Alberta Broker, April-May 2012

Cdn Publication Mail Registration 40018149April - May 2012

ON TARGET2012 IBAA ConventionON TARGET2012 IBAA Convention

NETWORKING10 Things You

Need to Know

Low-Cost Waysto Market YourBrokerage

Education DayTakes Aim atMarketing

How CompaniesHelp YOU Market

Ensuring YourClients’ GoodsAre Covered

in Transit

NEWWe Ask,

You AnswerPage 4

Dean Bailey

Well that was a fast year! It seems like only yesterday I was speaking at the convention in Jasper, thanking you all for allowing me to serve as your president and outlining my goal of increasing member engagement over the next year. During the past year, I had the opportunity to meet with members at all the local councils throughout the province. Of all the things I had the chance to experience this year, this was by far my most enjoyable and exciting duty. I used this time to gather information on what members saw as the important challenges we face going forward. The need to continue advocating with government on behalf of our customers, the challenge of competition from direct writers and other distribution models, the need to attract and retain employees in the broker distribution model and the use of technology to enhance the interaction between brokers and company partners were all identified as critical to our continued success. With this important input from members, the executive and board will be developing our next three-year

strategic plan, ensuring that the association aligns with our members and continues to be a relevant factor in our collec-tive success. Increased member usage of the professional development programs developed and delivered by your association was a key goal for us. I am pleased to report that we have seen a dramatic increase in enrollment in our various courses and webinars. Members are recognizing the quality and afford-ability of these programs and I encourage all of you to “kick the tires” and see what Lori Bartlett and her team can do for you.

This past year, we finalized our partnership with Victim Services in Alberta. Each local council established contact with local Victim Services offices in their respective areas. We provided Bipper blankets as well as sponsored the cost of producing books used to assist Victim Services when dealing with tragedies involving Alberta families. Member involve-ment with this important group provides us all with a tre-mendous chance to give back, and we should all contact our local councils to see what we can do to help them. We also developed a program in conjunction with the Alberta Junior

Message from the President

Publisher and Editor Annette HubickPrinting McCallum Printing GroupDesign and Layout Ron LeckeltAdvertising Michele Schuldhaus 780.448.2890 [email protected]

The Alberta Broker welcomes articles about the insurance industry and its people. Letters to the Editor are welcome.The opinions and viewpoints expressed in The Alberta Broker may not necessarily be those of the association and its members.

Material in The Alberta Broker may be reproduced with the credit to the author and the following: “Reprinted from the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta’s magazine - The Alberta Broker (date).”Please send a copy to the publisher.

Published six times annually by:

9249-48 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2R9T: 780.448.0936 • F: 780.465.6201E: [email protected]

The Alberta Broker is the official publication of the

President Dean BaileyChief Executive Officer George Hodgson

3010 Calgary Trail, Edmonton, AB T6J 6V4T: 780.424.3320 •1.800.318.0197F: 780.424.7418 • www.ibaa.ca

April - May 2012

IN THIS ISSUE

The Alberta Broker April - May 2012 3

3 Message from the President 4 Message from the Editor 6 Brown Bag Marketing12 Make Your Connections Count17 Did You Know? 18 Northern Exposure 20 The Advocate It’s Election Time!

22 Up For Discussion The 2012 CEO Panel

30 Know E & O 4 Ways Certs Lead to Claims

32 HICCUP Your Way Past Competitors on Facebook

continued on page 4

34 Viewpoint The Voice – IBAC’s Message Goes Global

36 Banker’s Box Got Credit?

38 Chinook Country Report 40 Legal-Ease Broker Sued Over Coverage Over Stolen Pharmaceuticals

44 Keep Your Blackberry Out of Bed 46 PYIB Perspective If You Serve Them, They Will Come

48 Commercial Break Planes, Trains and Automobiles

50 Professional Development Marketing Day at 2012 Convention

54 IBAA Convention Agenda

I am pleased to report that wehave seen a dramatic

increase in enrollment in ourvarious courses and webinars.

4 The Alberta Broker April - May 2012

Message from the President continued from page 3

Annette Hubick

Message from the Editor

Hockey League and Victim Services under the banner of the “Insurance Goal of the Game.” We will be formally rolling out this initiative at our convention this May in Calgary. It is a great marketing opportunity for brokers while enabling us to demonstrate our commitment to the local communities we serve. Speaking of conventions, I was lucky enough to attend the PYIB fall convention in Edmonton. While I just missed the cut off point for membership in the PYIB (by about 18 years), I, like all of you, was able to attend this informative and fun-filled event as a member of the IBAA. It was great to see the enthusiasm and dedication that these young bro-kers bring to our industry. I call on all brokerages to support PYIB activities and to encourage all your staff, regardless of age, to become part of this great group. On a personal note, I would like to thank Mardene

Watson for her dedicated service to our association. After six years, she is retiring from the board at this year’s convention. I have known and admired Mardene for over 20 years but I really grew to appreciate her even more over the past four years that we have worked together on the board and execu-tive. During that time, she has demonstrated what it is to be a professional insurance broker. Her knowledge of our industry and the issues, and her commitment to the advancement of the broker distribution channel, has been inspirational to me and all the members of the board who have had the opportu-nity to serve with her. Once again I thank each and every one of you for the op-portunity you gave me this past year. It has been the most memorable of my 35 years in this great business and I look forward to continuing to serve you under our new president, Scott Treasure.

In a January 1991, Regis McKenna published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Marketing Is Everything.” In the articleMcKenna states, “Marketing today is not a function; it is a way of doing busi-ness.” This is as relevant today as it was in 1991 – a statement supported by the hundreds of brokers who have requested more marketing information in this magazine and from the IBAA’s profes-sional development department. Well, ask and you shall receive. With “Target Your Market” as its theme, the IBAA conven-tion’s education component aims to deliver a wide-spectrum of marketing-related programming. Lori Bartlett gives you an overview of the speaker and seminars in her column on page 50. On page 56, you’ll find the complete convention agenda. One of the hotly anticipated events at the IBAA convention (other than

moose milk) is the CEO panel. With marketing on our minds, we asked each of panel’s participants to describe what their companies do to assist insurance brokers’ marketing efforts. Read their responses beginning on page 22. I’m pleased to announce that Karen Rutherford has agreed to lend her considerable industry experience and expertise to The Alberta Broker. Karen is well-known and respected by many brokers who’ve attended her seminars at past IBAA conventions and professional development events or viewed her work in the association’s video on demand

series. Each issue will feature an article “penned” in her own inimitable, practi-cal, thought-provoking, no-holes-barred style, starting with one on, you guessed it, marketing. Take a look on page 6 and let us know what you think ([email protected]). As always, I look forward to the convention as an opportunity to gain new insights, discover story ideas, renew friendships, gather feedback and thank you, and our advertisers, for your sup-port. Please seek me out. You’ll find me by the moose milk.

One last thing… We’re launching a new feature: We Ask. You Answer. Each issue, we’ll pose a new question in the magazine (and in IBAA E-News). We’ll run answers in the next issue. Note: respondents can request anonymity.

WeAsk.

YouAnswer.

Email your replies [email protected]

by April 30, 2012.

What can the insurance industry do to improve its public image?


BROWN BAGMARKETING

Low-Tech, Low-Touch andLow-Cost Ways to MarketYour Brokerage Image By Karen Rutherford

When Christopher Columbus left Spain in 1492, he didn’t know where he was going. When he got here, he didn’t know where he was. When he got back to Spain, he didn’t know where he had been. Chris’s story reminds me of someinsurance brokers I have met over the years who couldn’t answer these basic questions about their marketing plan: Do we have an in-depth understand-ing of what differentiates us from the competition? Do we have an in-depth understand-ing of where our growth will come from? Do we have a documented market-ing plan with results traceable on our agency management system? Marketing is “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,communicating, delivering, and ex-changing offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” For insurance brokers, it is important to remember that your image is part

Working on your image and market-ing plan is a long-term project. Let’s take a look at the marketing that you will direct to the community at large.There are many low-tech, low-touch, and low-cost ways to market yourbrokerage image in your community. How do you want to be seen in your community? Your community might be the actual town and county where most of your clients reside but it can also be a niche market such as the oil and gas business or the construction industry. Knowing exactly which com-munity you are marketing to will help you focus your plan. Spend time to determine how you want to be perceived. Do you want to be the cheapest broker in town? Do you want to be known as the guy who gives the fastest quotes (but has no growth)? Do you want to be considered profes-sional, helpful, reliable, and knowledge-able? These are questions you and your staff must debate until there is clarity.


of your marketing campaign. In this article we are going to focus on the “society” or community relations aspect of a broker’s marketing plan. Brokers in Alberta need to ask some hard questions about their image. Can you articulate how you want to be perceived in your community? When you aren’t in the room and folks are discussing insurance, what is their perception about fairness, value of the product, claims service and the value proposition of doing business with you? Have you differentiated yourself in any way? I think this is often the toughest question to answer honestly yourself. So many brokers offer com-petitive prices, great service and lots of choice. In other words, they offer NO compelling reason to do business with them as virtually the entire insurance world offers the exact same thing. I encourage brokers to be honest when doing self-evaluation. If you are, you will quickly realize there is much room for improvement, and I think a smart broker is up for the challenge.

continued on page 8


Marketing is a long-term game and you will want to be sure the big picture is clear before you spend more time and money.

