Moves (October 01, 2007)

Claude Dussault is retiring from his post as president and CEO of effective Jan. 1, 2008. He will become chairman of the company after being elected by the ING Canada board. “Claude has been the main architect of our growth strategy,” Yves Brouillette, chairman of the ING board, said in a release. “Under his tenure as CEO, the company has acquired and integrated two large insurance companies and launched one of the largest and most successful initial public offerings, making ING Canada one of the Top 100 companies in Canada. My colleagues on the board were pleased that he accepted our offer to lead the board’s activities. Claude has demonstrated a great intellect and outstanding business acumen and we are privileged that we will continue to benefit from his experience and advice.” Charles Brindamour will succeed Dussault as president and CEO beginning Jan. 1. Brindamour has held a number of executive positions both in Canada and Europe since joining ING in 1992. He has served as chief operating officer at ING Canada since January 2007. “Charles has demonstrated strong leadership abilities over the years and was instrumental in the development and execution of the vision and strategy,” Brouillette said in a release. “Yves, Claude and the management team have created an outstanding organization and have transformed ING Canada from a collection of regional insurance companies into the largest property and casualty insurance provider in the country. I am looking forward to leading the organization to new heights, together with the ING Canada team, and with the great legacy left by Yves and Claude,” Brindamour said in the release. Brouillette, who has been the chairman of ING Canada since 2002, will remain a director of ING and continue to play an active role in board committees.

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Integro Ltd. has expanded their operations to the West Coast with the opening of a new Vancouver office (the firm’s third location in Canada). The four individuals hired to run the office include Michael Baddeley, principal, who served his previous firm as senior vice president specifically focused on risk management; Norm Duncan, principal, formerly a managing director focused on sports and hospitality; Roland Waldmeier, principal, most recently senior vice president of his former firm, with particular expertise in marine and construction coverage; and Hayley Munchin, associate, with 18 years insurance industry experience. “We chose to open a Vancouver office to extend our model of providing a client-focused and flexible alternative to corporate insurance brokerage,” John Chippindale, president of Integro Canada, said in a release. “Not only are we proud to now play a part in the dynamic British Columbia business community, we are excited to establish a presence at the gateway to Asia and the Pacific Rim,” Chippindale added. Vancouver will become a full-service office with core competencies including insurance brokerage, risk analysis and modelling, and risk management and claims consulting services.

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PPG Industries’ Envirobase High Performance waterborne basecoat system was used to paint the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger, driven by Kurt Busch in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Waterborne specialists at PPG headquarters in Strongsville, Ohio formulated Penske‘s signature Miller Lite blue for the project, a PPG release says. Then PPG technical support specialist Jim Skal travelled to the Penske Racing facility in Moorseville, North Carolina, where he worked with Cesar Bustos, head painter for the Penske Racing Miller Lite vehicles. “I was amazed at how easy it was to spray waterborne paint,” Bustos said in a statement. ” It took me a few minutes to adjust to the fact that this was water based, but I was very impressed with how it sprayed and how it looked.”

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The Co-operators is preparing for significant expansion in the province of Quebec. “Today, the co-operative financial services organization announced the appointment of Martin-Eric Tremblay as senior vice-president of Co-operators Group Ltd. and president [of] Quebec Operations,” the company announced in a release. “He will be responsible for developing and implementing a Quebec growth strategy for the group of companies that will include increased sales through the broker network, the introduction of Co-operators insurance agents, and new product and service offerings in the province.” The Co-operators group of companies is currently known in Quebec through its subsidiary companies, L’UNION CANADIENNE, The Sovereign General and COSECO, which offer home, auto, commercial and group insurance. In the coming weeks, The Co-operators will also begin offering travel insurance in Quebec through its subsidiary TIC Travel Insurance Coordinators, and will subsequently resume sales of life and health insurance, the company announced. In his newly created role, Tremblay is expected to coordinate the Quebec orientations of all subsidiaries in the group of companies. The company says he will “lead the development and implementation of a Quebec growth strategy that will result in increased sales both through Quebec’s broker network and direct distribution.” Tremblay says over the next several years, “we will take a steady and deliberate approach to increase sales through our broker partners and other distribution channels. Our organization is eager to take the next step toward realizing our vision of being where Canadians are, with the financial products and services they need, when they need them, however they wish to buy them — particularly when it comes to serving Quebeckers.”

