Charting a Course

Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association (OIAA) president Brett Colville, operations manager of Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.’s National Claims Management Centre, is navigating the association through changing industry dynamics. In the midst of emerging technologies, aging demographics and an increasingly globalized industry, he has placed a premium on getting back to basics — providing strong communication channels across the province and ample educational offerings to facilitate the professional growth of adjusters in the province.   

Colville, an avid sailor, says he draws on his experience navigating the seas in his professional life. “You have to be flexible in your plans in order to move forward,” he says. “The wind doesn’t always blow from the right direction, so sometimes you have to strategize, adjust and find alternatives to achieve the ultimate goal and hopefully have a bit of fun while you are doing it.”

Colville represents the second generation of his family to enter the insurance industry. His father was a broker, and his exposure to the industry while growing up helped nudge him towards his current career. Even so, it wasn’t a given that he would enter the industry. After obtaining a degree in Political Science, Colville pursued a career in sailing — a sport about which he remains passionate.

He taught sailing with the Canadian Yachting Association, raced competitively at yacht clubs in the GTA and beyond, and worked for a sail maker on the customer service side. But in the end, he believed the insurance industry offered a degree of stability that he wouldn’t necessarily experience in the world of sport.

“I thought claims adjusting would be interesting,” he says. It’s about dealing with people, seeing how businesses and things work. I’d be able to draw on some of my university training, and there was still an opportunity for further education and personal development.” Once he started working, he adds, he was impressed by how “dedicated and passionate members of the insurance industry are about their profession, and how they genuinely do want to help people.”

The variety the profession offers caught him hook, line and sinker. “You come into work in the morning, and you never know what you are going to be dealing with. Every file is different. Some of the files are more stressful and unfortunate than others, but [the clients] all need help and that’s what we are there to provide.”

Roughly eight years ago, he followed up on an opportunity to join Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc., supervising Ontario accident benefits. He subsequently took over the company’s Toronto Risk Management Services branch. Most recently, as of Nov. 1, 2011, he became the operations manager for the firm’s newly minted National Claims Management Centre.

Roughly 15 years ago, as he followed his career trajectory through the adjusting industry, he joined the OIAA. The seminars and educational opportunities piqued his interest, and he became a Toronto chapter delegate. He was elected secretary five years ago, and he gradually moved up through the association ranks to become its president in July 2011.

Halfway through his term as president, Colville is proud of the strides the OIAA has taken. In particular, he cites the development of a serious-injury training program in conjunction with the Insurance Institute; laying the groundwork for an online learning platform; and reaching out to association members across the province. “I’ve been travelling quite extensively to try and attend as many of the events as possible and meet as many of our members and get their insights and input,” he says. “That’s been really important.”

Over the past few years, the adjusting function has been increasingly centralized into southwestern Ontario, he observes, leaving many other cities and towns with a dwindling number of adjusters. “As their numbers dwindle, it’s hard to create a sense of community.” Given the smaller population of adjusters in these areas, it becomes challenging to set up educational seminars with speakers. And travel to Toronto or larger centres isn’t always feasible. “It becomes expensive dollar-wise, but a lot of people can’t afford it time-wise either,” he says. “So, how can we engage people on their own time and terms? That’s when we started looking at developing the ability to deliver online learning — education on demand, so to speak.”

The focus of the association’s educational offerings isn’t just on the ‘hard skills.’ Colville says he received a lot of feedback from members around the province asking for more ‘soft skills’ training — how to leverage tools like smart phones and Microsoft Outlook to create efficiencies and, in turn, allow the adjuster to provide better service and maybe reduce their stress levels as a professional.

The London chapter of the OIAA will hold the Provincial Conference in May 2012. Then, for the first time, the OIAA will institute a high-end educational program, coupled with a certificate of completion to help show the value of the time spent participating in an OIAA event. “We’re changing the format of the Provincial Conference, changing the image, so that it’s less time away from work and more time spent on professional development and education,” he says. “It’s almost like a back-to-basics.”

When his term is up, Colville hopes to leave the association stronger organizationally, responsive to future challenges, and with a platform that future board members can continue to develop in order to engage the membership and create even more opportunity for growth.

“You have to work hard, and you have to play hard, but it’s about striking the right balance,” he says. “This is something we’re working to achieve.”