THE ALBE ARTRT · 2018-04-04 · Design and Layout Ron Leckelt Advertising Michele Schuldhaus 780.448.2890 [email protected] The Alberta Broker welcomes articles about the insurance

Cdn Publication Mail Registration 40018149February - March 2015

ALBE ARTRTTHE

18 Ways to Sell Insurance on Social MediaUnder the Radar

The Artof NOTSelling

Convention 2015Why Should You Go?

BusinessBoosters

Grow-OpCoverage

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 Gord CowanChief Executive Officer George Hodgson

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

February - March 2015 IN THIS ISSUE

The Alberta Broker February - March 2015 3

3 Message from the Editor

4 Message from the President

6 The Art of Not Selling 18 Ways to Sell Insurance on Social Media Under the Radar

12 Chinook Country Report

14 Top 10 (plus 2) Reasons to Attend the IBAA Convention

15 Light at the End of the Tunnel 2015 Signals the End of Duplicate Processing

16 Commercial Break Where There’s Smoke...

18 Information Is Power

20 PYIB Perspective The Laws of Attraction

22 From the Superintendent News You Can Use

24 Legal-Ease The Night the Lights Went Out in Calgary

26 WICC Report The Crusade to Cure Cancer

28 Professional Development New Year’s Resolutions

29 IBAA Courses

30 Member Services Boost Your Business

Annette Hubick

Message from the Editor “They” all say that businesses must use social media as a marketing tool. For insurance brokers seeking to differentiatethemselves from direct writers and banks, social media marketing can offer a unique opportunity to underscore the human touch they can offer. However, “people” also say they don’t login into their Facebook account to be sold to. In fact, sales messages can be perceived as major annoyance and huge turnoff. So, you must market but not sell; what is an insurance brokerage to do? In “The Art of NOT Selling,” you’ll find 18 not-selling-but-actually-sellingstrategies (page 6). Since the time I started producing this magazine almost two decades ago, I have been hearing about the advent of single data processing—the Holy Grail

When the flood waters wreaked havoc on Calgary in June 2013, many downtown residents and businesses had to contend not only with water-related damage, but also with a power outage that lasted several days. This addedanother layer to the already complicatedinsurance claims scenarios—one that played out in court is the basis for this issue’s “Legal-Ease” column (page 25). Speaking of the floods, I recently had the opportunity to speak with Canadiancountry music superstar and upcoming IBAA convention keynote speaker Paul Brandt about his experiences with the 2013 flood. You’ll read about that and more in the next issue of The Alberta Broker. Until then, turn to page 14 for the 11 reasons, other than Paul Brandt, to attend the 2015 IBAA convention in Lake Louise.

in the quest to reduce inefficienciesin the broker-insurer transaction process. IBAC is reporting that there is “Light at the End of the Tunnel” and that brokers need to prepare now for changes that will be introduced in 2015 (page 15). A new feature is making its debut in this issue. Our intention is to serve up an appetizer for an upcoming IBAA seminar or webinar with an article that, in and of itself, offers “take away”information but also gives readers a glimpse of what they can learn if they order the main course by enrolling. In“Information is Power,” KarenMacWilliam illustrates how theinformation you gather from your clients can make all the difference in securing their best coverage (page 24).

X

4 The Alberta Broker February - March 2015

companies and, to a certain extent, our industry as a whole could save face. This clear failure of the online direct writers exposed why the broker channel offers the best method for consumers to purchase their property and casualty insurance. At one of my first IBAC meetings in Toronto three years ago, we discussed an article written by an executive of aCanadian direct writer who predicted the demise of thebroker channel within a decade. I found it rather incredible that a person in such a high-level position was confident that the direct distribution model could wipe out a century-

old distribution channel. Such statements serve as arallying cry for me and strengthen my resolve to do everything I can to bolster the broker channel.We need to oppose anything that makes property and casualty insurance a simple commodity. I believe the online directsunderestimate brokers. Havingmet brokers from across this country,

I have found a couple of common threads. One is that we have always exuded compassion—compassion to a fault that inspires and encourages us to advocate on behalf of the insurance consumer. This trait seems to be part of our DNA. A direct writer working for a company simply cannotaccomplish such consumer care effectively. Today, more than ever, the insurance consumer needs that compassionateadvocate when purchasing insurance and, even more so, when making a claim. Insurance is not a commodity; it is a product that protects the largest purchases that a consumer will ever make. In the coming year, you will hear and see the stories of how brokers were there for the consumer after the floods. We will begin to highlight how almost all of the insurance companies that support the broker channel went above and beyond in an effort to help people in their time of need in a way that the online directs did not. The broker channel companies, along with thousands of brokers and broker employees, were there to make sure families were able to

Gord Cowan

Message from the President

A very important part of our job is to work with our insurer partners. Frustration seems to be growing among some of our partners who believe that the broker channel is not doing enough to capture the emerging online segment of insurance consumers. Some of our traditional partners have made moves to protect their market share in the emerging online part of our industry. While I can certainly see the logic in that strategy, I can also see the drawbacks starting to emerge in the online offerings through direct writers. The recent, more frequent and increasingly intense weatherevents that have plagued our country and wreaked havoc on our industry have clearly shown the dangers of buying insurance online from insurersthat offer online products exclusively. The simple fact is that online providers cannot advocate for the consumer in the face of catastrophic weather or flooding events the way brokers do. The Calgary flood was a prime example of how online consumers often found themselves without the insurance coverage they thought they had. They suddenly found their online insurance purchase left them woefully underinsured because of very restrictive wordings, line limits and “actual cash value” settlements that are endemic to those products. While broker-channel customers had someone to go to, someone to talk to, a real live person to advocate on their behalf, many online-company customers were forced to erect signs on the front lawns of their devastated homes in an attempt to shame their policy providers into covering their losses. According to media reports, the insurers denyingcoverage were predominantly online direct writers. Fortunately, the media coverage of the plight of theseconsumers did indeed put enough pressure on the insurancecompanies to provide some coverage. The result was a flip flop in the face of enormous public outcry so that these

I believe theonline directsunderestimate

brokers.


get their lives back and businesses were able to get up and running—all in as quick and efficient a way as possible. This high level of service does notsuggest that the broker channel will be destroyed at all, let alone in ten years. I am confident that insurance brokers across the country, especially young brokers, will take the broker channel to the next level. These people are the tech-savvy generation that will reversethe past market trend and ensure that our insurer partners who remain confident and committed to the broker channel will reap the benefits of highly trained and, most of all, highlycompassionate insurance brokers. In closing, I just want to thank all insurance brokers for their commitment to the independent broker. I have been a licensed broker for almost 30 years and can say without reservation that I have enjoyed every minute of my career and will do everything in my power to perpetuate and strengthen the broker channel.

