True Believer

Stephen Halsall has no intention of trying to reinvent the wheel. The incoming president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) knows full well that year-after-year efforts so impressively accomplished by his predecessors and IBAC staff has set brokers on the road to the right destination.

As always, a few bumps should be expected along the way. But that inevitability only makes everyone all the more determined to get things running smoothly.

“Everyone who comes into these positions continue the good work that everyone has done before them. It’s not like a new sheriff in town,” Halsall says, laughing.

Halsall came by being a broker honestly; his father worked in insurance and even served as president of the broker association in New Brunswick.

Halsall began his career at the family brokerage, and once hooked, worked hard to enhance his insurance education.

Looking to spread his wings, he was quick to seize the opportunity when a position as a marketing representative opened up at General Accident. He remained at the company for six years, working his way from marketing representative to commercial underwriter and, finally, as marketing supervisor.

His time there gave him a different perspective of the business. But despite the experience gained, his heart was with brokerages.

So in 1996, Halsall made that want a reality with the purchase of Halsall Insurance Limited in Saint John. It would be almost two decades more before he would partner with five friends and colleagues to form GoToInsure, or GTI Brokerage Group Inc. The group – made up of Halsall, John Stevens, Steven White, Denis Daigle, Marc Leger and Terry Gaudet – are all second- and third-generation brokers and past presidents of the Insurance Brokers Association of New Brunswick.

All six share a goal: keep brokerages independent and available for the next generations of brokerage owners.

That objective illustrates both the opportunities and challenges that brokers face today – and is expected to figure prominently in Halsall’s efforts over the coming year.

While the issues to be tackled in the coming year fall along usual lines, familiarity makes them no less important.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT

“Twenty-five years ago, every year you’d see four or five different new brokerages start up in your trading area. Now you hardly see any,” Halsall comments. “I think that’s something we have to work on as an industry, to make sure we still have some new entrants.”

So much for the new. What about the old?

Brokers will inevitably retire and brokerages will be put up for sale, but should these always go to the highest bidder? Surely not, Halsall says.

Since its launch, GTI has acquired three brokerages and expects more to follow. That said, two of the brokerages in question continue to be locally run.

“We added new partners rather than just taking over and eliminating,” he says.

When a brokerage is up for sale, “I hope brokers across the country will give their local competitors a chance to continue in their community,” Halsall says.

“We’re true believers in the broker channel so that’s what we want to look at going forward.”

That objective will be greatly aided by not only service, but efficiency. That is where technology can play an important role for both brokers and brokerages.

“Technology is what drives our cost-effectiveness and we’ve got to take the new platforms and technologies and use them,” Halsall contends. And that means all brokerages – small, medium and large.

“We want to have brokers have the ability to do transactions right on the spot, right on the company’s portal,” he says. “All these things will make us more effective in dealing with direct writers and other competitors.”

One thing Halsall would like to emphasize over the course of his presidency is to promote the importance of succession planning. “Succession is key to the strength of our industry on the brokerage side,” he points out.

“I want succession planning for brokerages because so many of the key players and the owners are at an age where they’re starting to think of retirement,” he says.

Beyond succession, though, is renewal. The goal would be to give those on the independent side “an equal shake at the opportunity to try to transfer ownership. There’s always players out there with more cash, but I think the independent broker down the street needs to have just as much opportunity to make a financial arrangement with the current owner,” he says.

“I would like to have more broker-to-broker sales in succession because I do get a little worried when I see the large consolidators, sometimes taking out of the channel and putting in the direct route,” Halsall says. “I know everybody says bigger is better, but with the diversity of Canada, I think there’s a lot of room for small and medium-sized brokers in the number of communities we have across the country.”

Although no one wants a competitor right across the street, he acknowledges, “we all realize that if there’s room for another competitor, I’d rather have a broker than a direct writer or some other form of channel.”

GIVING BACK

It all comes down to giving back. Previous generations have donated their time, effort and resources to get IBAC to where it is today.

“We’ve all done this to make the industry better, make it stronger and ensure the consumer is looked after,” says Halsall, a perennial participant in industry associations and an instructor of numerous insurance courses.

But there is also getting to the giving. “The people you meet, the friendships you make, the things you learn, all strengthen your business,” Halsall says.

It is time to give back to the industry that has provided him and his family with so many opportunities over the years.

And believing in that is easy indeed.