On the scene (August 01, 2008)

Kathleen Davies has been appointed national account executive with Crawford & Company (Canada), Inc..

She brings more than 10 years of sales experience to Crawford.

Reporting to Gary Gardner, vice president, sales and marketing, Davies will specialize in enhancing Crawford’s sales initiatives with Crawford Healthcare Management Services.

“Through her work experience and her volunteer commitments with WICC (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade) and TIWA (Toronto Insurance Women’s Association), Davies has earned a strong reputation within the industry,” John Sharoun, CEO of Crawford & Company (Canada), said in a release. “She will bring enthusiasm, a commitment to excellence, and a dynamic style to her role.” •

Kernaghan Adjusters Ltd. has appointed Blair McGregor to the position of branch manager in Vancouver.

Mark Sherwood has been promoted to the position of assistant branch manager.

McGregor has more than 25 years of recognized expertise in multi-line claims management and loss control, a Kernaghan release says.

Sherwood has 25 years of multi-line claims experience as an independent adjuster in B. C. and Alberta — including complex commercial property and liability, professional liability and also motor carrier cargo claims, the release adds. •

The Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) has received a $1,000 personal donation, symbolizing the first WICC Tribute donation.

The WICC Tribute is an initiative developed by WICC Ontario, giving industry members a tangible and meaningful way to commemorate colleagues who lost the fight with cancer and to honour those who continue to live and beat cancer every day, WICC notes in a release.

Paul Martin of KRG Insurance Group made a personal donation of $1,000 to honour fellow colleague, Linda Hajekerou, who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

News of the donation spread and the KRG running team directed their sponsorships for the ING Ottawa Marathon to Hajekerou’s tribute. The team raised $16,500. •

CARSTAR Automotive Canada raised more than $80,000 for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF) through its fifth annual ‘Soaps it Up!’ national car wash day.

There were more than 55 car wash events across the country this year.

CARSTAR volunteers, community groups and local CCFF chapters soaped up more than 4,000 vehicles during the event to surpass last year’s total by $15,000, a CARSTAR release says.

All of the money raised at the June 14 event will go to support the CCFF, as well as local sports teams and community groups. The funds raised for the foundation will be directed toward research and treatment. •

Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC Ontario and WICC Quebec) will be the official charity of the National Insurance Conference of Canada (NICC). As part of this partnership:

• WICC will hold a fundraising silent auction at the NICC.

• NICC will make a donation to WICC for every speaker and moderator at the conference.

• WICC’s honorary chairman, Claude Dussault, will deliver an address to conference delegates about WICC’s important activities in the area of cancer research.

“As the NICC attracts leaders of Canada’s insurance industry, it is fitting that we have chosen to support WICC, one of the industry’s premier causes,” NICC president and CEO Joel Baker said in a release. “We are excited that the NICC can do its part to help WICC in the battle against cancer.”

The conference will be held at the Hilton Lac-Learny Hotel in Gatineau, Quebec, from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3. •

Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd. launched a Causation Forensic Specialists (CFS) division.

The division will be lead by Bernard (Bernie) Lefebvre, a fire investigator, a Cunningham Lindsey release says.

“CFS fills a very specialized niche which falls under a branch of causation forensics known as fire origin and cause determination,” said Robert Seal, president and CEO of Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd.

“The use of this type of expertise is required when fire losses involve large quantum, injury, suspicious circumstances, subrogation and potential litigation,” Seal added. “Properly determining the origin and cause of a fire can impact all of these elements of a claim.”

Lefebvre has more than 30 years of experience with the Ottawa Police Service. He spent 15 years in criminal investigations and 14 years as a fire investigator. He has investigated more than 600 property and motor vehicle fires. •

Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company hosted a table at the Premier’s Dinner held at the Delta Beausjour Hotel in Moncton, NB on June 14. New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham signed a New Brunswick tartan tie in the company of Dominion’s Regional Claims Leader, Stacey Purcell and CIAA National President Fred Plant. The tie signing was related to a fundraising effort to support Moncton Headstart, an organization devoted to help parents of at-risk families learn to provide for their children and to teach children the personal and interpersonal skills needed while they are in their most formative years. With thanks to Bill Adams, acting Atlantic vice-president, Insurance Bureau of Canada. •

Walter Tingley, president of the Insurance Institute of Nova Scotia, attended a neighbourhood watch meeting on behalf of CIAA to answer members general questions. David Currie of The Co-operators who spoke on behalf of brokers accompanied Tingley. •

The New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island region of CIAA held its Annual General Meeting on June 27 in Baddeck, NS in conjunction with the annual CICMA/CIAA Joint Seminar.

