What’s New: In Brief (May 25, 2009)

Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers Ltd., in Hamilton, Ont., has achieved the Gold Standard Broker status by Risk Management Standards.
Gold Standard Brokers meet rigorous international guidelines for best practices in all aspects of broker management, a Dan Lawrie release says.
The process to become a Gold Standard Broker requires a scored third party operations audit of the following components of a broker’s office:
•    Human resources;
•    Information technology;
•    Finance;
•    Customer service;
•    Organization capacity; and
•    Producer/CSR activity.
Brokers must achieve and maintain a score of 90% or better on their overall weighted audit (there is a review audit every two years in order to maintain the Gold Standard Certification).

Saskatchewan has proposed a graduated driver licensing (GDL) program for new motorcycle drivers, to be introduced in 2011.
Similar to the province’s GDL program for passenger vehicles, the proposed motorcycle GDL program will have three stages.
If a new motorcycle driver displays good driving experience with no incidents or interruptions, they will graduate to an experienced ‘M’ endorsed licence in 36 months. Any incidents or interruptions will delay this process, an SGI release says.
SGI noted the province’s current GDL program for passenger vehicles has reduced at-fault crashes by 18% among new drivers.