Then think about your customers’demographic status. Will you be mar-keting in social media forums or is your audience easily influenced by youractivities in the community. For a moment let’s consider a broker who wants to have an organized campaign in the community where most of his personal lines clients live. The broker has identified that his key competitors for personal lines business are the direct writers. Banks and com-panies based in Eastern Canada often don’t support the local community in any way. The broker may decide that, in addition to being a great broker, he can differentiate himself from the competi-tor by being a great corporate citizen in his community and making sure this message is shared with the community. Lots of brokers I know consistently support minor sports, fundraisers for virtually every human organ and dis-ease, help out with communityinitiatives and are generally good folks to have in town. Unfortunately, many don’t leverage what they are already doing to their best advantage and make a clear statement that people in the community can understand. Look around your office. What tells your customer that you are consistently a great community supporter? Do you have a wall of fame full of photos of the minor sports teams you have

continued from page 7

continued on page 10

“Many brokers do this kind of thingalmost on a daily

basis, but darn few leverage it to help their community

recognize the value the brokerage brings to the community.”


dians like to support good people and many would like to see their money staying in the local economy. Let’s take a different example. Your brokerage has determined its best opportunity for growth is in the oil and gas sector. All the contractors and their employees are the “community” with which you need to establish and maintain an image. Some brokers may join the various associations and attend the golf tournaments; some will give prizes to those events — not bad ideas as first steps, but they won’t dif-ferentiate you from the other brokers attending, will they? If you want to be known and respected in a business community, follow the example of brokers who have volunteered for the association board of directors of the targeted community, or drafted and presented risk management seminars that are helpful to that group. For example, one broker designed a kickass risk management checklist for land-scapers involved with snow removal.


helped out? Do you have pictures of your staff at various fundraisers or town events where they have been volunteers? Do you have your thank you notes from charities you have sup-ported nicely framed and on display? Or are you like a lot of brokers who display ancient fire marks of companies long gone? Now I like fire marks as much as the next insurance person, but they don’t tell your story do they? Look at your website. Where would someone see all the great causes that you and your staff are associated with? Are there links to the boys and girls clubs, or the boy scouts or whatever non-profit your staff volunteers with? Your brokerage may be generous in other ways. Some brokers lend their board room to non-profit organiza-tions for their meetings — it is low cost and with a nice thank you notice in your front office and posted on your website, your audience will better un-derstand what good people you are.

If your brokerage is in a smaller town or city, there are many local not-for-profit groups that need support in small ways. For example, do you have a projector you can lend to groups when they need one? Or can you offer a bit of photocopying for free for a local choir, or your scanner for a few photos for a function at the local senior’s centre? Many brokers do this kind of thing almost on a daily basis, but darn few leverage it to help their commu-nity recognize the value the brokerage brings to the community. With just a little work, you can create a presence in the minds of your clients and your non-clients. You may have read the many studies conducted over the years about the types of companies Canadians like to buy from. The studies all agree: Cana-

“There is no place for modesty in the game

of marketing.”


It was a huge success. Clients and non-clients alike knew the reputation of this broker, which helped grow its business significantly. Build a community campaign that you can sustain for several years. Sim-ple things that will tie your message and your actions together is taking the time to brand everything with your corporate colours, your motto or tag line if you have one, and if you don’t it is time to craft one. Once you have determined your long-term goal for your community image and marketing, it will be easy to round out your full plan. You will be able to build a better website, offer newsletters if appropriate, blog or tweet if it meets your clients’ needs, create risk management programs, and select the best value-added services your clients will need and want. Marketing is a battle for the con-sumer’s mind. Consistency in your approach in all aspects of your com-munication is critical to getting the message out. Your advertisements, your letterhead, your website, your office, your signage, your document delivery style all come together as a compre-hensive plan to market your brokerage. As you read this article, you may well be thinking, we do all the good stuff in our community already. Good. Now I want you to leverage all the small things into an actual plan. Strut your stuff so that clients – current and potential – can see that they are do-ing business with a solid community leader, not some distant bank or direct writer. There is no place for modesty in the game of marketing.

Want more low-costcommunity-marketing

ideas?

Attend Karen Rutherford’s seminarat the IBAA conventionon May 8th in Calgary.

Register at www.ibaa.ca

KAREN RUTHERFORD

International Accelerated

[email protected]


By Vickie Milazzo

Many people spend a lot of time and nergy trying to make effective business connections, only to find that theirnetworking is not working. VickieMilazzo shares her insight on how to build meaningful relationships with the right people.

In the business world, we’re oftenadvised to network. Interested in changing careers? Network! Need to attract some new clients? Network! Wish you had a knowledgeable men-tor? Network! The fact is, networking is a valuable and effective tool that can enrich and advance your career … when you use it properly. The problem is that many of us are wasting our time with a type of networking that is not working. I see many people investing a lot of time and energy into meeting new people and making those people like them. The problem is, they’re making connections with the wrong people or they’re approaching the right people the wrong way … or both! As the founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar company, I didn’t achieve my current level of success by having breakfast with the same 16 people every Wednesday. I cultivated selective rela-tionships with careful planning. I start-ed my professional life as a nurse, and I later started a company that consults with attorneys on medical-related cases. People often comment that I must have known a lot of attorneys when I started my business, but the truth is, I didn’t. I didn’t live in their neighborhoods or get invited to their parties. What I did do was reinvent traditional networking. To see good results, you need to know what type of person can help you and where you can meet these individuals. You also need to build meaningful re-lationships once you do meet the right people. It’s all about being smart and being selective.

If you’re ready to put an end to “not”working and see the results you want, read on. Don’t just socialize — select. Perhaps because the strategy is so ubiq-uitous, many people confuse network-ing with simply being friendly. Any time you meet new people and make new connections, the thinking goes, you’re adding on to your social circle and thus networking. But that line of thought is stretching it a little thin. True networking isn’t “just” hanging out and being friendly — it’s meeting the right people. Think about it: you can chat and laugh and make friends all day — and that’s great for your social life. But unless your new buddies are also con-nected to you professionally, your efforts won’t have an effect on your resume. Remember, successful people are selec-tive about where and with whom they network. They don’t expect a block party to change their businesses. Instead, they research what they need, they locate its source, and then they connect. Make sure your group makes sense. Understanding that the neigh-bours’ cocktail party isn’t an opportunity

to network is Step One. Step Two is realizing that even among professionals, you must still continue to be selective. In other words, you won’t necessarily find the people you need at your typical networking social hour. You must create a personalized network of colleagues, clients, consultants, vendors and ac-quaintances on whom you can depend to give you anything from information to referrals. I know a woman who joined a networking group that a friend had recommended. The group turned out to consist of businesspeople, yes—but once she got to know them, my friend realized that none of her fellow group members had anything to do with her own profession. Still, she stuck it out for a year because the group had come highly recommended, and—surprise—got absolutely no business. Once she joined a group for attorneys, CPAs and bankers, all of which related directly to her own job, her career took off. Believe me, it’s worth it to research the makeup of a group before you join or the guest list of an event before you RSVP.

Make Your Connections Count10 Things You Need to Know About Successful Networking



Get outside your comfort zone. Generally, we tend to gravi-tate toward people who are similar to us: people who think similarly, who find similar things fun and who are in similar walks of life. That’s fine when it comes to your friendships, but you need to aim higher when it comes to networking. Over 60 percent of people find jobs through networking, for example, and you can bet that most of them didn’t achieve this goal because they knew someone at the bottom of the pecking order. No, I’m not advocating snobbery. It’s normal to gravitate toward people who are the same as you—but in business, one of the main reasons why people don’t get ahead is that they don’t get out of their groups. Make every effort to meet people who are a rung or two higher than you on the professional lad-der. If you impress people who are more successful than you are, they’ll have a lot more influence than someone whose position is equivalent with yours. Know when to move on. You’ve heard of beating a dead horse … but when it comes to networking, that saying could be amended to “mining a dead prospect.” In other words, no mat-ter how selective you were on the front end, don’t make the mistake of giving any particular individual or group all of your time if you aren’t seeing results or getting quality advice. Remember, networking is about busi-ness, not pleasure. That’s not to say that you can’t develop a friendly relationship with people in your network. You can, and if you do, congratulations! Just don’t allow your own hopes or your liking of someone anchor you to an unproduc-tive group. Your time is valuable, and while you’re spinning your wheels over cocktails, you could be engaging big. Instead of casting a wide net, go after individual fish. When you cast a wide net, you might garner a large number of possible contacts, but chances are you won’t be able to spend enough time building a relationship with each of them in order to make

it a worthwhile networking experi-ence. However, when you try to hook individual fish, focusing on one or two specific contacts at a time, you can build stronger, more meaningful relationships. You’ll get to know their wants and needs and they’ll have a better under-standing of yours. Develop a system for keep-ing up with details. How often have you attended a conference or other event, met a bunch of different people, and then returned home without cultivating any of those relationships?

In fact, you probably went right into planning mode for the next event on your schedule. Instead, put the informa-tion you learn from and about people to work. There are tons of apps and other software available today that can help you keep up with important details about people immediately after you meet them. When you meet some-one new, take note (electronically) of what the person looked like, what you discussed, and one or two things you




found unique about that person. That way, the next time you speak with him or if you want to reach out after the event, you can mention something that will personally interest him, allowing you to make a stronger, more lasting connection. Manage the follow up. Rubbing elbows at one or two events with a new contact does not automatically create a beneficial relationship. How you follow up with that contact is just as important as how you made your first impression. When you do check in with a new con-tact, find a way to create value. Send her an article that you think might interest her or connect her with someone you know who might be a potential new customer for her or who might be able to help her with her business. Tell her you recently put a piece of her advice to work, and thank her for her valuable insight on the matter. When you do these things, you create reasons to stay in touch and that’s a great way to keep the relationship growing. Don’t wait until you need something to follow up.Remember, the new relationships you’re forging aren’t all about you trying to get anything and everything you can out of your contacts. Be careful that you’re not constantly reaching out to them, always asking for this or that. Show how you can benefit the person as well. Simply waiting until you need something to reach out to the person will make him feel like you’re taking advantage of him. Network outside socialmedia. While networking through social media is an important way to make a connection, it’s not the only way to maintain it. You can’t and shouldn’t depend on millions of LinkedIn con-nections and Facebook friends to do the trick. Simply having an online connec-tion with a huge group of people is not going to drive that much action for you. You have to connect with social media connections offline in order to really form meaningful relationships with them. Write them letters or thank you notes. Heck, actually pick up the phone and call them! A colleague recently told me that she met with a high-level

businessperson who told her he calls four different people in his network every morning just to reach out and see how they’re doing. The lesson learned? You simply can’t lose when you create a systematic way for staying in touch! Give as much as you get.Successful networking is a two-way street. Most of us start by asking for help and advice, but as we become more knowledgeable and successful, we gain the means to help others. Remember, success isn’t a monopoly: the more creative, intelligent, and effective people there are, the more successful your en-tire industry will be. Whenever possible, give younger (or at least more inexperi-enced) people a piece of advice or a leg up whenever you can. On the flip side, no matter how suc-cessful you become, do whatever you can to help those who have helped you. Successful people are often bombarded with requests for help. They respond to the individuals they like and have a positive history with. This is where developing meaningful relationships

comes into play—if you are there for someone in your network, he or she will probably be there for you in the future. Ultimately, taking ‘not’working to networking isn’t difficult—it simply requires you to be smart about who you’re spending your time with. Always engage in powerful and meaningful networking, not just a pocketful of busi-ness cards and a glass of cheap white zinfandel. And never stop expecting high performance from your network — if it’s not productive move on!

