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Settling claims in-house was one reason this MGA got acquired


October 7, 2018   by Greg Meckbach


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Totten Insurance Group Inc. might start offering brokers quotes within 24 hours on certain lines, the company’s president told Canadian Underwriter Friday.

Totten, a Toronto-based managing general agent, recently acquired Saint John, N.B.-based MGA Anderson McTague & Associates Ltd., a coverholder in the Lloyd’s market. As a result, Totten now has 11 offices across Canada – up from nine.

Anderson McTague – whose second office is in St. John’s, Nfld. – commits to providing quotes within 24 hours on some lines, such as vacant and seasonal buildings, Totten president Denis Dei Cont said in an interview.

“Our thoughts are that we will leverage [Anderson McTague’s service] across our platform at some point in time,” Dei Cont said, referring to a technology Anderson McTague developed called Team 24. Although the commitment is to providing a quote within 24 hours, Anderson McTague normally provides a quote within two to three hours on a working day, in certain lines, Dei Cont suggested.

Totten will continue using the Anderson McTague brand name to serve brokers down east.

A subsidiary of Chicago-based Hub International, Totten was founded in 2002 by H. Ross Totten, who was CEO until 2012, when he was succeeded by Heather Masterson, who left Totten in 2015 to become CEO of Travelers Canada. Totten’s current CEO is Susan Murphy, who moved from RSA to Hub Ontario in 2012.

Murphy said Friday that the quality and experience of the 26 Anderson McTague employees who have moved to Totten was “absolutely key” in Totten’s decision to acquire Anderson McTague.

“Anderson McTague has top calibre talent across Atlantic Canada,” Murphy said in an interview. Among the new Totten employees are Anderson McTague president Chuck McTague, who now reports to Dei Cont.

“The majority of these people are long serving very well experienced staff with a strong knowledge of the MGA space,” Dei Cont said Friday. “They have an excellent claims department – something that we can learn from and leverage for the rest of the firm.”

“They get involved in claims within hours of them happening and settle them very quickly,” Murphy said of Anderson McTague. “At Totten, we have individuals who work on claims and claims handling but we typically use third party adjusters. So being able to leverage [Anderson McTague’s] expertise where they settle in-house – it just changes the entire experience for the policyholder.”

Dei Cont said Friday that Totten’s offerings include professional lines, hospitality, health care and environment, as well as insurance for construction and roofing companies.

“We bring deeper experience or underwriting expertise that will allow [Anderson McTague] to broaden their appetite in the future,” he said.

For its part, Anderson McTague gives Totten a “geographical foothold in the Atlantic provinces,” Murphy said.


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