APPOINTMENT NOTICE Westland Insurance Group Ltd. is pleased to announce that Caroline Gould has been appointed as the Vice President Operations, Alberta. “I am very excited to welcome Caroline to the organization” said Jason Wubs, President and CEO of WestlandInsurance Group Ltd. “Caroline’s knowledge, experience along with her leadership skills and management style made this appointment an easy decision. Caroline is great fit for our organization and will play a significant role in executingour plan for growth in Alberta.” As a key member of the senior leadershipteam, Caroline will be accountable for implementing the strategic plan and growth initiatives throughout Alberta. Caroline brings a wealth of insurance knowledge to the organization, in the past 15 years she’s held various leadership

roles in the insurance industry. At Royal & Sun Alliance, Caroline gained experiencein claims and went on to take a Regional leadership position for Western Canada overseeing HR, IT, Finance and Facilities. Later Caroline joined Western Financial as a Senior Regional Vice President, withresponsibility for Manitoba & Saskatchewan.Caroline’s most recent role with Western Financial was Vice President Mergers & Acquisitions. Westland Insurance Group, one of Western Canada’s leading insurancebrokers, was established in 1980 to meet the insurance needs of individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations. Today Westland provides personalized insurance services through its 65 offices located throughout British Columbia and Alberta.

www.westland-insurance.com


Have you heard about the “magic ratio” for business Facebook pages? The social media “gurus” love to talk about it. They say your Facebook posts should be 80% interesting content and 20% sales stuff. Or was it 90–10? Maybe 75–25? I forget. Anyways, I don’t buy into it because I think it sends the wrong message. Especially to insurance brokers!

The “ratio” concept tells business owners it’s smart to shove a crappy sales message down the throat of their Facebook fans as long as they only do it 17.3% of the time. It’s not. And not because it’s not “cool” or because it’s too “sales-y.” Because all it takes is one crappy Facebook post asking your loyal followers to “Get a

FREE Quote” for them to make your messages disappear … FOREVER! And did I mention that your Facebookfans are probably YOUR MOST LOYAL CUSTOMERS? With that being said, you need to be selling on Facebook; otherwise it’s a waste of time. And, you CAN be selling in 100% of your posts—as long as you do it under

18 Ways to Sell Insurance on Social MediaUnder the Radar

The Artof NOTSelling

By John F. Carroll

continued on page 8The Alberta Broker February - March 2015 7

the radar. Here are 18 great ways you can sell insurance on social media without alienating your fans:

When people see that you’re saving others money, it begs the question of how much they could save. Don’t just make a bland post about how “theaverage person who switches to us saves $428,” because that isn’t what people use social media for. They want stories about people. Tell the story, use real numbers, post a picture of the client, explain how saving that money made them feel and be as real as possible. (Editor’s note:remember to obtain the person’s permission.)

2 Share Your Competition’sRate Increases

Let your social media followers know anytime you hear about the competition filing for rate increases. (Editor’s note: Focus on direct writers.)Think of it as a public service announce-ment for all their friends who are insured with that carrier. But don’t just leave it at that because your Facebook followers are probably not with the competition—they’re with you! When you post the infor-mation, ask your followers to “share it with anyone you know who has this company.” If it’s a major company, there’s a pretty good chance everybody knows one or two people with that carrier; but most people wouldn’t even think of forwarding something like this if you don’t ask. A side benefit for your own customers is that they’ll think twice about leaving you and if they DOget a rate increase they’ll know that all the other companies are getting them too!

3 Quote RewardsIt’s a simple idea here: offer some type

of reward for getting a quote (gift card, etc.). But here’s my twist to make it more effective: Don’t offer the reward to everyone!

If you offer a standard prize for any quote from anyone, it’s just not thatinteresting. Plus, most of the people who follow you on social media are already your customers anyway! On the other hand, if you offered the same prize but only for people who have a birthday this month, you’ll be losing 11 out of 12 people but those that qualify are going to be much more interested in the offer because it’s exclusive. And your social media followers just might forward the link to someone they know who had a recent birthday. Make sense?

4 Quote CharityDonation

This is just like #3 above except that, instead of giving the “prize” to theperson getting the quote, you’re offeringto donate to charity instead. The trick to this technique is to build the offer around a charity that has an enthusiastic audience and let them do the promotion for you. Ask the charity to share your post on its own Facebook page and other places like its website and email signatures. Make it all about the charity, not about you. Working with local charities will get you far more benefit than national ones with this tactic.

5 Sell the“Other” Lines

Let’s face it, 95% or more of your engaged Facebook fans are probably already clients of yours.

So stop trying to talk your followers into getting an auto or home insurance quote if it’s likely they already have those lines with you. Use your page to raise awareness of other lines to get referrals, to up-sell and retain your current policyholders. You can’t sell more auto and home insurance to a bunch of people that already bought it from you.

6 Announce NewProducts

If you’ve got new products or coverageoptions to offer your customers, make sure to share it on social media. One valuable technique is to start the post by explaining specifically who (or what life situation) is the perfect person for this new product. People don’t care about insurance products and they definitely don’t want to read about them on Facebook. So start with providing a description of the person it’s ideal for. You’ll catch people’s attention because either:a) It’s an ideal product for themb) It’s an ideal product for someone they know People are interesting. Details and features of insurance products are not.

7 ShareTestimonials

Whether it’s a video you record on your iPhone, an email you copy and paste into a status update (withpermission) or an online review you take a screenshot of and post toFacebook, testimonials are gold. And if there’s any way to mention or tag the people who gave testimonialsso it shows up on their Facebook pages to their friends, do it. If it’s really flattering, share it on your personal Facebook account too. It doesn’t look pretentious when you share other people’s words about you. (Don’t post it to your personal account again, click the share button on the original post from your agency’s page instead.)

1 Post Stories AboutSaving Clients Big Money


continued from page 7

8 Post Great InsuranceCommercials

Your carriers spend millions of dollarscreating entertaining, interesting and engaging sales content. Use it. With that being said, I would only post commercials that have anentertainment or interest factor. Ask yourself this question: “Would any normal person care about thiscommercial enough to show their friend?” If the answer isn’t “Yes”, it doesn’t belong on your Facebook page.

9 AnnounceNew Discounts

Did your carrier just come out with a new discount that might entice people to get a quote or share with a friend? Explain it on Facebook. And if you think there may be some backlash from people who won’t qualify for the new discount, post something more ambiguous that asks whether the reader has the qualification

for the discount and if so, to contact you to learn more.

