Moves and Views

1 Travelers Insurance Company of Canada recently named Lucy Hathaway [1] as its new vice president, middle market, business insurance. Hathaway joins Travelers Canada from RSA, bringing with her 18 years in underwriting and management roles in commercial insurance. Her experience includes managing small, middle and large accounts, with much of her time spent in western Canada. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company and Travelers Guarantee Company of Canada are the Canadian licensed insurers known as Travelers Canada.

2 First General Services Canada Ltd. has made several new senior appointments. Frank Mirabelli [2] is now chief operations officer for Canadian operations while Adrian Mirabelli has taken on duties as vice president, property management division liaison of Canadian operations at the property and damage restoration firm. Toronto-based First General Services has also named Randy Millar as vice president, quality assurance and client liaison for Canadian operations. Chris Johannesen, a former district manager for FirstOnSite Restoration LP, has accepted the position of general manager for the company’s Vancouver office. First General has more than 80 affiliates in Canada and the United States.

3 Toronto-based Iter8 Inc., which offers software-as-a-service for property and casualty brokers and agents, has been acquired by Quindell Portfolio Plc in Fareham, England. The teams of both firms “have worked closely over the past year to develop a pipeline of opportunities, including those relating to the roll out of telematics-based insurance models for the Canadian market with existing customers,” Rob Terry [3a], chairman of technology provider Quindell, notes in a press release. “With our two technology sets now integrated and first client implementations contracted, we are very confident that we can use our knowledge and standing within the North American market… to accelerate Quindell’s technology and outsourcing growth in North America,” says Iter8 co-founder and executive vice president, Tim Scurry [3b].

4 Burns & Wilcox Canada has welcomed two new senior staff. Brian Neale, a former senior marketing specialist at Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, has been named the company’s new national sales and marketing manager, notes a statement from the commercial broker. Past treasurer of the Toronto Insurance Marketing Representatives Association and a former vice president of the Brampton Brokers Association, Neale was a senior marketing specialist at Chubb. Before that, he spent 12 years at Gore Mutual Insurance Company, where he managed 60 brokerage accounts. Also joining the Burns & Wilcox team as a property and liability underwriter is Deanne Taylor, who will be based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Before coming to Burns & Wilcox, Taylor had 14 years of industry experience as an underwriter, claims adjuster and customer service representative. Previously manager of the homeowners department at Atlantic Insurance Company, she has also worked at Cal Legrow Insurance and Crosbie Job Insurance.

5 Property restoration firm Winmar Franchise Corp. has announced that it will use software from Symbility Solutions Inc. to let staff generate estimates using their smartphones and tablets. Winmar has signed a multi-year agreement to integrate the Symbility software, including Mobile Claims, which is available on Apple Inc.’s iPad and iPhones, as well as smartphones running on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, says a statement from Winmar in London, Ontario. “Mobile Claims will enable Winmar staff to quickly and easily generate accurate estimates, improve efficiencies and shorten the claims-estimating process,” the statement notes. As well, the company will implement Symbility’s Claims Connect property and casualty claims workflow management software, which “will streamline the claims-estimating process by reducing cycle time and increasing accuracy in all aspects of the claims-handling process.”

6 Toronto-area brokerage firm CG&B Group Inc. has acquired the majority of assets of Believer Plus Insurance Brokers Ltd. Launched in 1997 by The Mitchell-Abbott Group Insurance Brokers, Believer Plus represents CG&B Group’s 16th acquisition in 14 years, the firm reports. CG&B Group will now have 225 employees and $175 million in annual premium volume. “Believer Plus is a good strategic fit for CG&B, and we look forward to continuing to grow this book of business,” H. Larry Later [6], president and CEO of The CG&B Group Inc., says in the press release.

7 ACE Group has formed an agriculture property and casualty business, dubbed ACE Agribusiness. The business is comprised of Penn Millers Insurance Company and the Farm and Ranch division of Rain and Hail Insurance Service, both of which were previously acquired by ACE. The business will offer farm and ranch and specialty p&c commercial insurance products and services, while Rain and Hail will continue to provide crop insurance under its existing name.

8 Brokerage firm Hunters International Insurance of Toronto recently announced it has accepted an invitation to join UNiBA Partners, a Brussels-based provider of risk management, brokerage and employee benefits services. UNiBA has broker partners in 130 countries, while other partners in Canada include Axis Insurance Managers Inc. in Vancouver and GPL assurance inc. in Montreal, notes a company statement. Founded by Brooke Hunter in 2005, Hunters International provides brokerage services for risks such as property, business interruption, liability, employment practices, boiler and machinery and kidnap and ransom.

9 Plant Hope Adjusters has announced the opening of its ninth office in Atlantic Canada.

Located in Bedford, Nova Scotia, within the Halifax Regional Municipality, senior adjuster Mike Connolly [9] will serve as the principal adjuster in the new office. The company’s network of nine offices and its team of 29 adjusters provides services across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Plant Hope Adjusters offers loss investigation, marine surveying and claims management to both carriers and to self-insured clients.

10 Frank Cutruzzola [10] has been named Forensic Investigations Canada’s (FIC) manager of investigations in the company’s Hamilton, Ontario branch. Offering services such as investigations and surveillance for disability and injury claims, FIC is a division of Edmonton-based SCM Insurance Services, which also owns ClaimsPro and CIRA Medical Services.

11 Doug Tremblay [11], chief operating officer of Rochon Engineering, recently became a managing partner for the firm, its parent company reports. Bolton, Ontario-based Rochon Engineering, whose services include fire investigation, motor vehicle accident reconstruction and failure analysis of mechanical and electrical systems, is part of Granite Global Solutions, out of Toronto. Tremblay, a mechanical engineer specializing is accident reconstruction and failure analysis, has been with the company since 2007. He has worked in forensic engineering and the automotive and aerospace industries.