Peace in the Land

Coincidences, and what almost seem to be recurring events in life, often seem eerie and therefore predicate a “superstitious uneasiness” among us – in the box-office science-fi hit movie, The Matrix, these recurrences are attributed to “moment glitches” in a master computer “virtual reality” program that drives all our minds. However, not all “the wheel comes full circle” occurrences are sinister.

Such is the case with Brian Gilbert, who will take the helm as president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) for the 2002/3 term at the association’s annual general meeting to be held in Niagara Falls, Ontario between September 19-21. Gilbert’s term as president falls just short of a decade since his brother, Brent Gilbert, held the same office at IBAC during 1993/4. But, unlike the early 1990s period when the “cold war” with the banks was just beginning to heat up, the insurance retail environment of today offers IBAC the opportunity to fully develop the professional standing of the independent brokerage community, says Gilbert.

Most recent years saw the association expending a significant amount of its resources on political lobbying activities, Gilbert observes. “At the moment,” he adds, “there are no ‘red flags’ standing up for us”. This new era of peace will enable IBAC to focus and expand on tools that will elevate the professional competitiveness of brokers in serving their communities. The three major projects that IBAC will focus on over the next 12 months are the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations’ (CSIO) Internet/intranet real-time portal, professional development under the associations newly developed CPIB educational designation, and a new push on national advertising. Perhaps the one factor that Gilbert and his brother share in common with regard to market conditions prevailing during their periods in office, is significant insurance price firming action across nearly all lines of business.

While “political lobbying” will not occupy the key priority on IBAC’s “to do list” in the year ahead, Gilbert says past initiatives such as the association’s annual “lobby day” held in Ottawa will be maintained – this involves an intense schedule of back-to-back meetings between IBAC and member volunteers and staff with federal ministers and MPs. IBAC, through its Ottawa office ensures ongoing, direct communication with political contacts. Gilbert notes that political interaction has to be a “two-way street”, and to withdraw relations after the association’s victory through bill C-8 would be short-sighted. “If we expect people to listen to us, then we also have to be prepared to listen to them. But, at this stage, political lobbying is not a critical issue for us, although we know that keeping visible through political lobbying is still important.”

The “hard market” of today has presented new challenges for brokers, Gilbert concedes, although ironically, the price firming has actually benefited the independent brokerage community overall. Higher pricing has thus far resulted in higher commission revenue for brokers, he concurs, but the real advantage of the current marketplace is that consumers place greater emphasis on the services of a broker when making buying decisions. The price increases seen in the marketplace have caused buyers to be more cautious in selecting what they are getting for their money, and to rely on professional advice in making their buying decisions rather than treating insurance as a price-only “commodity”. He points out, “the one good thing [with a hard market] is that relationships [between brokers] with clients improve. It may sound strange saying this [that a hard market has an advantage], because we’re [as brokers] having to work a lot harder.”

The hard market has, however, presented problems in terms of reduced underwriting capacity in some regions, with insurers cutting back some of their broker relationships, he observes. While these issues, including how broker commission levels may be affected in future, are of concern to brokers nationwide – and therefore to IBAC – responses to the specific circumstances of each province are being dealt with through member associations, Gilbert says. “IBAC has not become directly involved in discussions with insurers over market capacity and broker contracts. This is most effectively dealt with through the provincial member associations.”

BIP AD DRIVE

IBAC will begin airing on national television a new advertising campaign by January of next year, says Gilbert. The existing “Insuro-Rama” campaign, which has been running for several years now, will be replaced with a “BIP emphasis” advertisement. IBAC’s latest marketing initiative has been dubbed under the theme “Anthem”. Gilbert notes, “our past ad campaigns have been more ‘reactionary’ to the threat of the banks and direct writers, now we’re focussing on promoting the services of brokers”.

Although the latest ad campaign is still in development, Gilbert says the theme will evolve around a sequence of “consumers” providing testimony to the value of using a broker with each sequence suggesting that the policyholder is protected by a “security blanket”. The ad finishes with the BIP symbol being wrapped in a blanket/cloak, which forms part of the existing design of the independent broker symbol. “The latest campaign places strong emphasis on branding the broker identity program.”

CPIB PROGRAM

After sometime in development, IBAC’s newest professional educational designation program, the CPIB, is reaching fruition, says Gilbert. The CPIB program was officially “launched” last September at the association’s AGM held in Calgary, Alberta.

The CPIB program is positioned at a university-level of study, and therefore allows brokers (and others interested in the field of brokering insurance) to combine their skills with other academic advancements. Specifically, the CPIB was developed “for brokers, by brokers”, and serves a higher level continuation of the existing CAIB designation program developed by IBAC. The CPIB requires six mandatory courses and a number of elective courses based on the program’s specialized streams of commercial lines, personal lines and broker management. Elective courses can be taken through a university or college of the student’s choosing. Gilbert says that promoting support and awareness of the CPIB program will be foremost on IBAC’s agenda for the year ahead.

CSIO PORTAL

The other area of critical development for IBAC lies in the pending launch of the CSIO’s real-time Internet/intranet portal, which Gilbert believes will be key to guaranteeing the future competitiveness of the independent brokerage community. The future success of the portal does, however, rely on the Internet initiative gaining critical support from both insurers and brokers alike, he adds.

As such, IBAC will embark on an intensive “education and awareness-building drive” with brokers countrywide as from September this year. This will follow on more low-key educational sessions which have been held so far through the provincial associations in conjunction with the CSIO. “This [the portal] will be quiet revolutionary in terms of how we [brokers] do business. We’re finally getting close to what single-entry [technology] means.”

BEGINNING OPPORTUNITY

“It’s [insurance] never a ‘career option’ that students work towards, it’s more often an ‘opportunity that arises’,” observes Gilbert who began his career in the insurance business through Manitoba-based Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance Co. in 1977. Gilbert’s decision to enter insurance was sparked by his brother who had joined a brokerage. “I went to community college and studied business administration. At the same time, my brother got into the insurance brokerage business, and the more I talked to him, the more intrigued I became.”

After joining Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance in 1979, Gilbert transferred within the company to Alberta in 1980. He then went on to form a brokerage called Calgary Insurance Group, which he sold out his stake in 1994 and moved back to Manitoba. Gilbert then established Man itoba Insurance Group, which currently consists of four retail brokerages, eight managed brokerages and an administration office based in Portage. The company also administers niche program insurance as a managing general agent (MGA) for other brokerages. Gilbert says that, after a full circle, he is finally “back home” in Portage where he lives with his wife, Susan, and their three children, Sydney, Davis and Alexandra.