As I mentioned in #5 above, most of your Facebook fans are already friends or clients of yours so trying to sell to them is just preaching to the choir. The real opportunity with social media (in my opinion) is cross-selling, retaining customers and getting referrals. I’ll probably write another whole ar-ticle like this one with ways to ask for referrals on Facebook, so I’m going to keep it simple here: Just ask for them. Want a more subtle approach? Whenyou receive a customer referral (whetherthrough Facebook or not), go onto your Facebook page and thank the person who provided that referral out in the open for everyone to see. This courtesy accomplishes many things. It shows the referrers how much you appreciate their gestures, which should get you more referrals from them. It shows everyone else how much you appreciate referrals, which

should get you more referrals from other Facebook fans. It also reinforces to your existing clients that other people are so happy with your agency that they’re sending their friends. This social-proof should improve your client perception and retention.

Want to see all the people within 15 miles of you that are tweeting about insurance? It’s easy. The basic idea is you listen to people tweeting about insurance and then message them with an answer to their question. (See sidebar for how to do this).

One of the unfortunate circumstancesof improving technology is thatcustomers are becoming less connected to their insurance broker. You can have multi-policy clients for years without ever meeting face to face.

11 Local TwitterSearch

12 Be aReal Person

10 Ask forReferrals

Here’s a quick tip for how insurance agents can useTwitter to find new insurance sales opportunities every single day: Twitter has a feature called “Advanced Search” that allows you to search for the most recent messages about topics, people and places you’re interested in. The best part about advanced search is it allows you to search by location. If you search for the keyword“insurance” with your location in the “near this place” field Twitter will show you all the people within 15 miles who are talking about insurance right now! Find Prospects. If you see anyone complaining about their current insurance company or agent, send them an @ messageand let them know you can solve their problems. Answer Questions. Build yourself up as a local expert by trying to help answer questions people are having about their insurance.4 More Things to Know1. How to send @ messages When you include the name of another Twitter user with

Find Local Insurance LeadsUsing Twitter Advanced Search

an @ in front of it (like this: @InsuranceSplash), those people will get a message that your tweet was directly to them. It’s the easiest way to communicate with Twitter users you’re not already connected with.

2. Filter the noise with negative keywords Use the negative keyword field and enter terms related to tweets you don’t care about.

3. You can bookmark the search If you save the search URL to your browser, you can check this feed of local insurance tweets every day. It shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds to check if you make it a habit.

4. Expand or contract the location radius By default, Twitter shows tweets from users within 15 miles of the location you enter. If you look at the URL at the top of your internet browser, you can replace the number 15 with another number bigger or smaller to get more or less specific results.

by John F. Carroll

continued on page 10

13 Turn Your Staff intoReal People Too

While this technology is good in many ways (and inevitable anyway), it’sa major problem for insurance brokers because it weakens the human connectionyou can have with your clients. Fortunately, social media is the antidote! In fact, you can be a person in front of hundreds of people at once! Tell a story about your childhood, sharepersonal pictures, be open, be vulnerableand be yourself. People want to do business with other people—not with companies.

Take real pictures of your staff in action and post them often. Share stories about their background, family, likes, dislikes, pets, accomplishments, volunteer activities, etc. Explain what they do in the agency and their areas of expertise. Facebook is all about people. Not insurance brokerages. Learn the rules and play the game.

Anything growth related is good for sales. Adding a new employee, moving to a new office, new desks, newcomputers, new anything—it all says:“We’re successful.” And when you look successful, people will assume you have great products and great service so there’s less risk and more upside to referring their friends.

Share when you see stories in the newsor of actual clients who face horrible consequences as a result of:• Not buying a certain type of insurance• Not buying enough insurance• Getting bad insurance advice• Anything else insurance related that you theoretically would have prevented


14 Post NewsAbout Growth

15 Share HorrorStories


continued from page 9

17 Share RelevantClaim Situations

Share it. Share the story. Those examples are the reason people need insurance brokers. If you don’t share the pain of NOT buying from you, eventually no one will.

I keep saying that your Facebook followers are probably already clients so keep that in mind when posting to Facebook. How can you use Facebook to get more sales (and renewals) from your existing book since that’s mostly who is listening to you there? Policy reviewsis one way. Just be sure to frame it around the benefits to them in a way that doesn’t come off as a trick.

People love stories. And, if yourbrokerage is like most, you’ve got plenty of interesting claim situations.

18 Post Pictures ofRandom Insured Items

Share them on Facebook and remember that every time you get people thinking about insurance claims, they’re not thinking about insurance premiums.

Even if you sell every type of insurance policy known to man, most people will only think of your agency for the types of insurance they bought from you. It’s impossible to remind your clients too much about the other lines of insurance you offer.

An easy, interesting and fun way to cross sell is by posting pictures of the quads, motorcycles, boats, trailers,commercial vehicles, artwork and every other outside-the-box item that you insure. Obviously you’re not going to do this all the time, but an occasionalreminder that you also cover mopeds is going to help your most loyal fans be even better referrers of your agency.

In Conclusion Shoving sales messages down people’sthroat is not going to work, even if youonly do it 1% of the time. HopefullyI’ve given you enough ideas tounderstand how you can sell without turning off your followers.

John F. Carroll is the founder and CEO of InsuranceSplash. See more atwww.insurancesplash.com.

“All it takes is one crappy Facebook post asking your loyal followers to

‘Get a FREE Quote’for them to make yourmessages disappear ...

FOREVER.”16 Offer PolicyReviews


Who? What? Where? Darrell Verbonac

BROKER NEWS In Calgary, HUB International added to its staff with Ramy Dasuki, previously with Western Financial Group (WFG) in High River, as well as Leanne Giesbrecht. At HUB Phoenix in Red Deer, ColinHaggerty is new, returning to Central Alberta after having moved toSaskatchewan a few years back to work with Henderson Insurance in Regina. Prior to that move, Colin worked with WFG in Red Deer. Other moves around Calgary include Ashley Wright moving from Lucas & Wright to Jones Brown, Amanda Roberts going from Lucas & Wright to Bell Davidson, Faye Banks movingfrom Rogers Insurance to Aon and Barb Taylor going from PirbrightProfessions to Rogers Insurance. DerekLane, who founded Lane’s Insurance, then retired and sold it to ChadMullen, has returned to Lane’s, workingpart time after having been out of the business for the past few years. New to Wilson M. Beck Insurance is Christina Ohrn, who was with CJ Campbell, and Dawn Mosondz moved from Wilson M. Beck to Link Insurance, working out of its Country Hills Boulevard NW office. Link moved its head office operations out of its Country Hills Boulevard location to a new office in Ranchland. Sheroo Hyder and Kathy Uniac moved to the new corporate head office, which will not house any retail insurance operations. In news from Costen & Associates, Winnie Fong joined the staff, and congratulations go to Andrew Shareski and his wife Amanda on the October15th birth of their first daughter and

third child, Clara Marie. Other new staff around town include KellieMcCutcheon at LJ Stein Canada and Kathleen Bourne at BrokerLink.Congratulations to Elyshia Pilon of CRS/Merrill Insurance on her September wedding to Ray Cheung in Napa, California. Down in the southern part of the province, Bev MacDougall, who was the manager of WFG’s Bow Island office, left to join Alpine Insurance in Lethbridge. Bart and Barb Robinson, who were managing the WFG Taber office, moved to the WFG head office in High River. Up in Fort McMurray, new at RogersInsurance North is Nadine Muise, who moved from Nova Scotia where she had been a broker with Vaughne Assurance.

