Consumer Advocate

Over the past 39 years, Vancouver native Lorne Perry has represented insurance

customers in British Columbia not only as a broker placing coverage, but also by serving on committees of the province’s auto carrier and by volunteering with industry associations.

Perry soon assumes duties as president of one of those, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC). Perry and others on IBAC’s Board of Directors will be kept busy, no doubt, what with the upcoming federal election and the review of IBAC’s education services (which includes the four categories of the Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker, or CAIB, program) being two top priorities for this year.

Perry points out that CAIB is set up on a national basis and used by individual provinces. “Some provinces use (the CAIB courses) as licensing guidelines, so if you complete your CAIB 1, you get a Level 1 licence in certain provinces,” he explains, adding that in other provinces there is no “licensing component” of CAIB.

“We want to look at whether or not using it as a licensing tool continues to make sense and how we might make that better,” Perry says. “Is it something that we want to look at as being more of a professional designation and not necessarily a licensing thing?”

Looking beyond CAIB, the federal election is scheduled for October 19. IBAC’s “goal is to have brokers do their best to develop relationships with the different candidates, get the candidates to know who we are, what brokers are all about and that we are part of the communities,” he says.

This year, as always, a key federal issue for brokers is the Bank Act, scheduled for a five-year review in 2017. IBAC’s view is that credit-granting institutions should not be selling insurance at the point of credit.

Canadian banks may own subsidiaries that write property and casualty insurance, but they are not allowed to sell any type of insurance – other than eight “authorized” coverages, such as credit or charge card-related, mortgage and travel – through their branches.

The Bank Act also prohibits banks from providing access, from their own webpages, to others through which non-authorized insurance (such as home and auto) is sold.

IBAC contends these restrictions should remain in place.

“Typically the Bank Act is always one of the main concerns that we have,” Perry says. “Going forward, there are going to be other issues,” such as overland flood coverage, he adds.

Overland flood and water damage are issues being studied by an IBAC task force, which Perry chaired.

The goal is to have a “principles document,” not yet finalized, ready for approval by IBAC’s board at the association’s annual general meeting in September.

“We are proposing some principles that we are looking at, going forward, as to what we think the industry and government should be doing when it comes to the concerns with flood and flood insurance,”

Perry says. “Once we finalize that, then the intent would be to bring that message to our politicians as well, because there is certainly a role that government is going to have with this whole issue.”

The task force was established before Aviva Canada and Co-operators General Insurance Company announced – this past February and May, respectively – overland flood coverage on some residential policies in Canada.

“I am encouraged that some of the insurers are responding to the need” for overland flood coverage, says Perry. “I think that when you have any conflict in your mind about whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, when I look at it from a consumer perspective – what’s best for them – it always makes things a lot easier for me.”

Noting that water damage is becoming more expensive for consumers, “we need to find some solutions and that’s, in effect, why we decided to put the task force together – to look at what we can do to help be advocates for the consumers on this issue,” Perry says.

While insurance companies “have to look at bottom lines and the exposure they may have,” he points out, brokers can look at overland flood coverage “from the perspective of what’s going to help the consumer.”

GETTING PERSONAL

Personal lines “has always been the biggest part” of what Perry does in insurance. By day, he works out of Port Moody, about 25 kilometres east of downtown Vancouver, for InsureBC, a group of brokerages formerly known as The Intercity Group. He is manager or partner of five InsureBC offices, including Port Moody Insurance, in seven locations.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Perry began his career in 1976 as a broker in Quesnel. He later worked in Prince George and moved back to Vancouver in 1989.

In 1988-1989, Perry took on duties as a director with the Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. (IBABC), returning to the same role in 2005-2007. He has also served in, among other positions, IBABC treasurer, vice president, president and chairman of the board.

While IBABC president in 2008-2009, Perry was also an IBAC director, serving as the association’s political representative for British Columbia from 2010 to 2012, when he joined the executive committee as vice president – a role he held for two years.

“Probably the biggest draw was for me to be able to learn more about our industry,” Perry says of his motivation to volunteer for industry associations.

“When you’re in the office, you have a little bit of tunnel vision. You kind of know what’s going on in your little part of the world,” he says.

Beyond IBAC and IBABC, he has volunteered for committees with the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), the provincial Crown corporation from which all vehicle owners in British Columbia must buy basic Autoplan coverage. “I have had a real opportunity to learn a lot more about how they operate,” he says of ICBC. “They have worked with us as brokers extremely well, especially over the last 15 years.”

Perry suggests that in the past, some have questioned whether or not ICBC should have a monopoly on basic auto coverage, which for private passenger and some commercial owners is $200,000 in liability, $150,000 in medical and rehabilitation benefits and $1 million in underinsured motorist coverage. Private insurers may compete with ICBC in writing collision, excess liability and other optional auto coverage.

“There are times when, say, rates go up or something – you are going to hear the consumer issue about whether or not we should have a monopoly” in basic auto coverage in British Columbia, Perry notes. But there is “certainly not a groundswell of trying to change” the auto insurance system.Perry suggests ICBC has worked well for consumers, partly because of the involvement of brokers. “You are insured through the system,” he explains. “I think the system continues to improve. We do work together with ICBC and we try to represent the customer,”he adds.

British Columbia brokers also try to represent consumers in placing quake coverage, says Perry, recalling a recent client meeting. “They were starting a business and one of the concerns they had was earthquake insurance, which is a little unusual,” he says. “Usually, we are the ones who have to bring up the topic.”

When he is not learning about what customers want – or volunteering – Perry likes to set aside some time for his favourite sport. “I still play old-timer’s hockey,” he says. “I don’t make it out as much as I like to, but playing hockey is a big part of my free time.” That is, at least what there is of it.