About the AuthorEducator and nationally acclaimed speaker, Vickie Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD is a multimillionaire entrepreneur and the author of the New York Times bestseller Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman. Milazzo is the owner of Vickie Milazzo Institute, an education company she founded in 1982. Featured in the New York Times as the pioneer of a newprofession, she built a professionalassociation of 5,000 members.



Did You Know...Under Distracted Driving Legislation (Bill 16), you could receive a ticket for combing your hair while stopped at a red light? This offense will result in a $172 fine and no demerit points and it will not show on your drivers abstract.

The projected population of Alberta in 2036 will be between 4.5 and 5.3 million people? This will be an increase from the 2009 population figure of 3.7 million in Alberta.

Over 85% of vehicles are in-sured for at least a $1,000,000 limit of third party liability in Alberta?Talk about upsell opportunities. Learn this technique and many others in the Professional Selling for Insurance Brokers seminar April 17-19, 2012, in Calgary.

Approximately 4% ofevery insurance premiumdollar collected goes towardinsurance company profit? The other 96% goes toward paying claims, taxes, and administrative expenses.

Under Alberta provincial law,businesses must provide railsfor tying up horses?And they thought the Insurance Act needed updating!

Sources: Alberta Finance, AIRB,IBAA and Statistics Canada

Scott Macduffie of Intact Insurance moved from business development to a commercial supervisor role. I may be a little late on this one, but as they say, better late than never! Congrats, Scott! Robert Fox joined Peace Hills on April 1st on a contract basis to help rollout the PHIX (Peace Hills Insur-ance Exchange). Sean Kanee, formerly of Excel Insurance, was looking for a change of scenery and joined Leibel MacMillan. Matt Bergin, formerly of Aviva Canada, also decided to join the dark side with HUB International. Wawanesa is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandra van Raalten, MA, CIP, to the position of claims manager. Sandra has over 15 years ex-perience in the industry and joins Peter Kennaugh as the second claims man-ager for its Northern Alberta region. In April, Nona McCreedy of Aurora Underwriting Services bought out her partner, making Aurora a truly inde-pendent Alberta wholesale brokerage. The Aurora team has settled into a new office in Edmonton’s south side. As always, please continue to fill me in with any tidbits of information that you would like to see in next issue’s article!

Let me start by first thanking Mother Nature for a wonderful winter. It’s pretty hard to complain about the winter season when we get such gor-geous weather for the majority of the year. That said, it’s time to put away the curling broom and take out the golf shoes and clubs.

What’s new? On February 4th, the Insurance Sip & Slip took place and was a blast. With 14 teams eager to hit the ice and throw some rocks, the event went off with-out a hitch. Congrats to Norm Genge (Peace Hills Insurance) for doing such a good job at organizing this year’s event. If you are interested in attend-ing next year’s Sip & Slip, keep Norm in mind and get your entry in early. Rumour also has it that Kevin Webster (Intact) even hogged a rock or two. Shocking! Aviva Canada Inc. was pleased to announce the recipients of the third Aviva Community Fund competition. This year, Canadians helped select 12 worthy ideas representing communities nationwide. A total of $1,000,000 will be awarded to these diverse local proj-ects, including school yards in Ontario and Alberta, an animal rescue facil-ity in British Columbia and a youth camp in Quebec, among others. This unique competition created by Aviva Canada aims to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country. The two Alberta winners of this year’s Aviva Community Fund competition were G.S. Lakie Convert-ible Theatre/Summer Arts Institute

(Lethbridge) and Holyrood School Courtyard Classroom (Edmonton). Congratulations to all the winners! On June 6-10, 2012, the Canadian Association of Insurance Women national convention will be held in Ed-monton at the Mayfield Inn & Suites. The event includes everything from an exhibitor’s night to a gala awards night. Please contact Tracy Fata (Portage Mutual) for more information regard-ing the event. Last but not least, I have completed the annual list of insurance golf tourna-ments. If you are interested in a copy of the list, please send me a quick note: [email protected].

In Sympathy In very, very sad news, Carol Hud-delstone, branch manager of WFGLac La Biche, suddenly passed away on the weekend of February 18th. Ourthoughts and prayers go out to all friends and family of the Huddelstones.

Who? What? Where? When? Where to start? Where to start? Roberts McClure Insurance purchased Wrigley Insurance Services. The former Wrigley office was shut down and moved into the Roberts McClure office along with all the staff. Keegan McLennan, formerly ofEconomical Insurance, decided to move over to the dark side and join Roberts McClure Insurance as a partner. Tracy Moore, long-time Aviva Canada supervisor, took a supervisor’s position at Intact Insurance.

Who? What? Where? Chris Lewis

Northern


CHRIS LEWIS

Business Dev. Advisor,Peace Hills Insurance clewis@Phgic .com

By the time you read these words, Al-berta will very likely be well into a pro-vincial election. We will be exhorted by politicians, pundits, coworkers, friends and family to get out and vote. While voting is the responsibility of each and every one of us in a democratic society, merely casting a ballot is minimalistinvolvement. A truly functioning de-mocracy requires a greater contribution from its citizenry.

Get Informed! The political theorist Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good (people) do nothing.” Becoming informed, and then acting accordingly, helps prevent undesirable public policy. In fact a mis-informed or ill-informed vote is often little better than not voting at all. Currently, there are around eight political parties in Alberta; five of them were represented in the legislature before the election. Three of those five parties have new leaders, including Premier Alison Redford, while one party did not exist at the time of the 2008 election. Each of these political organizations will employ many means to convey information to the voting public. These methods include coverage of their mes-sage or event on provincial and local newscasts, advertising on radio, on tele-vision and in newspapers, and distribut-ing their information throughwebsites, brochures and old-fashioneddoor-to-door and telephone canvassing

Alberta. For example,• What are the candidates’ views on the New West Partnership Trade Agree- ment and in particular as it relates to the financial sector?• What are the candidates’ views on credit unions and other credit grant- ing institutions retailing insurance from their premises and/or websites?• What are the candidates’ views on auto reform of 2004? Does the candidate think it is working?• How does the candidate view regula- tion of other P&C insurance such as home insurance? All of these issues are likely to land on the desks of our MLAs over the next few years.

Get Involved! Modern elections would not take place without volunteers and money—both of which are donated by committed people. Campaigns and political parties

by the candidates andtheir campaign volun-teers. Likely the five leadersrepresenting the parties inthe legislature will hold atleast one debate before theelection, while numerousdebates will be held between thecandidates in each of the 87constituencies in the province. Properly informed voters domore than absorb the informationthat comes their way as significant research is required in order to be fully informed. This may involve looking at websites, talking to the candidates and/or their campaigns and looking at the legislative records of the incumbents and/or their party. Many general ques-tions such as those below may affect abroker’s business directly or indirectly:• What are the candidates’ views on the economy?• What are the candidates’ views on Alberta’s tax system and rates? What about a sales tax or lower/higher income taxes?• What are the candidates’ environ- mental policies and what effect if any would these policies have on the economy?• What about infrastructure? Should the highway to Fort McMurray be twinned? Should we have a high speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary? Also ask questions that directly relate to the P&C insurance industry in

The Advocate George Hodgson

It’s Election Time!



welcome both particularly during elec-tions. Anyone contemplating donating to a candidate or political party should consult the donation limits published on the Elections Alberta website. The amount of time one can volunteer to a campaign, candidate or political party is limited only by the volunteer’s personal circumstance and commit-ment. The volunteer services needed by campaigns are varied; however, the most common are door-to-door or telephone canvassing as well as data entry. The short time period combined with the multitude of tasks make the opportuni-ties for volunteering great.

Senators-in-Waiting Along with the provincial election, we will be electing a new list of senators-in-waiting; Prime Minister Stephen Harper is committed to appointing the next senator from Alberta from this list. Some of the provincial parties inAlberta will be putting one or more names forward, and a number of inde-pendent candidates will also run.

Opportunities for involvement similar to those in the provincial election are avail-able here as well.

Why get involved? Most government relations interac-tions in other sectors such as banking or utility companies occur between corporate government relations depart-ments and the responsible government ministries. The advocacy function of IBAA occurs at the local level between local brokers and local MLAs. Such local and personal interaction means government relations for the insurance broker is truly an exercise in relationship building, and relationship building takes great effort over a long period of time. That exercise often starts with the election campaign. In some cases, the relationship is established dur-ing the campaign by volunteers reaching out to the candidate of their choice. This relationship, once established, is built over time between elections. Moreover, a very small percentage of the public gets involved in the political

process. Those people that do take the time to participate have great influence over the direction of public policy. As the saying goes, those who play a part usually punch above their weight.

How do I get involved? The best way to get involved is to find the website of the political party of your choice and either email or call them. Their staff will direct you to your local candidate. In the end, our governments have a huge impact on our daily lives and levy significant taxes in order to accomplish this. It only makes sense for us to take part in the process that defines who will determine our public policy and who will look after our tax dollars.

GEORGE HODGSONCEO, IBAA

[email protected]

Up for DiscussionThe 2012 CEO Panel

On Monday, May 7th, delegates at the 2012 IBAA conventionwill gather for a Q&A session with leaders of eight

of Canada’s leading insurance companies.

In keeping with the convention’s “target your market” theme, we’ve posed one question to the panel’s participants:

What programs does your companyhave in place to support brokers’

marketing efforts?


JEAN-FRANCOIS BLAISPresident At Intact Insurance, we believe strongly in working with brokers to attract and retain customers by build-ing strategic and targeted marketing campaigns. Some of the programs we offer include co-op advertising, ad campaigns that promote the benefit of a broker, access to in-depth research data, product marketing including bro-chures, tip sheets, posters, etc., website development, and prevention educa-tion materials for consumers. As we have relationships with differ-ent brokers who have specialized needs (urban vs. rural, for example), we don’t believe in a one-size fits all marketing solution. Rather, we work in conjunc-tion with brokerages to conduct a market assessment and needs analysis and then build individual programs that help them achieve their goals. Additionally, we offer comprehensive education programs for brokers on our leading-edge products and offerings, such as our new liability protection, that helps them better match custom-ers with the right coverage. We also recently changed our struc-ture to offer brokers one main point of contact with Intact Insurance. Our business development experts work with brokers to discuss their needs and identify practical and applicable solutions that will work for them. We believe this system allows brokers to be more informed — and thus able to take advantage — of the value proposi-tion we offer.