Two acquisitions took place in December. Braden Bosch, formerly of Sussex Insurance, purchased All City Insurance from Cher Weisgerber, who is retiring. B.C.’s Westland Insuranceadded to its stable of brokers in Alberta by purchasing Holly Gordon Insurance. Vern and Holly Epp plan to stay on for a transition period as Westland takes over, then will beretiring mid-2015.

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DARRELL VERBONAC,FCIP, CRM

Regional BusinessDevelopment Manager

Intact Insurance Company

Company News At Intact Insurance, there have been a number of changes and additions. At the executive level, Darren Godfreyis the new regional vice president for Calgary region, moving over from claims where he was the deputy senior vice president, a role now filled by Mike Van Elsburg. Darren is replacingChris Miller who is moving to Edmonton as the Northern Alberta regional vice president. Chris Lockhart is the new director of Novex Insurance, and Brent Buchan moved fromcommercial operations director tobecome a regional business developmentmanager. New commercial underwritersare Anita Couture and DeannaFujimoto, both coming from RSA, Carrie Falkenham from Co-Operators and Swati Mukherjee. Marla Horton-Moore came from Lundgren & Young Insurance to Intact’s personal lines underwriting team. A husband and wife team moved to Alberta from Ontario—Matthew Jowett transferred with Boiler Insuranceand Inspection to become its Calgary marketing representative, and his wife Sara, joined Travelers Insurance as an underwriter. Also new at Travelers is Pauline Tang, while Mike Hammel is new at Aviva, returning to insurance after being in the risk management department with Enbridge the past few years.

Industry News The province has a new deputy superintendent of insurance, as David Sorenson has stepped into the role,following many years as both anindependent and company adjuster.

STAND OUTwith Alberta’s brokers

by advertising in

Call MicheleSchuldaus at:T: 780.448.2890

E: [email protected]


The Advocate George Hodgson

12. Earn stimulating continuing education (CE) credits. You could sit at your computer, learn with a few local brokers, or engage with some of the brightest Canadian minds at convention.Which do you think would be a better way to get at least eight CE credits? 11. Network with fellow brokers and renew old friendships. Sometimes the best ideas come from our peers! From serendipitous and ad hoc meetings to private tête-à-têtes, parties and largeassemblies, the opportunities will abound. 10. Network with insurance company professionals and industry vendors. Visit with the people you deal with on a regular basis! The trade show, hospitalitynight, the Peace Hills Party … in fact, the whole convention presents anopportunity to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. 9. Meet professionals from our sister broker associations. Build ties and find out what the members, executives and CEOs from our sister associations across Canada are doing.

TOP 10 (plus 2) REASONSTo Attend the IBAA Convention

GEORGE HODGSONCEO, IBAA

[email protected]

A stunning setting, a masquerade, golf, insurance reboots—this year’s IBAA convention in Lake Louise on May 3–6, 2015,

is so exciting I couldn’t stop at 10 reasons to attend!

8. Meet our provincial regulators. How often do you get the chance to hear directly from the source and ask open-forum questions following aregulator’s presentation? 7.Golf. On May 3rd, at the Golden Golf and Country Club—We’ll bus you in and out so you can relax and enjoy the gorgeous natural setting. 6. Enjoy picturesque Lake Louise! Need I say more? 5. Meet the IBAA Staff—put faces to names you have been talking to over the past year, in a relaxed atmosphere! 4. Welcome IBAA 2015–16 presidentRobyn Young at the president’s gala masquerade. Bring in the new with panache,great food and great entertainment at the Fairmont Lake Louise. 3. Take a welcome break from theoffice. The convention’s focus is busi-ness, but there is a lot of fun too! Enjoy hospitality night, the trade show, the golf tournament, president’s gala masquerade and great entertainment throughout!

2. Have a say in your association’s direction at the AGM. In addition to electing your new executive, get informed, debate and vote on what’s happening at IBAA. 1. Paul Brandt! Country music star Paul Brandt is this year’s keynote speaker. Another must see event!

These are my “top reasons” to attend this year’s IBAA convention; you may have others. Come back to the office feeling invigorated and relaxed, with more knowledge and, who knows, maybe some new friends.

See you in Lake Louise in May!

For convention information and registration go to www.ibaa.ca.


For years, brokers have protested about the waste and inefficiencies created byenforced duplicate data entry intoinsurers’ computer systems. Through the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC), your broker associa-tion has been advocating with both insurers and broker system vendors to leverage the capabilities of modern technology. The objective of IBAC Data Exchange is to take transaction information directly from a broker’s system, deliver it to the insurer and pick up the insurer’s response, all in one virtually instantaneous circuit. Finally now, the massive IT projectsneeded for insurers to make their systems capable of digesting such “real time” transmissions are starting to come online, after years of planning and investment. In 2015, brokers will see the first implementations of automated policy change as well as new businesstransactions following the same design. Both large national and smaller regionalinsurers are working hard to put the first stages into place, and more insurers are committed to providing the same

Viewpoint Stéphan Bernatchez

straight-through processing functionality as their own new systems go live. Collectively, the industry does now generally agree: we can no longer afford the kind of waste embodied in manual processes. Brokers’ key role—the value that we add for the consumer—is in delivering choice, advice and advocacy. Inefficient and unnecessary work only takes away from resources that are best focused on the customer. This year, watch for bulletins from your insurers announcing newintegration processes following these key IBAC Data Exchange principles:• Transactions start and end in your broker management system (BMS).• Systems strictly adhere to the recognized CSIO XML standards for data and messaging to maximize the interoperability of processes.• Electronic information is sent directly to insurer systems, without additional manual keying, which would not be recorded in your BMS.• Data is processed by the insurer, and the response or acknowledgement is returned immediately in order to provide confirmation.

• Process will not require navigation through unnecessary layers such as an insurer’s web portal.• Any “translations” needed for the insurer’s system will be invisible to the broker and take place on the insurer’s side of the transaction.

So how can brokers prepare now? First and foremost, make sure your own house is in order. Take a look at your BMS and ensure that you are making full use of its data capabilities. If you are not using the latest version of your BMS, arrange to update as older versions may not offer the functionality available in the newest releases. Equally important, make certain that everyone in your brokerage understands theimportance of good information practices.The more accurate and complete the data in your system is, the more easily you will be able to exchange informationwith insurer systems. Make sure that you are taking advantage of CSIO downloads. Perhaps consider asking your BMS provider about data audit tools, to do an early spring cleaning on your own databases. Secondly, be ready to give your support to the insurers who invest in building integration with your BMS by adopting the new workflows and providing constructive, cooperative feedback about any issues you find. Change may be somewhat disruptive in the short-term, but the benefits for your customers will be immediate. Let the insurers who are early investors know that we appreciate their support. 2015 promises to be an exciting year for brokers. Are you ready?

