Moves (May 01, 2008)

Toronto’s famed Roy Thomson Hall, usually host to symphonies, provided the backdrop to the AIG Canada 2008 Symposium in April. Industry delegates gathered to discuss The Globalization of Liability: Managing Multinational Solutions. Paul Brophy, senior vice president of AIG Executive Liability’s national accounts division, moderated the first panel session, exploring globalization and litigation trends around the world. Panel participants included

Christopher Blum, senior vice-president and general counsel of AIG Executive Liability, Alan D’Silva, partner at Stikeman Elliot LLP, and Helaine Pruzan, director of foreign general claims at American International Underwriters.

Lloyd’s of London has appointed LoriAnn Lowery as its new president of Lloyd’s North America and Deborah Moor as president of Lloyd’s Canada. Lowery will be responsible for all business operations across the United States and Canada, including business development and distribution, communications and marketing, a Lloyd’s release says. She most recently served as managing director and national practice leader for risk management and financial products for Wells Fargo Insurance Services. Moor is currently the head of international regulatory projects in Lloyd’s international market access team. She will begin working in Canada in September, taking over for Nicholas Smith who held the position for nine years.

IntegResource Canada, a restoration company, has announced that Genesis Restorations is now a partner contractor. “Genesis is a valued addition to our national network and will provide exceptional restoration service in the Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Okanagan regions,” IntegResource Canada notes in a release. Genesis is the first partner company to IntegResource Canada in British Columbia. Chubb Insurance Company of Canada lifted the curtain on its new product, Film Producers Risk Policy, at the Canadian Film Centre. The event was hosted by Ellen J. Moore, president and CEO of Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, as well as Nellie Lindner, senior underwriter, Andrew Steen, senior vice president, and Gene Williams, vice president of Chubb & Son and worldwide entertainment manager for Chubb Commercial Insurance. Guests from across the country were treated to hors d’oeuvres and a private screening of a video detailing the new form of coverage for the film industry.

John McGlynn, president and CEO of Kingsway General Insurance Company, accepted Toronto Insurance Women’s Association (TIWA)’s Patron of the Year Award. Kingsway was recognized for encouraging the personal and professional growth of its employees and supporting the common good of society through TIWA. The association also honoured its past presidents at its April dinner meeting at the Toronto Board of Trade.

Marsh has created a new global leadership structure for its Global Risk Management division. Peter Cleyn was selected to serve as the regional leader for Canada. The company, as part of the shuffle, has also established a multinational practice that will coordinate Marsh’s delivery of insurance brokerage and risk consulting services for clients operating in all parts of the world.

McLarens Canada has opened a Moncton, NB office. Pierrette LeBlanc has been appointed branch manager. She has more than 20 years of experience working as both an independent and staff bilingual all lines adjuster. McLarens Canada has expanded its national presence over the past year, establishing 12 additional locations in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and PEI. “We remain focused on our strategic expansion plans and will continue on this theme throughout 2008,” the company notes in a release.

Aviva Canada, has re-branded its subsidiaries Pilot Insurance Company and Scottish & York Insurance Co. Ltd. Moving forward the companies will be known as Aviva Pilot and Aviva Scottish & York. Aviva, which has been insuring Canadians since 1906, was created out of an amalgamation of numerous insurance companies. The company is in the final stages of creating a single corporate brand. “By adopting the Aviva brand mark, Aviva Pilot and Aviva Scottish & York clearly become part of the ‘One Aviva’ value proposition for consumers and insurance brokers in Canada,” Aviva Canada president and CEO Robin Spencer said in a press release.

Allstate Insurance Company of Canada has expanded its presence in Eastern Canada with the opening of three new agencies — one in Saint John, NB and two in Moncton, NB. Last year, the company announced it was redesigning the look and feel of its existing offices and launched the “new Allstate Insurance Agency.” The new agency platform “creates a consistent delivery model,”with agents in each office accountable for managing specific consumer needs. These specific needs include creating and developing new business relationships; identifying additional features to meet changing and evolving insurance needs; and strengthening relationship at renewal and providing customer service and support, an Allstate release says. Fifteen new Allstate Insurance Agencies are now in operation, with plans for an opening in Fredericton later this year, the release adds. CGI Group Inc. has launched a service to help Canadian government agencies and police identify vehicles that do not have insurance. CGI teamed up with the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario to refine its Insurance Validation Service through a number of pilot projects in Ontario and Atlantic Canada in 2007, a CGI release says. These pilot projects and field trials included an evaluation conducted by RCMP National Traffic Service. By helping the authorities to identify uninsured drivers, the system is designed to minimize the number of incidents involving uninsured drivers, which results in the consumer paying higher insurance premiums and registration fees. “Now that we have shown that the solution helps address this serious concern, we look forward to working with all parties to make this service available coast-tocoast,” said Wayne Beck, vice president of consulting services at CGI.

ING Insurance has launched a new and improved ‘My Name Identity Theft Assistance Plus’ product in Ontario. The product reimburses basic expenses associated with identity theft. Furthermore, it covers the costs of replacing any stolen government-issued identification; legal fees incurred to recover any assets someone else fraudulently acquired; and up to four credit reports and 12 months’ worth of credit monitoring. Along with providing the enhanced coverage, ING Insurance is collaborating with Fellowes, a global manufacturer of business machines, and TransUnion, a leader in credit and information management, to educate Ontario consumers and encourage them to take a more proactive role in protecting themselves from identity theft. “Surveys have shown that while most people have heard of identity theft, they are not well informed as to exactly what it is and how it happens,” said Chris Ross, product development manager for ING Insurance. “The education campaign we have launched in Ontario is critical to ensure our customers understand the scope of the problem and more importantly how to protect themselves from becoming victims.”

Desjardins Group and recycling company Cascades have teamed up to support each other’s sustainable development and business reciprocity initiatives. Under the agreement, according to a joint release, the two companies will collaborate in: developing a preferred partnership for the Desjardins Paper Challenge; co-operating to fulfill the 12 corporate actions adopted by Desjardins as part of the Change the World, One Step at a Time campaign; Cascades’ development of a service as part of an energy efficiency program for Desjardins Group’s real estate holdings; and Cascades’ offering a service as a recovery agent/recycler to Desjardins Group’s residual materials management program and/or acting as an accreditor for Qubec’s ICI ON RECYCLE! program.

The Co-operators has donated Cdn$10,000 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph (
BBBSG) to help reach out to potential volunteers and new funding sources. The funding will enable BBBSG to carry out a four-phase, re-branding and promotional campaign, recruitment videos aimed at both potential volunteers and corporate partners and membership in a database through which the organization gains access to new sources of potential funding. The final phase of the campaign is expected to be in place by late 2008.