MAURICE TULLOCHPresident/CEO Aviva works very closely with its broker distribution partners in Alberta to help them win in the marketplace. Primarily through its business de-velopment team, Aviva helps create broker specific marketing campaigns and programs. In addition, all broker distribution partners have access to 300+ marketing templates that allow them to create professional marketing collateral covering all lines of business via a simple online interface. Aviva is a proud supporter of broker develop-ment and has created a program called “Broker Business Solutions,” which provides access/funding to consult-ing, education and marketing experts. Aviva Community Fund is Aviva’s signature community investment and awareness building activity, and more and more brokers are getting involved in local submissions. They are able to express their commitment to their local communities, generating greater awareness for their own leadership activities through both traditional and social media.

KAREN GAVANCEO Your Marketing Store — Brokers can access and download Economical marketing collateral through an online marketing storefront, Your Marketing Store, allowing them the opportunity to co-brand client-facing material and digitally share or print specific pieces.

Marketing education — Economical has recently launched a broker training unit that has extended our award-winning employee developmentprograms to our broker partners. Training programs were specifically developed following focus groups and questionnaire completion with our broker partners and the program has achieved a very positive response in the first nine months post launch. Economical delivers the training in brokers’ offices or in settings to accom-modate larger groups. Advertising — Economical Insur-ance supports co-operative advertising through aligned strategic opportuni-ties with our brokers. This is an area where we believe we can take this form of advertising in a new direction by supporting public service ad campaigns targeted to specific market segments rather than the focus on selling a product. Economical has created some excellent campaigns so far in 2012.Economical recognizes that effec-tive marketing is critical to achieve brokerage success and we are more than willing to work with our broker partners to support direct mail cam-paigns enclosed within policy renewals. We have an extremely creative internal marketing design and communications team to work with brokers in creating engaging marketing materials. Brochures, tip sheets, etc. — Our marketing collateral is designed with our brokers, for our brokers and approved by our brokers. As such, collateral is customized to meet the needs of each brokerage and not a one-size-fits-all approach. We work with our brokers to create customized campaigns to inform clients of services and products. Economical is in the midst of a refresh of our corporate brand to be released by mid-year. Watch for some great collateral in the coming months.



• Brochures, tip sheets, etc. —Brochures, tip sheet, marketing kits, etc. are currently available with JEV-CO. Stay tuned, however, for updated, enhanced and additional brochures that will become available for our brokers in the near future. • Marketing education — JEVCOoffers product specific training that often is accredited for brokers.

DIANE BRICKNERCEO In addition to offering exceptional, personal and responsive service to our brokers and their clients, Peace Hills Insurance offers the following items to further our brokers’ marketing efforts:

SERGE LAVOIEPresident/CEO JEVCO offers a wide variety of ser-vices and support tools to aid brokers in their marketing efforts. We work to tailor our approach to each brokerage knowing that brokers have different strategies from a marketing perspec-tive. Marketing support can consist of all or part of the elements below. How much of each component would depend on many factors including the partnership we have with the broker-age, alignment of our strategies, oppor-tunities for growth, etc. Please contact your marketing representative for more information• Co-op advertising fund — JEVCO can support brokers with their ad-

vertising efforts. We generally offer brokers financial support to develop their own advertising campaigns and do not require brokers to also advertise JEVCO in their ad. The sole focus of the advertisement can, and should be, on the brokerage itself. • Company ad campaigns that pro-mote your broker network — JEVCO currently advertises in a variety of publications. In each case, the under-lying message is to contact your broker if they are interested in learning more about our organization. • Mailing services should brokers want to enclose marketing materi-als in policy renewals — JEVCO has their own in-house marketing team, including a graphic design team, which can develop and produce material for brokers to provide their clients. • Presentation templates and support materials for commercial markets — Support material is readily available for brokers. It can be specific to the broker or material that can be passed along to clients.


BOB TISDALECOO Pembridge has many programs in place to support our brokers’ market-ing efforts. Our approach is to take a consultant approach and work with our brokers to identify their specific needs and objectives and then recommend the tactics that best support them. We adjust our support to be as robust as the broker needs. Some brokers want some consulting, advice or ideas, whereas others want those as well as some as-sistance in executing the programs. At Pembridge we are flexible and adapt our approach to suit each broker’s unique situation. Some examples of the tools we offer:• Co-op advertising fund — We don’t advertise directly to consumers in the traditional sense. We believe in putting


• Co-operative advertising has been in place for many years and should brokers want to advertise locally we are only too pleased to assist and support them any way we can.• Product training — When a new product is introduced we will bring the brokers together for training, which will ultimately assist them in selling the product.• Marketing merchandise — Peace Hills offers products like golf balls, calendars, pink card holders, etc.• Brochures that market our unique product offerings [e.g. Entrepreneur Plus (for home-based businesses), Farm Plus and Oil & Gas Contrac-tors Plus] as well as other publications that provide helpful information to insureds, e.g., identity theft, home inventory.• Our website, which includes a list of all our brokers and our products.

those funds to work to promote our brokers rather than ourselves. We have funds dedicated to support brokers who wish to do advertising and local mar-keting. As we are dedicated to support-ing our brokers’ success, our program also covers education and software expenses. • We have several brokers who choose to have the client’s policy renewals sent to the brokerages where they can incorporate any marketing/advertising material they choose before sending the renewals to their clients. Should our brokers also need assistance in printing material, another one of our perks is that we extend our corporate discount to them should they choose to use our printing house. • We have a wide variety of brochures, tip sheets and additional marketing resources available on demand on our broker website. • Marketing education — We give one-on-one consulting to our brokers as each office, market and broker’s objec-tive is unique. In addition, we regularly

share tips and tricks on our broker web-site and our broker newsletters. We also host webinars to share knowledge with our broker force; our most recent one was on social media. We solicit feedback from the brokers on what future topics they would like to see offered.

KEN McCREACEO We take pride in the knowledge that Wawanesa is a company that brokers value and customers recognize and ask for by name, particularly in Western Canada. To assist our brokers with their marketing efforts …• We offer co-op marketing funds and support a wide range of ideas. Recent uses of the plan have ranged from signage at sports complexes, to customer appreciation events and contributing towards buying a bull for a 4-H club! • We feel brokers are best positioned to promote the broker brand so the customer does not receive mixed brand messages. As a result we focus our mar-keting efforts towards our brokers and we offer brokers a calendar program, use of tradeshow booths and banners, and product brochures. • Starting in 2012 we are implementing national policyholder renewal inserts on behalf of our brokers, designed to raise awareness of the risk of distracted driving and the need for emergency preparedness. • Through our broker website, we have rating tools available for several of our commercial packages, all commercial policy wordings, and many forms and brochures to assist our brokers.• We offer our brokers seminars and training on our new and existing prod-ucts so they can match the customer with the products that are best suited to their needs.




4 Ways CertsLead to Claims A certificate of insurance is a docu-ment generally provided to a third-party as a snapshot of the insurance carried by a particular insured at a specific point in time. It is nothing more than that. It confers no rights on the holder. It does not alter the terms and conditions of the policies listed on it. Nonetheless, a significant number of professional liability claims are asserted against insurance agencies based on certificates of insurance they have issued. Claims involving certificates of insur-ance can arise in several ways: • Allegations that a certificate of insurance contains inaccurate information• Improper use of the certificate form to alter the policy’s coverage, usually to add an additional insured • Opinions or representations made by an agent in connection with a certificate of insurance• Alterations to the form of the certificate

1 Inaccurate Information in aCertificate of Insurance

While it is often said that a certificate of insurance is not a contract, liability claims are frequently made against insurance brokers on the basis that the certificate holder relied to its detri-ment on the information shown by the certificate. Take the example of an insurance broker who provides a general contractor with a certificate of insurance stating that a subcontractor has a liabil-ity policy. If the contractor experiences a loss attributable to the subcontractor’s negligence, and it turns out the subcon-tractor did not actually have coverage in force at the time the certificate was issued, the general contractor might allege liability against the broker on a theory it would not have used the subcontractor if it had not been led to believe there was coverage in force. These inaccuracies can simply be the result of a typographical error regard-ing limits or policy period; however,

certificate holders are generally entitled to rely on the certificate’s accuracy. Brokers should never issue certificates in anticipation of a policy’s issuance. The policy does not exist until the carrier says it exists, and any certificate showing otherwise is inaccurate. Claims arise where a contractor, typically new to the business, requires coverage and a certificate to bid on its first job but doesn’t have the means to pay the initial premium and asks the broker for a “favour.” The broker issues the certificate (usually with a bogus policy number), and the contractor gets the job. The carrier ends up rejecting the application, and the brokerage is left holding the bag for any claims that would have been covered by the policy had it been issued. Brokers should take greater precau-tions when issuing certificates reflecting coverage placed through an intermedi-ary, as there is an extra layer of opportu-nity for inaccuracies to arise, much like inaccuracies arise in the children’s game of “telephone.” Thus policy numbers, limits and other information should be compared against the policy itself or double checked directly with the carrier, if possible, to reduce the chance that a mistake by the broker ends up on a certificate issued by the brokerage. Unfortunately, there have been claims where unscrupulous brokers have fabri-cated policy numbers for coverage that didn’t exist, and the innocent brokerages (and their E&O carriers) that issued certificates with the bogus information have been left to defend the claims by the certificate holders. Checking the in-formation directly with the carrier also guards against such predicaments.

2 Using Certificates to Changethe Policy

Certificate of Insurance forms typi-cally state that the “certificate does not amend, extend or alter the coverage afforded by the policies” shown on the

cer-tificate. However, brokerages have attempted to use the certificate as a vehicle to change the policy’s coverage, most commonly to add additional insureds to the policy. There are several problems with this practice. First, the broker may or may not have the carrier’s authorization to add additional in-sureds – or, a particular additional insured may require some under-writing attention (and perhaps an additional premium) beyond what the carrier authorized the brokerage to do. Second, issuing the certificate does not endorse the policy to add the additional insured. Therefore, the certificate would inaccurately indicate to the certificate holder that a party is an additional insured when that party has not been endorsed as an additional insured on the policy. Certificates should be used to show the state of the policy — if a party has been endorsed as an ad-ditional insured, then a certificate is the proper vehicle to provide a certificate holder a document reflecting the additional insured’s status. Certificates of insurance should never be used to alter the terms and conditions of the policy.