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Applied Systems Inc. has announced the first download of claims data into an automated agency management system. Claims download is now available to carriers and agencies using The Agency Manager (TAM) and its interface services, allowing a carrier to transmit all daily claim activities within nightly download communications to an agency, a company release says. “Similar to existing policy and direct bill download processes, claims download automatically locates corresponding accounts and policies within TAM and creates new records based on the carrier’s claim activity,” the company announced in a release. “The claims download process complements existing real-time claims inquiry, which allows agencies on-demand views of carrier claims information and loss runs.”

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Gary Tobin, director of RBC Insurance Services Inc.‘s reinsurance placements and markets division, is extending his thanks to those in the industry who helped him to raise funds for The Terry Fox Foundation. Tobin put his locks on the block by volunteering to participate in the “Look Like Danny Dichio” Headshave. The Red Patch Boys, a Toronto FC supporter group, ran the event. Tobin collected Cdn$3,900 in donations — a big chunk of the Cdn$11,000 the group raised — before he had his head shaved on Sept. 15, 2007 at the Toronto FC game. Tobin represented his father, a 40-year-plus claims veteran recently diagnosed with colon cancer, as well as many colleagues who have been afflicted with the disease over the years.

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The Co-operators has launched an insurance and risk management solution designed to address the challenges affecting the Alberta non-profit and volunteer industry. Community Guard, launched with the support of Volunteer Alberta, is a pilot project available to non-profit and volunteer-run organizations in Alberta. Community Guard offers insurance protection, as well as detailed assessments of each organization’s risk exp
osures, potential risk management solutions and its particular insurance needs. “Participating organizations will also have free access to The Co-operators risk management, workshops, online resources and knowledgeable staff,” according to a company release.

Guy Carpenter & Company LLC has launched a new branding campaign, ‘Capital Ideas.’ It also announced its logo will change to bring the look more in-line with that of its parent company Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC). The new campaign — including print, direct mail, event marketing and online components — features an origami theme that uses global currency to demonstrate how capital can be used more creatively and effectively, a Guy Carpenter release says. The new logo will mark a changing of colour from green to blue; it will also adopt a unified graphic treatment for the company logo that includes MMC’s other operating companies.

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Fred Plant became president of the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association during the President’s Dinner at the association’s annual general meeting and conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “It is an absolute honour to be standing here,” Plant said. The delegates in attendance watched as Plant donned the presidential hat and Miles Barber, outgoing president, received his past-president plaque and medallion.

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Kingsway Financial Services Inc. has wrapped up the first stage of implementation of Insurance Decisions, an end-to-end insurance processing application. Insurance Decisions will provide rating, quoting, underwriting, issuance, billing, reinsurance, claims administration, management-reporting and bureau-reporting services, a release notes. Lincoln General, a subsidiary of Kingsway, was issuing commercial policies using Insurance Decisions five months after implementation had begun. “The initial installation included policy, claims, billing and back-end reporting systems for three major lines of business, with the remaining lines scheduled to be completed by the end of August,” Claude Smith, vice president and CIO, noted in a release. This implementation is a step in consolidating 23 systems and 12 operating companies into one enterprise system.

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Pilot Insurance Company is continuing its investment as a full partner of the Broker Identity Program for 2007, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) announced. “Pilot is proud to continue as a full partner of the Broker Identity Program,” Maurice Tulloch, president of Pilot Insurance Company, said in a release. “We fully support and encourage brokers to boldly communicate the valuable advice, choice and coverage that they provide Canadians each and every day. Brokers form part of our safe harbour concept.” IBAC CEO Dan Danyluk added: “We are pleased that an insurer with roots in Ontario for over 80 years stands by the message being delivered every day to legislators and regulators when issues of importance to the industry come up. Pilot is a valuable partner to insurance brokers.”

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Crawford & Companyhas acquired Claimsstar.net, an online training program specifically for the property and casualty industry, in an effort to further its online training initiatives. The program will be re-branded as Crawford Online. It will be offered as a standalone Internet solution and a blended learning solution, incorporating classroom and online learning. “We intend to augment our industry-leading training position with Crawford Online and offer this educational service in North America and to our global clients,” Tom Crawford, president and CEO of Crawford & Company, said in a release.

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The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) announced the appointment of its 2007-08 executive committee at their AGM in Whistler, B.C. The committee is as follows: Larry Kozakevich, chairman; Danny Craig, president; Peter Fredericks, president-elect; Justin MacGregor, vice-president; Andrew Walker, vice-president.