For more information about IBAC Data Exchange, please contact Sheldon Wasylenko [email protected] or Brenda Rose [email protected] .

STÉPHAN BERNATCHEZ,C.I.B., FCIP

President,Insurance Brokers

Association of Canada

2015 Signals the Endof Duplicate Processing

Light atthe End of

the Tunnel!


Alberta Executive Panel

As a fifth-generation BritishColumbian, I have grown accustomed to the aroma of marijuana wafting through my airspace. B.C. has missed winning the race to be the first North American jurisdiction to legalize the sale and use of weed. Colorado and Washington State won and their dope stores need insurance. In Canada, we don’t have dope stores (yet), but we do have folks who have been issued permits to grow medicinal marijuana. This poses insurance challenges; however, if we assume the operations are legally undertaken, insurance should be available. The “recovering underwriter” in me recoils from the notion of insuring marijuana growers, whom I assume to be unsavoury, shadowy figures hanging out in bad parts of town. But really, what’s the difference between medicinalmarijuana and any other growing crop? The first exclusion that we find in a commercial property policy relates tothere being no coverage for “… growingplants, trees, shrubs, or flowers…” It’s a live plant. So you need to deal with that exclusion.

The second exclusion that we see is for “… property illegally acquired, kept, stored or transported; property seized or confiscated for breach of any law or by order of any public authority…” So here’s the tough part. As a broker, you need to ask a lot of questions, ask for the permit that changes their operations from illegal to legal, and make sure that the insurer is on board with what they’re growing, where it’s growing, how it’s stored and the means of transportation. Large commercial farming operationsunder contract with the federalgovernment are not the folks that I worry about. I’m concerned about the “guy with glaucoma” who uses his residential garage or an industrial warehouse as his grow-op and then has a legitimate insurance loss that is completely excluded because he has some plants. What to do? Certainly, if you have a prospective client who is in the nursery business and grows marijuana legally, a brief Google search indicates there are insurance markets for this. If you can

help, great. If not, refer him or her to someone who can. With other clients, whether it’s a commercial or personal lines scenario, if you suspect that there may bemarijuana on their premises, or theclient tells you such, you need to explain that growing crops and illegal activity are not insured and theseactivities may jeopardize other legitimateclaims. You needn’t ask “do you have marijuana on the premises?” but you should put your comments in writing regarding the existence and impact of policy exclusions. Examples can help. Years ago, I adjusted a claim for a stolen Rolex watch. The client had a police report, a photo of himselfwearing the watch and a currentappraisal. As I was preparing the cheque, he told me with a smugattitude that he travelled to Hong Kong frequently on business and was able to “sneak” the watch past the folks at Canada Border Services Agency without having to pay duty and taxes. I smiled weakly, gathered my paper-work and got ready to run. He was not smug when told that “property illegally acquired” includes property upon which duty and taxes are payable but have not been paid. The watch, for which a considerable premium had been paid to schedule on the policy, was not covered. He had assumed that I was on his side and, like most of us, hated paying duty and taxes on imported goods. I don’t judge him, but as an insuranceprofessional, I have to be honest. I have to be ethical. I have to interpret the policy the way it was written. The watch was illegally acquired—perhaps not when he bought it, but when he failed to pay the appropriate duty and taxes upon importation to Canada. People have asked me, “But you would have paid him if he didn’t tell you that.” “Yup, but he did.” Here are my suggestions for dealingwith clients on marijuana-related issues.

Commercial Break Karen MacWilliam

WhereThere’sSmoke...


1 Clients growing marijuana legally will need to provide ALL of the paperwork in order to get coverage. No documentation, no coverage.2 If you rely solely upon the exclusionary language in the policy and don’t explicitly tell the underwriter that marijuana is being legally grown and/or used, there is a strong likelihood of allegations of non disclosure or misrepresentation and possible policy cancellation.3 If you suspect a client is involved in something illegal, unethical, suspect or they’re just creeping you out, you are not required to assist them. At a minimum, inspect the premises. If you’re too scared to look at the risk, they shouldn’t be your client.4 It’s not your job to judge people; it’s your job to get facts. Potentially awkward questions can be handled professionally. 5 Laws change—keep up. Who knows? A subsequent article may

[email protected]

KAREN MacWILLIAMis an insurance and risk management consultant

discuss insuring prostitution as a legal business. Take a deep breath. Just don’t inhale.

Premium FinancingPersonal and Commercial Lines

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INFORMATIONis POWER

By Karen MacWilliam

Most claims denials emanate from the policy statutory conditions. As brokers, we tend to step aside and let the insurer handle a claim—even if it means a denial of coverage. After all, the policy is a contract between the insurer and the insured. This makes sense if the denial is based on the conditions related to “fraud” and “misrepresentation,” since these are conscious actions by theinsured that may often involvenefarious behaviour; however, the water becomes much murkier when it comes to the duty to disclose materialinformation. The statutory conditions require the insured to:“… promptly give notice in writing to the insurer or its agent of a change that is(a) material to the risk and(b) within the control and knowledge of the insured.” The broker has a duty to assist the insured in elucidating this information and bringing it to the attention of the underwriter. But what if the insured and thebroker don’t know what is material from the insurer’s perspective? In Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada v.Thomas (2011 NBCA 96), the New Brunswick Court of Appeal stated:“Prior to a loss, an insurer has a duty of good faith to advise a policyholder in plain language about what the insurer considers to be a ‘material change’ to a risk.”

To be frank, this judgment gobsmackedme. For years, I held firmly to belief that the entire duty regardingdisclosure of material information rested squarely on the shoulders of the insured. This case would tend to cause me to think otherwise. While you may want to do the happydance and say, “Okay, the insurer should provide a list and then we’re good to go,” or you might even say, “That’s great, but who really cares about New Brunswick?” prudence should override. Brokers have a duty to convey examples of those types of situations that are material to their clients, ensure that the client provides all of the material information needed for the placement AND (wait for it) re-confirm the accuracy of information EACH YEAR. Hard work? Yup. Being an insurance broker is not a good career choice for people who are inherently adverse to work. The digital age has simplified our ability to send and receive information,but it hasn’t necessarily simplifiedcollecting the raw data or organizing it in a way that may compel an under-writer to provide their best quote. The digital world also allows underwriters, claims adjusters and other stakeholdersto seek out information that may invalidate a claim or call into question the truthfulness of the insured. The information is an incredibly powerful tool—only if it’s used properly and with conscious thought.