3 Opinions or Represent-ations by Agent Regarding

a Certificate of Insurance Third parties sometimes ask a broker to confirm whether a policy

Know E & O David Holt

covers specific risks presented by a contract in conjunction with issuing a certificate of insurance, particularly with respect to construction contracts. Such a request might, as a practical matter,

involve an intricate legal analysis of complex issues of construc-

tion law and insurance law. That sort of analysis is clearly beyond the purview or expertise

of most insurance brokers. Even in the rare

case where a particular broker has the legal training to per-

form such analysis, she would be taking on additional legal duties that

would otherwise not be imposed on her and, therefore, increase her exposure to professional liability claims. Thus, a broker should avoid offering opinions or making representations in connection with a certificate of insurance regard-ing what the policy covers or whether the policy satisfies requirements of an underlying construction contract or other agreement. Rather, the broker should remind the certificate holder of the language on the certificate form: “the insurance afforded by the poli-cies described herein is subject to all the terms, exclusions and conditions of such policies.” If the certificate holder requires more specific information, the brokerage can offer to obtain a copy of the policy itself, perhaps certified by the carrier, and suggest that the certificate holder take the policy to its attorney to evaluate whether the policy provides the desired protections. The insurance broker should not endeavour to make such an evaluation.

4 Changes to the Form of the Certificate of Insurance

Changes to a standard certificate of insurance form can change the coverage of the policy and/or create additional obligations for the carrier and broker-age. The most common modifications to the form involve the notification lan-guage, typically changing the number of days notice promised and eliminating the “endeavour to” language. Essentially, these simple changes create an obliga-tion for the carrier and/or the broker-age to provide mandatory notification

to the certificate holder of any early cancellation of the policy. However, if the language modification is absolutely required by the certificate holder, and sometimes it is, be sure to get written confirmation from the carrier that it is willing to meet the modified notifica-tion obligation. This duty would be a tremendous burden for most brokerages to meet and creates tremendous expo-sure to professional liability claims for failure to notify certificate holders of the cancelled policy. Thus, insurance brokers should avoid changes to the certificate of insurance form whenever possible.

Sending Copy of Certificate ofInsurance to Insurance Company As discussed in the preceding para-graph, a carrier’s failure to notify cer-tificate holders of a cancelled policy can create liability for the carrier, as the cer-tificate holders are relying on the cover-age stated on the certificate to remain in place through the stated term. Obvi-ously, in order for a carrier to send such notification, it would have to possess a complete list of all certificate holders. Many insurance companies take the po-sition that they do not want insurance brokers to send them copies of certifi-cates of insurance issued by the broker. Such policies can effectively shift the burden of maintaining an accurate list of certificate holders from the carrier to

the brokerage and, concomitantly, create additional professional liability risks for the brokerage. Despite a carrier’s stated policy rejecting copies of certificates, brokers should send them anyway, and, if returned, send them again. Carriers are simply better equipped to send can-cellation notices to certificate holders than most brokerages,and should retain any obligation to send such notices. The limited scope of this discussion does not permit addressing anything re-motely close to all issues with respect to certificates of insurance or strategies for avoiding potential liability claims. How-ever, even this brief discussion should convince readers that certificates of insurance are not the simple documents they might seem. Their issuance is not a simple clerical task carrying little risk of involving an insurance broker in a potential liability claim.

The material contained herein is for informa-tional purposes only and is not intended as legal or other professional advice. Please procure the appropriate legal or other professional advice and services to address your individual needs and circumstances.

DAVID HOLTClaims Expert/ Vice President

Swiss ReCorporate Solutions



By Genae Girard

Every company is trying to use Face-book in an attempt to move business forward and stay connected to custom-ers in this fast-paced world. Why are some companies more successful at this than others? Content is the key to stay-ing in touch with your customers and keeping them informed. The content, however, must be a rich mix of informa-tion, education, humour and fun. Use the HICCUP approach to make your Facebook page more successful:

HUMOUR Humour allows your audience to come away with a warm fuzzy feel-ing and a friendly attachment to your message. It doesn’t have to be industry specific, although it can be. You can do viral searches on YouTube and/or sites that plug social media. Always watch a video all the way through before posting as you don’t want it to include any profanity or other unmentionables. Remember video is king. Written blogs are being trumped by the clever, colorful and often fun video blogs.

INTERACTIVEQUESTIONS Don’t be afraid to ask open-ended questions to your group. For example, if you are a financial advisor, you may want to ask, “what is your biggest concern with the down economy?” The purpose here is to begin the conversa-tion. People posting their answers will create a community buzz. Letting the responses unfold naturally also gives you a marketing advantage. The financial ad-visor can track the concerns and create future training or webinars around his/her consumer’s needs.

CONTENTIf you don’t provide a myriad of inter-esting topics, information and current trends, current customers as well as fu-ture customers simply go away. Clicking “Unlike” on Facebook is just as easy as clicking “Like.” Smart, clever and chal-lenging content will keep your audience waiting for more. With most companies having a presence on Facebook, compe-tition will become fierce and you have to stand out.

CURRENT EVENTS If you haven’t done so already, get plugged in to all online media, and/or trade publications online. When something interesting pops up, pass it along for other people’s knowledge. If something political occurs that impacts your industry for example, pass it along. Never make a personal judgment about the event. Let your community unfold. Use Google Alerts in which you can program in key words to notify you of events and news feeds that pertain to your industry.

UTILIZING INDUSTRY FACTS Keep your followers abreast of chang-es in your particular industry and relate them back to your own business. For example, if you are an accountant and there are some tax changes around the corner, keep people aware by posting them on Facebook. If you are a medical office, you may want to post informa-tion on when a flu vaccine is available and what days and times people can sign up for the office visit. (If you are an insurance broker, you may want to post information about the new impaired

driving regulations.) These are specific actions that endear your customers to your brand.

PROMOS and SPECIALS Mention specials, promotions, new products and services. You can get cre-ative here and run a coupon or contest. Talk about new employees, business awards, community support initiatives or articles written by your staff. You can drive traffic to your business and services by using this concept. The one caution is that you shouldn’t overuse Facebook to market to your customer base. They can grow tired of it and quickly choose “Unlike” on your page, causing you to lose a potential client. To be successful, all categories should be represented on your posts daily. If you personally don’t have time, assign this process to an employee or virtual assistant. Give them these rules for your industry and explain the process. Gen-erally, creative, idea-generating minds are best suited for this task. If you follow this model for promoting your business on Facebook, customers will stick around to see what you post next. As the Facebook community grows, we will all have to fight for the attention of the consumer.

ABOUT THE AUTHORGenae Girard is a speaker, author and entrepreneur. She is the founder of www.BeyondtheBoobieTrap.com, an online social media tribe of over 20,200 breast cancer survivors, and regularly speaks on the topics of women in lead-ership, building a tribe and social media.

HICCUPYour Way Past Competitors on Facebook


Viewpoint Dale Rempel

The Voice IBAC’s Message Goes Global Sometimes Canadians don’t realize how much we know — or how effective or noticed our voice is on the world stage. As presi-dent of IBAC, I am often amazed and impressed about how much international influence we have, as Canadians and as insurance bro-kers. Let me give you an example.

As the Canadian federation of insur-ance brokers, IBAC is also a member of the World Federation of InsuranceIntermediaries (WFII) — the IBAC of the world. As a member of WFII, IBAC participates in international advocacy with governmental and regulatory organizations in the area of insurance. IBAC also participates as an observer at the International Associa-tion of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). This body is a grouping of insurance supervisors from over 100 countries. The organization meets and works together in order to discuss emerging issues and propose regulatory changes in order to deal with these issues. The Canadian regulators, from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Québec regulators, l’Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), are members of IAIS and have a lot influence on its decisions and positions. As a result of many discussions with IAIS members, IBAC was invited by the Spanish brokers association to address its members on the issue of banks and insurance. It had heard that Canada has a fairly robust regime of separating the two industries. The issue the Spanish association has in its mar-ketplace is that a very high percentage of written insurance policies are sold by banks. They wanted to understand the history of this issue in Canada, the current regime, and what role IBAC played, and continues to play, in this debate. IBAC’s Manager of Public Affairs, Steve Masnyk, was dispatched to make a presentation to its annual confer-ence in Madrid last November. He spoke about the history of the debate

in Canada, the creation of the broker federation in 1921 as a response to the banking demands to be able to retail insurance and of the creation of a broker “brand” to easily identify the profession to politicians. He spoke of the grassroots political activities insur-ance brokers have been involved in over many decades. He spoke of the advo-cacy activities IBAC organizes yearly in Ottawa. He also centered his remarks on the incredible job we do as defend-ers of consumer rights and interests. In attendance at the conference were representatives of the French, Dutch and German brokers associations. The audience was quite impressed to hear the effectiveness of Canadian brokers in communicating and advocating on behalf of consumers to federal legisla-tors. In comparison, most European countries have a massive bank presence in the insurance marketplace. There is no separation between the two in most EU countries. Canada is an anomaly on the world stage in this regard. It is for this reason that they were interested in hear-ing the Canadian experience. I am very proud that every contact we have with our MPs brings about tangible positive change. We have heard over decades, both from within Canada and from abroad, that these two pillars will inevitably merge. In discussions with regula-tors from around the world, and at the Spanish conference, IBAC has man-aged to plant a seed that the Canadian regime is alive and well, consumers are protected and both sectors thrive and are healthy. This seed is also beneficial as Canadian federal legislators will start hearing from their counterparts abroad that the Canadian experience is some-thing to be looked up to. As a result of IBAC’s message, the Spanish brokers association was so

impressed with the Canadian “BIP” branding program, they have embarked on creating a brand for their brokers to rally behind. In addition, several other EU brokers associations are also work-ing on developing their own brands to represent their members. Steve managed to speak with several Span-ish government officials and regulators afterwards, and they shared with him that the Canadian model was indeed very interesting to them. It brings about a lot of pride to be a member of IBAC as well as its presi-dent. Canada, thanks in large part to IBAC, has a banking-insurance model that is unique in the world. Consumers are well protected, both sectors haven’t gone through a major crisis like other countries and the broker distribution channel is envied by others. I am proud that IBAC has started to export some

of the achievements and success we have achieved here at

home. As Canadians, and especially as insurance brokers, we should all be proud.

DALE REMPELPresident,

Insurance BrokersAssociation of Canada

drempel@ibac .ca

used by credit granters in making credit decisions, in general the higher the score, the more favourably lenders look upon an individual as a credit risk. As the credit report is continually updated, the score also changes to properly reflect any new information. Here are some tips to achieving a positive credit score:• Pay all bills on time as paying late has a negative impact.• Apply for credit only when needed as each credit application has an impact. Type, limit and outstanding amounts of credit impact the score. A mix of credit accounts and loans will aid in improving a score. • Only establish the credit you need and can comfortable carry. Normally no more than 35% of your gross income should be used to repay debts, including items as monthly credit card payments, loans and mortgages. • For credit cards or lines of credit, if you are carrying a balance, try to keep it below 50% of the limit.