Meeting participants included: (left to right) Charles Cormier, Gaston Allain, Luc Aucoin (NB/PEI region president), Marie Clifford, Fred Plant (CIAA national president), Luc Bourque and Tom DeLong. •

Stephen J. Mallory has been appointed as a member of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) by industry minister Jim Prentice, the minister responsible for the SCC.

“I am very pleased to welcome Mr. Stephen J. Mallory to the SCC, and we look forward to his contribution to the board,” Prentice said in a release. “There is no doubt his insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide the SCC in the years ahead.” Mallory has more than 27 years of sales, management and service leadership experience within the insurance industry. In 2007, he founded the Directors Global Insurance Brokers Ltd., which focuses on providing risk management services to corporate clients. •

Proceeds from the HKMB HUB International Hockey Challenge for Charity were donated to United Way and WICC (Women In Insurance Cancer Crusade). A cheque was presented to the United Way for $8,250. A total of $793 was donated to WICC. •

Vale National Training Centers Inc. has launched an online extension to its classroom-based proficiency development curriculum for claim professionals.

The training center has added roughly 500 distance-learning modules to its course offerings.

These are available immediately through a standard web browser, according to a Cunningham Lindsey release.

“We’ve been working on this for several years, but see the rapidly evolving industry demands for fast, convenient and cost-efficient personnel education as the perfect environment for this new service,” said Steve LeClaire, president of Vale National Training Centers. “It not only eliminates em ployee travel and lodging expenses, but lost productivity from being out of the office as well.”

“We can provide comprehensive training to new employees, supplementation to experienced professionals, focused training for specialized staff and career development for personnel throughout a company.”

This would include department heads, supervisors, appraisers, adjusters, examiners, as well as local office managers and sales agents.

For information on classroom, on-site or online training options, visit www.valenational.com •

Friends and family of CIAA Honourary Life Member, Roderick G. Palmer, CIP, FCIAA, joined him in celebrating his 60th birthday on June 7. Rod’s tremendous determination, courage, great sense of humour and most importantly his devoted wife Joan, have all been instrumental in his recovery since suffering a stroke on Dec. 10, 2005. Palmer has been a member of the association since 1972 participating in Ontario region activities and its board for several years, culminating in being elected Ontario region president for the 1997-1998 membership year. Palmer then sat on the national executive as convention chairman in September 2001 and September 2006 and was a national director from 2003 – 2005. To follow Rod’s progress or to post a message to Rod go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rodpalmer •

L’Association des experts en sinistre indpendants du Qubec (AESIQ) annual golf tournament was held June 16 at the Club de Golf Lachute.

AESIQ executive members Back row: (left to right) Bertrand Vary (treasurer), Mario Pedroni (director), Denis Duchesne (president), Fred Plant, (CIAA national president), Elaine Savard (1st vice-president), Charles Berthiaume (2nd vice-president)

Front row (left to right) Guy Brub (director), Vronique Pelletier (director) and Sandra Ross, (executive director)

Absent from the photo : Claude Ct (director), Alain Plourde (past president), Pierre Boulianne (secretary). •

More than 250 participants attended the Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) held in Mississauga, Ont. on June 21 at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel. CCIF chairman Tony Canade (Assured Automotive) opened the one-day session themed, “Leading Your Team to Success” by introducing Hazel McCallion, the mayor of Mississauga to address the attendees. McCallion congratulated CCIF for showing leadership in bringing together stakeholders from the fragmented collision repair industry to find new and better ways of doing things. “Since your industry provides an essential service, it is good to know that you are showing leadership by discussing how to improve your businesses and customer satisfaction,” concluded the mayor. •

McKellar Structured Settlements Inc. held its 10th Annual McKellar Charity Golf Day on June 16 at Rebel Creek Golf Club in Petersburg, Ont. This annual ladies charity golf day event raised $16,500 for WICC in their fight against cancer. McKellar’s Laura Mullin introduced WICC’s Lyna Newman to speak to the participants from the legal and insurance claims communities. •