Underwriters recognize it when you send them last year’s application with last year’s data—there’s probably even an app to check for that. The chances of enticing engaged underwriters and compelling them to furnish a competitive quote will be dramatically improved with the quality and accuracy of the information that you provide to them.

Karen MacWilliam is an insurance and risk management consultant. She can be reached at [email protected].

Want to learn the4 important thingsyou need to know to

harness the powerof information

for you and your clients?

IBAA Seminar: Information is Power

1:00 – 4:30 p.m.Lethbridge – March 3

Calgary – March 4Red Deer – March 5Edmonton – March 6

REGISTER

www.ibaa.ca/education/seminars

INFORMATIONis POWER



PYIB Perspective Jonathan Brown

I want to preface this article by statingthat we at the PYIB value all brokers in this fantastic province of ours and our mission is to support all of you as you provide your great services to Alberta consumers. While we all work for different brokerages—some large, some small—I believe that we are all committed to the goal of providing exceptional service and quality prod-ucts to our clients. This desire to be the best choice for consumers has drawn many of us to this career and drives our continual efforts to improve. With this great track record in mind, I have chosen to write about my hopes for our future and some of the things that can be done to ensure that we are able to continue to provide what we do for our clients. Many of us working as personal lines or commercial lines brokers are very happy with the roles that we fill and hope to continue with them for many years to come. However, anothersegment of up and coming brokers desiresto accede to greater responsibilities and perhaps the ownership of their own brokerages at some point in the future. My comments are in reference to this latter group. As we know, this province offers manylucrative oilfield jobs, an attraction that is too great to overcome for many of our young people. While the difficultyin attracting new brokers to ourindustry may be for any number ofdifferent reasons, to attract the top talent to the broker delivery model, we have to offer something that will keep them from going elsewhere. It’s a simple law of attraction: if we want to attract quality professionals, we must offer quality opportunities. One important strategy for those who are planning on selling their brokerages in the future is to bring on entrepreneurial young brokers and mentor them, with the understanding that they would either be able to take over the brokerage or buy in as a partnerin the business. For those independent brokerage owners who want their


The Lawsof

Attraction


JONATHAN BROWN,CAIB

[email protected]

brokerage to endure as a true independent,I think that this approach wouldaccomplish this goal and should also result in a higher level of performance. The broker that is working towards a partnership would generally be more invested in seeing the business become more successful. While this approach may not appeal to all candidates, I think we should promote it more as a career benefit. Otherwise, those with an entrepreneurialbent may feel they have very little room for advancement in this field unless they are willing to start a brokerage from scratch and then compete with the established brokerages. Far too often, it seems that we as brokers are simply competing with each other,taking policies out of others pockets and putting them in our own and vice versa, forgetting that we should all be focused on taking back the market share that the direct writers havegarnered and not simply tradingpolicies amongst ourselves. If we are to continue our commitment to the brokermodel, I feel that we need to focus on how to make our brokerages strong for the future. The emphasis should be on regaining our clients that have moved to the directs, and investing in the brokers of tomorrow. If we were to begin to offer bettercompensation plans to entry level brokers,and the possibility of partnerships or ownership to those who are looking for entrepreneurial opportunity, I think that our task of finding the next great broker would become easier. We would see greater buy-in from those who are already in the industry, with possibly fewer brokers leaving for the supposed greener pastures of the company side, as well as creating a very attractivecareer option for young people decidingon their choice of profession. I firmly believe that brokers offer the best possible choice for the customer, with our ability to offer personalized service and choice, and our dedication to the success of the individual clients

by finding solutions that fit their needs. This client focus opposes that of the insurers that attempt to make the client fit the product, so we should be the obvious choice for everyone’s insurance needs. If the current generation of long-term successful brokers is willing to invest in our future through mentoringand possibly partnering with the younger generation of up and comers, we should be able to ensure that the

brokerage remains the best consumer option and be able to pass the torch of greatness to the best possiblecandidates.


From the Superintendent Mark Prefontaine

Every now and then, the Office of the Superintendent of Insurancewill come acrossissues regardingmisinterpretationof legislation,and otheritems whichstakeholders should beaware. The superintendentwill then issue an interpretationbulletin or a notice. But whatexactly is an interpretationbulletin or notice? Where canyou find them? And how can youget your voice heard on what ispublished? Read on to find outmore. An interpretation bulletin ispublished when the superintendent needs to interpret something thatisn’t necessarily clear in theexisting legislation. It can alsobe published to explain how thelegislation should be applied.Interpretation bulletins mayset out the expectation thatprovincially regulated insuranceentities will behave in a waythat does not contravene thelegislation. The superintendenthas authority to issue aninterpretation bulletinunder the Insurance Act.

A notice is published when thesuperintendent needs to announce something that isn’t an interpretation of legislation. For example, three notices were released last year to announce that changes to the Insurance Act, Automobile Insurance Premiums Regulation and the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols Regulation would comeinto effect on July 1, 2014. Notices may also be released to relay how theOffice of the Superintendent ofInsurance will communicate andinteract with its stakeholders. Interpretation bulletins and notices can be found on the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance website here:www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/insurance/bulletins.html. (Editor’s note: members can also find these on the IBAA website.) An even easier way to never miss a new interpretation bulletin or notice is to sign up for our subscription service here: http://finance.alberta. ca/subscribe/insurance/. You can choose from a number of different publications you’d like to receive. Ensuring that the published interpretation bulletins and

News You Can UseStay “In the Know”

with YourRegulator

“Never miss aninterpretation

bulletin or notice... sign up for our

subscription service.”


MARK PREFONTAINESuperintendent

of [email protected]

notices are clear to the reader is very important to us. Prior to publication, we now follow a process where a draft interpretation bulletin or notice isprovided to stakeholders to give them an opportunity to comment on the clarity of its contents. We do this by sending it to representativeassociations such as your own IBAA, Insurance Bureau of Canada andothers. Should you have any questionsor suggestions of topics for furtherinterpretation bulletins, notices, or if you’d like to see an information seminar on something, please contact our office. T: 780.427.8322 (toll-free in Alberta by first dialing 310.0000) E: [email protected] We are always pleased to receive your feedback!


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

The Night theLights Went Out

in Calgary

Jewellry Store Sues InsurerOver Power Loss Caused by

Calgary Flood

Breslauer Holdings Ltd. o/a Breslauer& Warren Jewellers (“Breslauer & Warren Jewellers”) operates a retailjewelry store as a tenant in the

Lougheed Building at 141 – 6 Avenue SW in Calgary. Unfortunately, in June of 2013, much of Calgary was flooded, including the downtown core. The

Lougheed Building did not flood, nor did the premises of Breslauer & Warren Jewellers. However, electrical power was interrupted because flood



[email protected]

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

Dentons Canada LLP and practice in theprofessional liability insurance area.