Banker’s Box John Knotek

• An established good credit history improves a score, so consider this care-fully before closing old credit accounts. Understanding and monitoring your report helps provide insight as to how your credit looks from a creditor’s per-spective and ensures that the informa-tion is accurate. You can access your credit report for free with the credit agencies via mail or for a fee can ac-cess various versions on line, including ones that contain a credit score. More information can be found at equifax.ca or transunion.ca. While no one can access your credit report without your consent, it is a requirement for a wide array of rea-sons beyond borrowing money. They are used by some landlords, utility companies and employers. By having an understanding of your credit report and monitoring it on a regular basis, you will have greater control over your financial well being.

f you are like the majority of consumers, chances are you have utilized some form ofcredit, such as loans,mortgages or credit cards.Credit can be a convenientmethod for purchasing goodsand services and, if used wisely, it can also assist in attaining many personal goals earlier in life such as a house purchase or making investments. So with credit forming an important component of an individual’s financial situation, it only makes sense that one should understand how to maintain a healthy credit profile. One of the tools that credit granters use in their decisioning process is a per-sonal credit report. This report provides a historical summary of how consis-tently individuals meet their financial commitments and includes information such as details of an individual’s credit accounts, repayment history, banking information, insufficient funds activity, history of collections or bankruptcies and a listing of those organizations who have requested copies of the report. This information is gathered by a credit reporting agency from those compa-nies with whom consumers have credit relationships, plus court records and collection agencies. This, together with a purging of most information older than six years, ensures that the credit report is both accurate and current.

Information in the credit report is used to create a credit score which has proven to be an accurate predictor of financial risk. While not the only factor

Got credit?

JOHN KNOTEKNational Manager,

Insurance Broker ServicesBMO Bank of [email protected]

I

“Normally, no morethan 35% of your gross income should be used

to repay debts.”



Who? What? Where? Darrell Verbonac

Broker News Calgary has seen a new operation start up, a couple of office moves, and two acquisitions over the past couple months. New to the scene is Wilson M. Beck Insurance, which is a BC-based broker making its first foray into Alberta. Brent Williams, who moved to Calgary from northern BC, is the managing partner, and he is joined by Rhawnie Tremblay. They are situated at 1414-8 Street SW, just outside of the down-town core. Anthony Clark Insurance moved into new premises at 7909 Flint Road SE, which is just off of Macleod Trail, a little bit north of its previous location. As well, Anthony Clark closed its Dyck Insurance office on Crowchild Trail (which it purchased a couple years ago) and moved the operations into the new office. Lucas & Wright Insurance is also in new premises at 134-17 Avenue NW. Lucas & Company had bought Wright & Co Insurance in mid-2011, and have now merged both operations into this one office. As well, congratulations to Emad Rizk on becoming a new dad with the birth of a son, Isaac, on Janu-ary 17th. Alpine Insurance and Westland Insurance merged their operations and will be known as Alpine Insurance. All of the principals, including Ken and Denise Hughes and Cam and Cathy Clay, will remain with the firm and they will now have five locations across Alberta. They will be headquartered out of Westland’s southwest Calgary loca-tion and will keep the previous Alpine locations in Lethbridge, Canmore, Red Deer and Edmonton.

Another acquisition involves Pal-liser Insurance, which was purchased by Westland Insurance out of British Columbia. Westland BC is different than the Calgary Westland that merged with Alpine, although the Clay family does have a connection to the Wubbs family who owns Westland BC. The BC Westland purchased Calgary’s Ashford Insurance in 2011, and Palliser represents its second broker purchase in Alberta.

Staffing Moves and Acquisitions Involving Calgary Brokers• New at HUB International is Kyla Boruck, who was with Rogers Insur-ance; Shawna Seah-McDonald moved from Jardine Lloyd Thompson to join Lloyd Sadd Anthony; and new at Can-yon Insurance is Steve Passey, previ-ously with Brokerlink in Airdrie.• Nona Curran, who was a commercial underwriter at Peace Hills Insurance, joined Collis & Associates; Fawn Mah, previously with Aviva, is new at Lanes Insurance; new to CRS/Merrill Insur-ance is Cheryl Clark; Nanci Klaasen joined Brokerlink; and Lynn Newton left BKI Risk Management to go to Rogers Insurance. • Congratulations to Andrew Shareski who was promoted to office manager of Costen & Associates, and new staff at Costen are Shauna Banner, previously with Brokerlink, and Kishor Lalwani. • New hires at McFarlane & Company Financial Group are Lindsay Sinclair and Susan Brost. • At Underwriting Solutions LP, Terry McGrath is its new marketing manager, having recently moved to Calgary from South Africa, where he had worked as a broker.

• Dejong’s Insurance has had a num-ber of additions, with Diane Abbott joining as its general manager, having previously been with Brokerlink. Other newcomers include Linda Toth, who had been at MHK Insurance, Jocelyn Payne from Lundgren & Young, Sara Wolfe from CJ Campbell and Karen Campbell from Blue Circle Insurance.

In Central Alberta• Randy Enns joined the Red Deer office of Hub Phoenix; Randy was with a family brokerage in Campbell River, BC. • Raquel Schumacher is new at All Service Insurance • Clayton Dexter left Mooney Insur-ance to pursue opportunities outside of the insurance business.• In Lacombe, Lorne and Heather Rye sold their Brown & Ward Insurance operation to Western Financial Group (WFG), although they both stayed on to manage the office.• WFG opened a new office in Airdrie, which is being run by Braden Bosch, who also is the manager of the WFG Drumheller and Hanna offices. Landon Bosch, who is Braden’s brother, is also helping out with this location. Also in Airdrie, Adam Taylor left Brokerlink’s office and joined Canyon Insurance.

In Southern AlbertaBest wishes go to a good friend, Mel Snyder, who retired as manager of WFG’s Medicine Hat South office. Pri-or to his tenure with Western Financial Group, Mel owned Gateway Insurance in Medicine Hat and was involved in the industry for many years.


[email protected]

DARRELL VERBONAC,FCIP, CRM

Regional BusinessDevelopment Manager

Intact Insurance Company

Company News At Intact Insurance, best wishes go to Derek Iles who retired after a long insurance career. Derek was the senior vice president for Intact based out of Calgary and has moved out to his home on Vancouver Island. Replacing Derek as the senior vice president is Jennie Moushos, who was previously in the role of deputy senior vice president with Intact. Other Intact news includes welcom-ing back to Calgary two staff who were with its Edmonton office: Sheri Shafer and Orla McGregor. Congratulations to Genevieve Belanger and her husband Brent on the birth of their second child, a son named Jenson, and to Ashley Batke who joined the business develop-ment department after having been in commercial underwriting. Over at Wawanesa Insurance, Savy Nhanh is its new marketing representa-tive, promoted from his previous role as a personal lines supervisor. A southern Alberta group received an Aviva Community Fund donation

as the G.S. Lakie Middle School in Lethbridge will receive funding to add lighting and other technical items to change their foyer into a theatre for school use and arts groups for various programs and festivals.


Legal-Ease Shelley L. Miller and Terry J. Williams

Souren Agemian (“Agemian”) oper-ated a Main Drug store on Avenue Road in Toronto. The store was owned by Agemian’s company, CJ Drugs Ltd. In 2001, Agemian incorporated a sec-ond company, Main Drug Mart Group Limited (“Main Co.”). Main Co. acted as a central buying facility for pharma-ceutical products, which it purchased in bulk, repackaged in smaller quantities, and then distributed to other Main Drug stores owned by independent associates. Main Co. operated from the basement of Agemian’s retail store. On August 13, 2005, pharmaceuti-cal products worth $207,638.98 were stolen from the wholesale company’s storage area in the basement. Agemian filed a claim in the name of CJ Drugs under the retail store’s insurance policy. However, the claim was denied because the stolen products were the property of the wholesale company, not CJ Drugs, and the insurer had not been notified of the wholesale operations in the retail store’s basement. Agemian had hired Amal Gendi (“Gendi”) to manage the wholesale operations for Main Co. Some time in October 2003, Agemian and Gendi discussed the fact that the couriers used to transport the wholesale products to the individual stores had insufficient insurance coverage. Agemian spoke to Ben Malik (“Malik”), the retail store’s insurance broker, and asked the broker to speak to Gendi to arrange insurance coverage for Main Co. Gendi’s testimony was that he called Malik in October 2003 to inquire about general coverage for the wholesale operations. Gendi told Malik that he needed to cover the wholesale inventory while in storage and while in transit to the other stores. Gendi testified that Malik told him that he did not need to be concerned about the inventory in storage as it was covered by the store’s retail policy and that all Gendi needed

ucts were received in bulk in the morn-ing, broken down and then shipped to the stores by courier the same day. Gendi then asked if there was a market for such coverage. Malik said that he did not have a market for wholesale inventory, but could inquire about it. Malik testified that Gendi told him not to worry, he was not concerned about it, because of the short period of time that the inventory was on the premises.

In January 2004, Agemian obtained a new retail policy for the store through Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc. Agemian did not disclose the wholesale operation in the store’s basement to Aon Reed or

Drug Warwas a transportation policy. Malik faxed him the application form for the trans-portation policy. Gendi filled out what he could and faxed it back to Malik. Both Gendi and Agemian testified that they exchanged handwrittennotes on an envelopefrom the insurancebroker. On theback of theenvelope, Agemianwrote “Hi Amal,please check with Benfor cost of coverage for inventoryof $250K and $500K.” Gendi wrote on the same envelope “Ben [Malik] ad-vised that we don’t need such coverage because it is protected under the store policy.” Agemian testified that after he received Gendi’s note, he called Malik and Malik confirmed that the inventory was covered by the retail policy. Malik testified that he received a call from Gendi inquiring about a trans-portation policy for Main Co. Gendi explained that they were shipping products from the store and that the couriers did not carry sufficient insur-ance. Gendi said he needed protection for these products while in transit. Malik obtained a transportation policy application from Eagle Underwriting (which specialized in these policies), and faxed it to Gendi. When Gendi sent it back only partly completed, Malik went to the store to help him fill it out. On their way to the boardroom in the basement, Malik noticed some boxes. Gendi explained that those were products that were going to be shipped out to other stores. Malik told Gendi that this was a wholesale operation, that the retail policy would not cover the inventory and that the transportation policy would only cover the inventory while in transit and not while on the store premises. Gendi said he was not concerned since the inventory was not on the premises for very long. The prod-

Broker Sued Over Coverage for Stolen Pharmaceuticals

The thresholdquestion is whether

the client is relying on the broker for

full coverage or isseeking specificcoverage only.


the insurer, Scottish & York Insurance Company. The previous retail policy with ING was cancelled effective Feb-ruary 3, 2004. Malik then ceased being the broker for CJ Drugs and became the broker only for Main Co. under the transportation policy. The trial judge concluded that Malik’s testimony made more sense. The trial judge found that Gendi called Malik specifically to request transportation insurance for products shipped from the store and did not request insur-ance for a wholesale operation or for products being stored on the premises. Malik advised Gendi that the retail policy did not cover the inventory while in storage and that the transportation policy would only cover the inventory while in transit. The trial judge found further that Malik never told Agemian that the inventory would be covered by the retail policy. The trial judge observed that in analyzing the duty of an insurance



[email protected]

SHELLEY L. MILLER, Q.C. and TERRY J. WILLIAMSare lawyers with

Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and practice in theprofessional liability insurance area.

