation and was appointed branch manager in 1995. In 2000, Taylor worked in Ottawa as part of the project team establishing the Hepatitis C Class Action Administration Centre, and acted as project manager of the Walkerton Compensation Plan Class Action Settlement Agreement since the summer of 2000. He has been involved in Crawford’s Professional Development Team since 1995. In addition to his practical experience as a field adjuster and a branch manager with additional head office responsibilities, Taylor is a Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP), a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) and holds a certificate in Adult Education from St Francis Xavier University.

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Hub International Ontario Ltd. has welcomed Dennis J. Pauls to the position of president and CEO, effective Sept. 5, 2006. Pauls previously served as the CFO of Hub International Ltd. for more than six years. Hub International said it is currently identifying a candidate to replace Pauls as CFO; in the meantime, Pauls will continue to serve as CFO of the company. “Ontario is one of the leading markets in Canada and continues to be a great opportunity for our growth,” Hub International chairman and CEO Martin P. Hughes said. “All of our business stakeholders in Ontario – clients, markets and employees – are going to realize the benefits of Dennis’ move to Ontario.” Pauls joined Hub International as CFO in 1999 after serving as CFO of one of the company’s founding brokerages. As CFO for Hub, Pauls has overseen financial reporting and information technology. In addition, he participated with management in taking the company public in both Canada and the U.S. Pauls was also instrumental in helping coordinate numerous financing transactions and integrating more than 120 acquisitions.

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All 600 Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores throughout Ontario opened their doors to public donations in support of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) as of Aug. 1, 2006. Donation boxes for TIRF were displayed at every LCBO checkout counter until Aug. 31. TIRF president and CEO Robyn Robertson extended the Foundation’s thanks to the LCBO, its employees and customers for the opportunity. TIRF, with the mission to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries, designs, promotes, and implements programs and policies based on its research. TIRF’s research focuses on the problem of drinking and driving; in particular, it monitors changes in the magnitude of drinking and driving, identifies high-risk groups of drinking drivers, and identifies cost-effective meaningful solutions. “LCBO’s customers have always responded generously to worthy causes, and we thank them for providing a positive change in so many peoples’ lives,” LCBO acting chair and CEO Philip J. Olsson said.

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Chief and senior executive officers of the property and casualty insurance industry can look forward to a new Canadian insurance conference planned for the end of September 2007. The inaugural National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC) will be held in Montral from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2007. MSA Research president Joel Baker is heading up the NICC along with partner R2 communications, a Toronto event management and communications firm. “The cancellation of the Canadian Insurance Congress earlier this year has left a vacuum in the market,” Baker said. “The NICC fills this void by offering participants a high-level, content-rich conference.” The mandate of the NICC is to provide Canadian and international insurance professionals a venue to meet, network and strengthen their business relationships. “CEOs and other senior executives of insurers, intermediaries, reinsurers and industry associations I’ve spoken with have been extremely supportive of this initiative,” Baker says. “The sessions will be of the highest caliber, including Canadian and international speakers who will engage delegates with issues that are of critical importance to them.” The NICC is currently assembling a senior advisory committee representing a cross-section of the industry. “With their invaluable input, we’re shaping a conference that meets the diverse needs of the property and casualty industry,” Baker said. “It’s imperative that this conference tackle issues that are relevant and thought-provoking.” Details about NICC will follow over the coming months.

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The Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) has selected Aptify as its enterprise-wide customer and member relationship management software. Aptify is an international provider of customer and member relationship management, e-Business, education management and other applications. By using Aptify to serve as a central data repository for all of IIC’s international affiliates, the Institute says it will be able to improve many business processes. IIC believes the new system will allow it to grow its existing membership activities, reduce and eliminate manual and duplicate efforts required to maintain business, improve internal and external communications, improve collaboration between Institute locations and streamline the consistency of content amongst the provincial Web sites. Aptify’s integrated business applications will, IIC says, provide them with analytical and reporting tools for its growing business intelligence requirements. More than 20 Institutes and chapters across Canada connect through Aptify. The Institute says Aptify will be able to maintain professional programs and manage examinations for more than 35,000 individuals.

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David Paige, currently the groups risk director at Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc, will be stepping down from the group board and leaving the group at the end of the year. Moving forward, the company said the group risk function will be split between insurance and non-insurance risk. In line with this approach, Royal & SunAlliance will appoint a new group underwriting and claims director to the group executive committee with specific responsibility for insurance risk. Neil Macmillan, who currently operates as the group chief auditor, will handle all of the responsibility for non-insurance risks, including compliance. Paige will remain group risk director until the end of 2006.

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Travel Underwriters has entered into a new initiative, becoming the underwriting partner for travel medical insurance products endorsed by The PrimeLink Lifestyle Association and sold by Broker Advantage, an Ontario-based health MGA. Travel Underwriters said the partnership will strengthen its presence in Canada by introducing its travel medical insurance products through PrimeLink’s well-established channels. PrimeLink-endorsed insurance sells directly to consumers aged 40 or older through an administrative relationship with Broker Advantage. For PrimeLink, the partnership means it now has the backing of a Canadian travel medical insurance provider, as it expands its insurance distribution outside of Ontario for the first time. PrimeLink President Mark Simone said: “We have seen significant product growth in sales in the last two years in our baby boomer and snowbirds network. Working with Travel Underwriters will greatly assist our goal of expansion out of our core markets in Ontario.”