[email protected]

waters entered Enmax substation #5, submerging the air compressors and partially submerging the batteriesin the distribution component of the substation. For safety reasons, on June 21, 2013, Enmax de-energized substation #5. From June 21–27, 2013, Breslauer & Warren Jewellers was without electrical power and business could not take place. Two months prior to the flood, on April 15, 2013, Breslauer & Warren Jewellers entered into a commercial general liability policy with the insurer, which was then known as GrainInsurance and Guarantee Company and is now known as Wynward InsuranceGroup (“Wynward”). Following the flood, Breslauer & Warren Jewellers made a loss of income claim under the premium property enhancementendorsement to the policy. The premium property enhancement endorsement began with the following wording: These extensions shall not apply if they are more specifically insured elsewhere under this policy. Clause 19 of the premium property enhancement endorsement stated, in part:This policy is extended to insure, for not more than the limit specified in the coverage summary in any one occurrence, against loss of income due to the inter-ruption of incoming power resulting from an occurrence insured hereunder to property owned by off premises, public utility plants, substations, transformer or switching stations or transformers and transmission lines furnishingelectrical heat, light or power to the “premises” described in the “declaration page” (emphasis added). The loss of income claimed by Breslauer & Warren Jewellers totaled $41,000. Breslauer & Warren Jewellersacknowledged that the limit of coverageunder Clause 19 of the premium property enhancement endorsement was $25,000. However, there was no deductible with respect to the Clause 19 coverage.

Wynward denied the claim on the basis that clause 19 of the premium property enhancement endorsement did not apply. Instead, according to Wynward, the loss resulted from flood and therefore the flood endorsement applied. The term “flood” was defined in the flood endorsement to mean “… the breaking out or overflow of any natural or artificial body of water and includes ‘surface water,’ waves, tides, tidal waves and tsunamis.” The flood endorsement was subject to a $50,000 deductible, which exceeded the $41,000 loss. Accordingly, Wynwardargued that no insurance monies were owing to Breslauer & Warren Jewellersunder the policy. When Wynward denied the claim, Breslauer & Warren Jewellers sued. The trial judge accepted that flood set in motion the chain of events that resulted in Breslauer & Warren Jewellers’ income loss. However, the Lougheed Building was not flooded.

Instead, the income loss resulted from the loss of electrical power. The trial judge observed that clause 19 of the premium property enhancementendorsement extended coverage to loss of income due to the interruption of incoming power resulting from “anoccurrence insured hereunder” to property owned by off premisessubstations. Because the floodendorsement had been purchased as an extension of Breslauer & Warren Jewellers’ coverage and as part of itsinsurance policy with Wynward, a floodwas “an occurrence insured hereunder”within the meaning of clause 19. Further, a flood is what had occurred at Enmax substation #5, which was an “off premises” property. In the result, the trial judge held that the loss fell within the ambit of clause 19 of the premium property enhancement endorsement and granted judgment in favour of Breslauer & Warren Jewellers.


Fanningthe Flame

WICC Report Amy Foggin

TORCH BEARERS The WICC Annual Gold Flame Award luncheon on January 29th was another smashing success. Winners recognized this year were:• On Side Restoration• Renfrew Insurance Ltd• Intact Insurance in both Calgary and Edmonton• Alberta Fire and Flood• The Insurance Professionals of Calgary• The Sinclair Golf Tournament Committee

Consistent, large donors to WICC are no strangers to the annual award ceremony, but nonetheless the board is pleased to have the chance torecognize them in an audience of their peers for their ongoing contributionto the fight to find a cure for cancer.

We were moved by Kim Black’s testimonial this year. As a member of the Renfrew team, Kim is an insurance industry cancer survivor and her wordsreminded us all that our efforts are worth it.

FUELING RESEARCH You may not have realized this, but each year, WICC chooses a specificresearch project to support. Dr. ChristineFriedenreich spoke at the Gold FlameAwards about her work because she was funded by WICC in 2014. Dr. Friedenreich is taking a multi-disciplinary approach to look at theimpact of physical exercise on cancer prevention and control.

IGNITE ENGAGEMENT WICC funds are steered directly to researchers and the Canadian Cancer

The Crusade to Cure CancerSociety (CCS) helps us to identify projects that fit our mandate. For 2015 we have chosen to give $200,000 to brain cancer research. Through a public/private partnership and the CCS Impact Grant program, WICC’s donation will be matched dollar for dollar, bringing the total investment to a whopping $400,000. Nearly 2,000 Canadians will die of brain cancer this year. As brain cancer is one of the more aggressive cancers with very low survival rates, WICC was motivated to get on side with some aggressive fundingfor this area of research.

Are you feeling inspired? We sure hope so. “Hooray! Hooray! The first of May” is a WICC initiative intended to get grass roots events started in the offices of the insurance community in Alberta. Getting an event rolling can

Left to right: Quan Luu-Dixon of Aviva, Jennifer Davis of Marsh Canada, Sacha Carey of Renfrew Insurance, Dr. Friedenreich, Katherine Campbell of Renfrew Insurance, Sherre Newell of Aviva, Dr. Darren Brenner and Daiva Jocius of the Canadian Cancer Society. Dr. Christine Friedenreich


AMY FOGGIN, B.F.A., B.Ed.Program Manager,

CKR Global RiskMitigation & Investigation

[email protected]

be a struggle, but our experience is that these types of initiatives can be a great employee engagement tool. Staff members like to get involved in projectsof which they can be proud. Why not start your own event? The WICC board members are here to help you get something started in your own office. Supporters are actively running different styles of fundraisers throughoutthe entire month of May but planning early can help you achieve success. Contact a WICC board member for ideas or advice at any time.

STAND OUTwith Alberta’s brokers

by advertising in

Call MicheleSchuldaus at:T: 780.448.2890E: [email protected]


Professional Development Diana Dai

Now we are in the second month of 2015, how are your New Year’s resolutions going?

At IBAA, for the most part, we’re on track with our resolution to provide professional developmentsolutions through improved course content and delivery.

New Licensing Instructorin Edmonton First, I would like to introduce our new licensing instructor in Edmonton:Maggie Smith. Maggie brings to IBAAher extensive experience in the insuranceindustry and in teaching, as well as her expertise developing teaching material.We are very fortunate to have attractedsuch a high-caliber instructor. Welcomeaboard, Maggie! Kelly Parrott (previously Kelly Scott)has been teaching licensing immersion classes in Edmonton for many years. We want to thank Kelly for all the teaching and content development she has contributed to IBAA’s licensing programs. Kelly will continue to teach CAIB classes at the IBAA LearningCentre. Kelly, on behalf of all at IBAA,thank you!