[email protected]

broker the court must first determine the scope of the broker’s mandate. The threshold question is whether the client is relying on the broker for full coverage or is seeking specific coverage only. If the client is seeking full coverage, then the broker’s role is an advisory one. The broker’s duty is to ensure that the client is adequately covered. If the broker can-not obtain coverage, he must advise the client of a gap in the coverage so that the client can take steps to protect him-self elsewhere. In those cases, the duty on the broker is a stringent one. The broker is a professional with specialized knowledge and the client is entitled to rely on that expertise. On the other hand, if the client asks only for a spe-cific type of coverage, the broker’s duty is more limited. (The writers note that clients will generally say they were rely-ing on the broker for “full coverage.”) The trial judge stated that the main difficulty with the plaintiff ’s case was that it was premised on the position that Gendi was seeking full coverage for the Main Co. wholesale operations and relying on Malik’s advice. How-ever, the trial judge found as a fact that Gendi called Malik to obtain specific transportation coverage. Malik sent him the application form and met with Gendi at the store for the purpose of completing the transportation policy application. Gendi sought transporta-tion coverage. Malik obtained transpor-tation coverage and therefore fulfilled his duty. The trial judge concluded that even if he had found that Malik’s mandate had become a general one as a result of his meeting with Gendi at the store, Malik had not breached his duty. Malik ex-plicitly advised Gendi that there was a gap in coverage. The duty was to advise of the gap, which Malik did. Although it might have been more prudent for Malik to have put his advice in writ-ing, the trial judge did not accept that Malik’s failure to do so was a breach of duty. Both expert witnesses testified that it is advisable and more prudent

continued from page 40 for a broker to put his advice in writing. However, the trial judge accepted the defendant’s experts’ evidence that it is not a hard and fast rule that such advice

be confirmed in writing if the broker has otherwise made the gap clear to the client.


By Jason Womack

Tired of ending the day feeling like you didn’t even come close to getting the right amount of work done? Jason Womack offers up a few easy tips for creating the habits that will help you knock out yourto-do list — so you can focus on your want-to-do list.

If being connected 24/7 was sup-posed to make our lives easier, the business world didn’t get the memo. Most professionals just can’t shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn’t get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves responding to work email on their smartphones right up until their head hits the pillow. Sound familiar? There is good news: By imple-menting a few small changes, you can get more done in less time — which

Keep Your Smart Phone Out of Bednot only staves off burnout, but leaves more time for do-ing what you love. When the pressure is on to do more and more with less and less, you want what you do to really count. Burning through your to-do list more efficiently lets you go after bigger and better opportuni-ties, sure, but the real reason you want to do it is so you’ll have time for what brings you joy.

You do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do. It’s not about how hard you’re working—there are plenty of very hardworking people who aren’t as produc-tive as they could be because of the way they manage their day. Here are four essential good habits, excerpted from my book Your Best Just Got Better, you can develop to become more productive and less stressed at work:

Keep your BlackBerry out of bed. I had a client

who listed “Check email on BlackBerry (in bed)” as part of his daily morning routine. Note that he didn’t do anything about those emails while still in bed. He waited until he was commuting to work (he had a 40-minute train ride to the office each day) to start taking action. Then, he said, he rushed through his morning worrying about the emails he had read in bed. Together, he and I designed a five-day experiment during which period he would leave his mobile device in another room and use an alarm clock to wake up instead of his phone. He would shower, dress, eat breakfast and then check email on his train ride to work. Initially, he expressed concern that he might miss the “thinking about what I have to think about” time he had built

in to the early part of the day, but he was willing to give the experiment a try. When I called him the following week, he had good news: The experiment had worked. He was less stressed and was using his morning more productively. This change in his routine gave him a higher quality of life with less stress and increased productivity—one he didn’t know was possible without falling behind in his work. Always be prepared for “bonus time.” This is a great strategy for increasing productivity. Bring small chunks of work with you wherever you go. Then, while waiting for a meeting to start or for a delayed flight to depart—I call these unexpected blocks of free time “bonus time” — you’ll be able to reply to an email or make a phone call. In other instances, you might have enough time to review materials for another meeting or project you are working on. If you’re prepared, you can also confirm appointments, draft responses or map out a project outline. I can promise you that sometime dur-ing the next month, someone is going to arrive late for a meeting with you, cancel a meeting or otherwise keep you waiting. When that inevitably happens, you can look over your to-do list and pick something — anything — to work on. Change how you manage email. The moment you click on your inbox, your focus goes and your stress grows, as you proceed to delete, respond, forward and file the messages you find there. You see names and subject lines and sud-denly your mind starts racing; all you can think of are the latest projects, the “loudest” issues, and the high-priority work that shows up. If you’re not care-ful, all you’ll do all day is manage your email. Rather than simply flag emails that require action, use the subject lines to catalog and organize them. For ex-ample, you might put “Follow-up Call” in the subject line of an email about a meeting you just had with a client. Also, don’t look at your email unless you have

… andThree Other

Simple Steps to a More

Productive,More

GratifyingWork Day.


a block of time to devote to prioritizing them and responding to them. When you are going through your email, use subject lines to catalog them and orga-nize them so that you’ll easily be able to go back to less urgent emails later on.

Identify the VERBS that needattention. (And here’s a hint: smaller is better.) Organize your to-do list by verbs in order to manage your produc-tivity in terms of action, delegation and progress. Actions such as call, draft, review and invite are things that you can do, generally in one sitting, that have the potential to move the project forward one step at a time. If your to-do list has ‘big’ verbs — by which I mean verbs that are mentally demanding or longer term in nature such as plan, discuss, create or imple-ment — replace them with action steps to just get started. That is, pick “smaller” verbs, by which I mean verbs describ-ing tasks that are easier to start and faster to finish. This will save you time and reduce the sense of overload you’re feeling. We all want to enjoy what we do every day. We want to get better and better, both on the job and off, and yet, many people are too overwhelmed to make the key changes that will help them do so. There is no reason to remain mired in frustration and strug-gling to catch up. With just a few key changes, you can work in a way that feels really good — and spend your after-work life doing things that feel even better.

About the Author Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA, provides practical methods to maximize tools, systems and processes to achieve qual-ity work/life balance. He has worked with leaders and executives for over 16 years in the business and education sectors. Author of Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More, Womack shows that working longer hours doesn’t make up for a flawed approach to productivity and performance. For more information, visit www.womackcompany.com.

WHOLESALE BROKER FOR BROKERS Tel: 780.442.2240 • Toll Free: 1.866.328.1314

E: [email protected]

• Property • CGL (Incl. Truckers)• Cargo • COC• Umbrella/Excess• Fine Arts• Product Recall• Cross Border

auroraunderwriting.com

• Auto Physical Damage (Incl. Logging)• Special Events• CEF • Aviation• High Value Homes• E&O • D&O


[email protected]

JACKIE WEBBERPYIB Calgary Local

Council Representive

PYIB Perspective Jackie Webber

If You Serve Them,They Will Come

Each day we are greeted with numer-ous insurance advertisements from billboards to television commercials to radio ads. But are those working? Perhaps to a degree, but we need to think outside of the box to obtain, and especially to keep, those desired clients. Customer service — what is that? These days, people seem to choose not to deal with each other directly. Interaction is becoming impersonal. Consumers are opting to purchase their insurance coverage from alternative sources that seem more ef-ficient, less confusing and, apparently, offering a better price. Appearance, however, is not always the reality. As a young broker in today’s fast-

paced society, I have had to adapt my skills towards what consumers seek. It’s crucial to determine a client’s needs quickly because multiple markets are fighting for the same piece of business we are. Although insurance isn’t always the easiest thing for clients to understand, it’s our job to educate. Most consumers have a negative outlook on insurance — it’s always a waste of money. Even though most clients would like to deal with their insurance as fast as possible, rarely reviewing their coverage, they are generally thankful when I go through coverages and explain their policy in more detail. Brokers have a great opportunity to create a relationship with each client. When that bond is created as we talk over the phone or meet in our offices, we not only get to know more about that client but also are able to create an insurance policy that specifically fits that individual. Each client’s insurance needs will continually change over time. Single people in their twenties may require only an automobile policy, but as they get married and have children, they may require house insurance and a life insurance policy. As clients’ lives change, their insurance needs change with them. One of the determining factors when potential clients are choosing their in-

surance coverage is price. Most people don’t understand or value insurance coverage, so they want to spend the least amount of money possible. Sur-prisingly enough, studies have shown that people are willing to spend more money when great service is given. Customer service seems to be a dying trend in today’s society, but it’s what sets us apart from other insurance providers. When a client speaks well of a brokerage, that positive response will draw in other consumers who are hope-ful of experiencing the same service. If we can provide excellent customer service, a competitive premium and a convenient location, then those three things will bring in new clients simply by referral. Keeping those preferred clients is another task by itself. Brokers must always provide exceptional service to their clients, but customer service is not enough. A brokerage must also keep up with technology, have educated staff, offer prompt service and continue to offer competitive premiums. Those four things go hand in hand to maintain our clients. With the hundreds of advertisements that surround us daily, we are more likely to remember the referral from a friend or our positive customer service experience than a TV ad. Even with all the other insurance providers’ market-ing claims, many, if not most, clients will choose to insure their property with brokers who provide one-of-a-kind exceptional service.


