Insurance Institute names new board leader

Valérie Lavoie is now head of the Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC)’s board of governors.

The Insurance Institute is the educational arm of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry. IIC is charged with setting professional standards for the industry through education programs that lead candidates to designations such as Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP).

Lavoie is president and chief operating officer of Desjardins General Insurance Group, based in Levis, Québec.

“The Insurance Institute of Canada offers crucial skills and knowledge to P&C insurance professionals through relevant life-long learning opportunities, in a variety of flexible learning formats,” Lavoie said. “It is an honour to assume the role of chair and I look forward to guiding the direction of Institute programs that prepare Canada’s P&C insurance professionals to fulfill their career aspirations.”

In comments regarding her work at Desjardins for CU‘s 2023 Executive Outlook feature, Lavoie noted a tight labour market and low unemployment rates meant the P&C industry needed to bolster its recruitment efforts. “Attraction and retention strategies need to include challenges [that] new talent may wish to tackle, while also signalling our commitment to act on societal issues, which younger cohorts view as an organizational asset,” she said.

“Employee experience is key. We need to understand our employees’ expectations and demonstrate flexibility in meeting them where we can.”

Opportunities for insights

For its part, IIC said it is fortunate to gain directional insights from its board leaders, who come from key positions in the P&C industry across Canada.

“Together with the board, the Institute continues to evolve its leading status to meet the needs of the insurance industry by delivering the most relevant curriculum in Canada’s P&C insurance sector,” said IIC president and CEO Peter Hohman.

Along with Lavoie, the IIC’s 2023-24 executive committee of its board of governors includes James Russell, deputy chair and president and CEO of TD Insurance, and Stéphane Lespérance, vice chairman, membership-at-large and president of Aon Canada.

The organization’s immediate past chairs are Jason Storah, CEO of Aviva U.K. & Ireland General Insurance (formerly CEO of Aviva Canada), and Heather Masterson, president and CEO of Travelers Canada.