Moves & Views

Credit scoring should be banned throughout Canada, according to more than half (58%) of respondents to www.canadianunderwriter.ca‘s latest online poll. Of the 163 respondents, 42% said “no” to an all-out ban on the use of credit
scoring in Canada.

Greg Dunn has been appointed executive vice president of Claims and Customer Service Operations (C&CSO) at Aviva Canada. C&CSO comprises claims, complex claims, broker and customer care, strategy and shared services and performance assessment and analytics. Dunn joined Aviva Canada in 2004 as vice president of corporate development for Pilot Insurance Company. He most recently served as chief risk officer representing the property and casualty business for Aviva in North America. His experience spans a wide variety of disciplines, including risk, actuarial, pricing, underwriting, sales and product development. “Greg is an innovative and insightful leader who has successfully driven many strategic initiatives during his career with Aviva,” said Maurice Tulloch, Aviva Canada’s president and CEO. “We are proud of the improvements we made in our claims and customer service area over the past two years and we know he will build on that too.”

Joel McQuilkin has been appointed director of specialty services-transportation fleet services at Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd. (Cunningham Lindsey). McQuilkin will be responsible for providing leadership to the national network of transportation fleet specialists across Canada. He will concentrate on increasing the division’s presence within the Canadian marketplace and the claims handling of these specialized losses. A Chartered Insurance Professional, McQuilkin joined Cunningham Lindsey in 1992. Since that time, he has specialized in trucking and transportation-related claims adjusting.

John O’Donnell has been appointed president and CEO of Allstate Canada Group of Companies and its affiliates. O’Donnell succeeds Chris Kiah, who has returned to parent company Allstate Corporation in Northbrook, Illinois, to work on a variety of projects supporting Allstate agencies in the United States. O’Donnell joins Allstate Canada from his role as field vice-president of the southeast region with Allstate Corporation. He was formerly with GMAC Insurance, where he was instrumental in creating and implementing numerous business development initiatives. He has held leadership roles with a number of companies including The Walt Disney Corporation and served as an associate in the investment management division of Goldman Sachs.

Economical Mutual Insurance Company has appointed Philip Mather as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1, 2011. Mather is currently a partner in the audit and assurance group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, specializing in the financial services practice. Mather has more than 16 years of financial consulting experience. He has provided audit and assurance services to a wide range of global insurers, Canadian-listed companies and Canadian federally regulated banks and insurance companies. He has also worked on numerous assurance and advisory engagements with a variety of financial services clients, focusing on the areas of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, accounting advice, risk management and governance. Prior to joining the Toronto office of Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, Mather worked for PwC in the United Kingdom, where he focused on the provision of audit and assurance services to clients in a wide range of industries.

Garreth Elston has been appointed vice president of analytics and corporate development at MSA Research Inc. Elston has more than 12 years of international capital markets experience in the investment management, strategy and research fields. He holds an MBA in finance and private equity from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. “Garreth’s sharp analytical skills will greatly strengthen MSA’s bench strength, allowing us to ramp up service delivery, customer-support and analytical product development going forward,” Joel Baker, MSA’s president and CEO, said in a release.

McLarens Canada has been renamed Granite Claims Solutions. McLarens is a subsidiary company of Granite Global Solutions Inc. (GGS), which offers independent adjusting, private investigation, disability management, structured settlement and forensic engineering services to corporate, legal, insurance and government clients. GGS is part of Granite Partners, a boutique private equity firm based in Toronto that targets profitable, well-managed, manufacturing and service companies with sales in the $10-million to $100-million range. McLarens Canada began 35 years ago in Toronto as Ponton Coleshill Insurance Adjusters. Since then, the company has grown to more than 500 employees and provides claims services across Canada from almost 50 branch offices. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Granite offers a national presence to the domestic property and casualty insurance industry. It has more than 300 specialty claims adjusters, marine surveyors and third party administrators coast to coast in Canada.

Michael Baxter has been appointed vice president of property of the Canadian branch of XL Insurance Company Limited, part of the insurance underwriting operations of XL Group plc. Reporting to Joseph Tocco, head of XL Insurance’s North America property unit, Baxter will be responsible for managing XL Insurance’s Canadian property business, including energy and construction-related property coverages. He is based in XL’s Toronto office. Baxter joins XL Insurance from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, where he was vice president of engineering and construction. Previously he served as CEO and chief agent of Arch Insurance Group’s Canadian operations, and was subsequently appointed worldwide chief underwriting officer for Arch Insurance Group’s onshore energy (technical risk) and CAR/EAR businesses.

ClaimsPro Inc., a Canadian independent adjusting company, has completed the acquisition of Brouwer Claims Canada & Co. Ltd., a Vancouver-based independent adjusting firm that has been serving Canadian clients for more than 25 years. The transaction aligns with ClaimsPro’s strategy to build the most comprehensive claims adjusting company from coast to coast, the company says in a press release. “This acquisition will add further strength to our already deep talent pool of adjusters,” the release says. “In addition, we will proudly be offering services as ClaimsPro with many new locations in Canada.” ClaimsPro now has more than 1,050 insurance professionals.

FirstOnSite Restoration has beefed up its Western leadership team with the appointment of two new directors. Scott McFie is now director of commercial business development in Western Canada. McFie recently served as senior vice president of international business development and sales with ClaimsPro Inc. Martin Moran is now the director of business development in Western Canada. Moran joined FirstOnSite in 2010, working in its Ontario business development unit. “FirstOnSite has recognized there is a growing need for quality mitigation and restoration work in Western Canada,” said Bruce Derraugh, FirstOnSite’s chief operating officer.

IBAO is holding its ninth annual Customer Service for the Insurance Professional (CSIP) Workshop & Retreat. The event will be held in Ottawa between Nov. 9 and 12. It has been developed specifically for top performing CSR or personal lines managers. The three-day workshop and retreat offers the opportunity to learn the “best practices” of the CSIP program, fine tune customer service skills and network in a relaxed setting.