Licensing Level 2 ClassesExtended to 4 Days With the expansion of the Alberta Insurance Council’s Level 2 exam, our course content necessarily expanded. Both the instructors and past Level 2 students felt that three days were sim-ply not enough time to cover all the materials effectively. Starting in Janu-ary 2015, we are extending our Level 2 immersion class to four days. We will continue to monitor how this new length meets teaching and learningobjectives, so, students, please let us know what you think.

Licensing Self-StudyNow Includes Mock Exams For those who prefer the self-studymethod, we are now including mock exams and answer keys in your learningmaterials. This way you can test your-self to see whether you have mastered the materials and are ready for the final exam.

CAIB Online Discussion Groups Starting in March, we will be introducing online CAIB Discussion Groups. No matter where you are, aspiring CAIB graduates, you will be able to participate in discussions that help you master the concepts. You’ll also be able to connect with some of the best minds around the province.

IRM Online Exams We are working with The Institutes tomake the IBAC-certified Introductionto Risk Management more accessible for you by offering an online exam. The online exam will be much cheaper, will be available almost anytime and will be offered at one or more approvedIBAA testing centres. We are securing a few more locations throughout the province for your convenience. More details to come.

Great Line Up in Seminarsand Webinars We have an amazing line up of seminarsand webinars for 2015. This new line up is more a continuation of our ongoingdetermination to provide you more of what you really want, not really a New Year’s resolution. Last year, somesessions were run at capacity. For others,we had to create a wait list. Check out our 2015 line up for seminars and webinars at www.ibaa.ca. Register early to secure your seat AND enjoy the early bird price break.

AIC Wants Your CIPR #on CE Certificates As of January 1, AIC will require all education providers to include CIPR numbers on the CE certificates. Since we don’t currently have your CIPR number on record in our system, please email it to [email protected] so we can issue your CE Certificate. While you might not be able to updateyour CIPR number on the IBAA website, very soon, you will be able to update much of your information online! This brings me to our most exciting “New Year’s solutions”:

New Website Goes LiveMarch 1st We have heard you loud and clear that our website is not very appealing, nor is it user friendly. Our new website will be a breath of fresh air, easy on your eyes and on your mind. Watch for it.

DIANA DAIDirector of Professional

Development, [email protected]

New Year’s ReSOLUTIONSX


Licensing Level 2 ImmersionClient and Insurer Disaster ProtectionInformation Is PowerLicensing Level 1 ImmersionCAIB 4 ImmersionCAIB 4 ExamErrors & Omissions SeminarCAIB 2 Fast TrackLicensing Level 2 ImmersionResidential Building Construction: An Insurance PerspectiveCOPE-ing with Commercial Building Construction

Client and Insurer Disaster ProtectionInformation Is PowerResidential Building Construction: An Insurance PerspectiveCOPE-ing with Commercial Building Construction

Licensing Level 1 ImmersionClient and Insurer Disaster ProtectionInformation Is PowerErrors & Omissions SeminarCAIB 4 ImmersionCAIB 4 ExamLicensing Level 2 ImmersionCAIB 2 Fast TrackLicensing Level 1 ImmersionResidential Building Construction: An Insurance PerspectiveCOPE-ing with Commercial Building Construction

Client and Insurer Disaster ProtectionInformation Is Power

Occupiers’ Liability: Slip & FallPersonal Lines AutoInsurance Solutions for the Residential Condo Unit OwnersPersonal Umbrella LiabilityClaims 101Business InterruptionEffective Commercial Lines Account Renewal Processes

NEW: CAIB Online Discussion Group www.ibaa.ca

IBAA COuRSESIBAA COuRSES More classesat ibaa.ca

(February 17, 2015 toApril 14, 2015

February 17-20March 6 (AM)March 6 (PMMarch 9-13March 16-20March 21March 26April 11, 18, 25, May 2April 14-17April 21 (AM)April 21 (PM)

March 5 (AM)March 5 (PM)April 22 (AM)April 22 (PM)

February 23-27March 4 (AM)March 4 (PM)March 10March 16-20March 21March 24-27April 11, 18, 25, May 2April 13-17April 23 (AM)April 23 (PM)

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February 18February 24February 26March 12March 18April 9April 14

Edmonton Courses

Red Deer Courses

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Something exciting ishappening for IBAA members! IBAA’s benefit program has largely remained stagnant for the past several years. Now, we are refining our focus based on what you have asked us todeliver—tools that will help you enhanceyour business, create efficiencies and gain that competitive edge. We have scoured the marketplace in search of tools designed to respond directly to our member requests to provide relevant business tools to “boost” their businesses.

Announcing:Sage Business Boosters Aptly named “Business Boosters,”our new package of benefits will containa collection of financial, workflow,customer and technology tools all aimed at improving your productivityand ability to compete. You will be able to market more successfully, work smarter and link to your customers more effectively.

What’s new? Productivity. Would you like your staff to spend more time selling and less time processing? We have an app for that.

Claims Service. Would you like to do more than pass the buck by saying “you’ll have to wait for the adjuster” when a client has a claim? We have an app for that.

E&O Protection. Would you like to find a more effective way to protect yourself against E&O claims?We have an app for that.

Client Protection. Do you want access to a tool that will help your clients mitigate against water-damage claims for a reasonable cost (about $300)? We have an app for that.

IT Support. Do you never want to worry about purchasing servers or computers anymore? We have an app for that.

And Much More …• Have a website designed complete with interactive quoting for your clients and an update every three years—all for $2250!• Give your clients a branded app that provides access to their policy and endorsements online, and the ability to submit photos and claims reports electronically. They can print anywhere, anytime.• Get results from valuation software based on actual replacement costs in 3–5 minutes instead of the 30 minutes you can wait with some competitors.• Access reduced electricity costs to save as much as 25% on your energy costs.• Access a centralized purchasing system with over 75 vendors. Get the buying power the big guys have. By pooling together with thousands of customers like you, you can take advantage of lower pricing for small and medium-sized businesses. No more late payment fees. No more manual invoice entry—save your staff time for the more important tasks. • Eliminate debit/credit card processing fees when clients want to pay other than by cash or cheque.• Relieve your accounting staff of arduous payroll tasks—this vendor will take care of your payroll, tax remittances, T-4 slips, deductions and year-end reporting. You can also run your own reports to keep up to date!

See? We have been listening. Watch for our invitation to meet IBAA’s Business Boosters. We willbe hosting events in Edmonton and Calgary in February to provide you

with more details. Join us fora little wine, a little cheeseand a lot of businessboosting opportunities!

Boost Your BusinessMember Services Janis Losie

JANIS LOSIECo-ordinator of

Member Services, [email protected]


Documents

THE ALBE ARTRT · 2018-04-04 · Design and Layout Ron Leckelt Advertising Michele Schuldhaus 780.448.2890 [email protected] The Alberta Broker welcomes articles about the insurance