Ensuring Your Clients’ Goods are Covered in TransitI have been providing moral support to a claims colleague who is handling a loss involving the theft of a tractor trailer containing several tonnes of cheese. Yes, cheese.

Of course, I laughed. But, for the insured, this is a big loss and there were many questions about whether the product was subject to a limitation of liability and how the loss should be adjusted, given the nature of the cargo and the relationship between the trucker, the shipper and the consignee. Many commercial property policies impose a sub-limit on the insurer’s liability for property in transit. Many insureds do not arrange their own transportation coverage when they are shipping incoming or outgoing goods. Many truckers do not understand mo-tor truck cargo insurance. The conse-quences can leave everyone scratching their heads. Both the owner and the carrier of goods in transit have an insurable inter-est. In deciding who should purchase insurance on property in transit, one should consider:1. Whether the owner or the carrier would be responsible for loss to the property; and2. To what extent. The extent of a carrier’s legal liability for the shipper’s goods is determined by the type of carrier involved. The carrier may be a common carrier, a contract carrier, or a private carrier.

Commercial Break Karen MacWilliam

Planes, Trainsand Automobiles

In the case of a common carrier, the Bill of Lading will determine the extent of liability. A standard Bill of Lading will impose a limitation per pound or kilogram in accordance with the appli-cable tariff, which is generally signifi-cantly less than the replacement value of the goods being shipped. If there is a Valued Bill of Lading, a specific negoti-ated value for the goods will be stated. If there is a Released Bill of Lading, the carrier’s liability will be specifically waived. This all presumes that the carrier is LIABLE for the damage. It also presumes that the scope of insurance coverage (if any) is broad enough to cover foreseeable events. With a contract carrier, a specific contract will indicate the limit of li-ability of the carrier. For private carriers, they are of-ten hauling their own goods and are

fully responsible for them. (Think of a furniture store with its own truck and driver.) If your clients are utilizing private carriers, they should not take title to the goods being delivered until they arrive safely within the customer’s premises. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to arrange all-risk property coverage on behalf of the owner. An annual trans-portation floater, a single trip transit policy, a marine cargo policy or an in-crease in the sub-limit on the commer-cial property policy for goods in transit may all work. For transportation risks, the key questions for the broker to ask are:1. What is being shipped?2. Is there anything unique about the cargo itself ? Is it fragile, perishable, dangerous goods, alive (such as ani- mals), high valued, etc.?

[email protected]

KAREN MacWILLIAMis an insurance and risk management consultant


3. What is the origin and destination of the shipment?4. What mode of transportation is being used? (ocean vessels, trains, trucks, inland vessels, aircraft, etc.)5. What is the replacement value of the shipment and is there a limitation of liability on the proposed Bill of Lading?6. When does title transfer? (i.e., what are the terms of sale?) For example, if a load of metal pipe is being sent from China, the terms “F.O.B. seller’s Shanghai Dock” mean that the title transfers to the buyer when the pipe reaches the dock prior to loading on a Canada-bound vessel, and your client who is buying the pipe as- sumes the transportation risk. If the terms of sale are “F.O.B. buyer’s Calgary jobsite,” then title transfers to your client when the pipe arrives at its Calgary jobsite, and the seller would be responsible for transportation risks. Neither situation is better or worse — but it will change the price and who needs to arrange the transportation coverage.7. Will there be delay costs if the goods are damaged or received late? This may trigger a need for business interruption insurance, arranged in conjunction with the transportation coverage.8. How long would the anticipated interruption be, and what are the associated delay costs?

Relying on the carrier’s coverage mayresult in a number of issues:• Potentially inadequate amounts of insurance• Limitation of insured perils• Policy conditions may have been breached by the carrier• Coverage may have been lapsed or cancelled Owner-arranged insurance may haveseveral advantages:• Prompt claims handling by their insurer/broker• Excess coverage beyond that provided by the carrier• Broader coverage• Reduced cost• Possible automatic coverage

Clients should contact your officebefore the plane, train, automobile, or boat leaves the station, so you can provide advice and assistance. I recall the news report regarding the overturn of a truck full of live honey-bees. Two dollars per pound. Hmmm. How much does a bee weigh?


Professional Development Lori Bartlett

This year’s convention theme is “Target Your Market.” Education Day is on Tuesday, May 8, and is packed full of expert facilitators who will give you different methods of marketing yourself and your brokerage while providing you with sales techniques and strategies that are tried and true. See how you can af-fect the bottom line of your brokerage, your pocket book and your community. Earn up to six CE hours while doing it. It’s pretty much a win-win. As the convention will be held in Calgary this year, I encourage those local brokers who will not be attending the full convention to take in Education Day. For a special price of $200 + GST get the full day of education, luncheon with entertainment and access to hospi-tality night festivities. Here’s a look at the Education Day speakers line up:

Marketing and Branding in aComplicated World Diane Francis “I don’t consider myself a journal- ist who covers business,” says Diane Francis, “but rather a business person who delivers insight through journalism.” This is an

important distinction to make. Any-one can recite the business headlines; only those, like Francis, who possess a thorough understanding of the business world, can make sense of the headlines. An Editor-at-Large at The National Post, a bestselling author, and a broad-caster, Francis is an accessible guide thorugh the pitfalls and opportunities facing Canadian companies both at home and on the world stage. A marketing and advertising col-umnist for both The New York Sun and The National Post, Francis looks at a plethora of new marketing challenges (and opportunities): globalization, the implosion of the traditional media business model, and newly powerful consumers. She explores the major trends to look at what’s working world-wide — and that you can apply to your own strategy.

Marketing: The Subtle Scienceof Engaging CustomersJared Smith, B.Comm. The average executive in North America is exposed to over 3000 media messages per day. In the midst of all this clutter, what is your business doing to get your pros-

pects attention? How do you use the subtle science of engaging customers to drastically increase sales? Jared Smith, principal of Incite Mar-keting located right here in Alberta, grew up in the insurance industry. His grandfather was one of the first insurance brokers to open their doors in Edmonton. Jared takes us back to the basics in marketing. You may be surprised at just how simple it really is.

It’s Hard to Fire a Friend Keys to Building Long-Lasting,Profitable Client RelationshipsGlenn White, CAIB, CSP, AIPC Glenn White, broker partner, co- creator and facilitator of the Professional Selling for Insurance Brokers certificate program, will present the keys to build-ing a long-lasting profitable relation-ship with your clients.Using practical lessons and advice from the PSIB course, the session will cover:• Relationships — The greater the rela-tionship, the greater the profit potential!• Benchmarks for Success — Take a look at the latest Best Practices Agen-cies’ numbers and activities that help

MarketingEducation Dayat 2012 IBAAConvention



them to build great relationships.• Personality Traits — Find out about yourself and learn how to interact to your advantage with different types of people.• The “Eight Compliance Principles” — The reasons why people act in a certain way (like buying insurance products) and how you can use these as a successful relationship-builder and selling tool.• The “Consultative Sales Process” — Learn the necessary steps you need to take to build great relationships and improve your closing ratios with both prospects and existing clients, and how to converse with them more effectively. Low-Tech, Low-Touch, and Low-Cost Ways to Market YourBrokerage Image in YourCommunityKaren Rutherford, CCIB Karen Rutherford is president of In-ternational Accelerated Learning and was a brokerage owner for 23 years.

At last year’s IBAA convention, Karen presented “Social Media: Should Brokers be Pursu- ing Clients through Facebook?” Thisyear, Karen examines the community relations aspect of your marketing plan. Karen will demonstrate ways to lever-age the everyday things you do in your brokerage and in your community that will truly set you and your brokerage apart from the rest. Learn how to rec-ognize or determine who your target market is (or who you want it to be) and how to go get them! Our goal for the 2012 IBAA con-vention education day is to offer our members the “full meal deal,” so we have integrated selling and marketing topics. To be successful in business, we need to start and finish strong. Busi-nesses can market all they want, and even have a great marketing strategy, but without the people to close the

deal or make the sale, the marketing plan could potentially be worth noth-ing. The same can be said about sales techniques. You may be a great sales person, but you must have a market-ing strategy to generate the interest. For yourself and your brokerage, come out to our education day, take back what you learn and use the techniques and skills in your day-to-day business. See your business grow into its full potential. On a final note, a big thank you to the 2012 convention sponsors. Please make sure to look for the ad in this issue of the magazine. If you have an opportunity, please take a moment to thank them. I look forward to seeing you in Calgary.

What is going onother than convention? The spring professional development program is in full swing and we are very happy to see that our members are seeing the value in what we are offering.


LORI BARTLETTDirector of Education,

[email protected]


Alberta brokers are fortunate to have an opportunity to take part in theProfessional Selling for Insurance Brokers (PSIB) in Calgary April 17–19 and in Edmonton October 23–25. Because of our partnership with Intact Insurance, we are able to offer this cer-tificate program at a 40% discount to our members. Don’t forget the PSIB qualifies as an elective course in the Ca-nadian Professional Insurance Broker (CPIB) designation program. Check out the website (www.ibaa.ca) for more information on what this certificate course has to offer along with broker testimonials. As a member of IBAA, you were in-vited to attend a free education session on the upcoming legislative changes effective July 1, 2012. Rikki McBride worked in partnership with the Super-intendent’s office to prepare a 1.5 hour seminar that highlighted the upcoming changes. This seminar was available to our members in all nine local council areas from March 14–26. Below you will find a synopsis of the impending changes. The Insurance Act amendments fo-cus on consumer transparency, fairness, innovation and harmonization. The Act will be written in plain language intended to be easily readable by the consumer. Terms and conditions will be easily found and clear before the con-sumer enters into the contract. The ap-praisal process has been renamed “dis-pute resolution,” with the rights of each entity involved clearly outlined and the process slightly amended. In addition to recognizing electronic commerce, the Insurance Act now includes the abil-ity to develop new insurance products, allowing for innovation within the in-surance industry. The new Insurance Act has been designed with the idea of har-monization amongst the provinces for insurers, agents, brokers and consumers. The major changes in the Act relate to general property & casualty insur-ance, life and health insurance, group insurance, and accident & sickness in-

surance. A few of the highlights of the general insurance amendments are that statutory conditions will now apply to all policies. The time frame to initiate legal action against the insurer has been increased to two years. There are a number of other changes to the Act that could impact the Alber-ta broker. I recommend you take the time to review the changes and review the Insurance Act. It can be found on the

Alberta Finance website at http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/insur-ance/alberta-insurance-act.html.

Alberta Broker, April-May 2012

Documents

Transcript of Alberta Broker, April-May 2012