Moves and Views

1 In December, On Side Restoration Services Ltd. announced that Amandio Contreiras [1] had been named the company’s new chief operating officer. Before joining On Side Restoration, Contreiras worked for 11 years at Reliance Comfort LP, holding roles such as director of strategic initiatives and residential sales, notes a press release from On Side Restoration. His appointment will allow Mike Sully, executive vice president of the company, to concentrate on marketing and business development in his evolved role as chief marketing officer. On Side Restoration has 22 branches stretching from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s, Newfoundland, with 300 emergency response vehicles and approximately 700 staff 

2 Heather Masterson [2], president and chief executive officer of Totten Insurance Group Inc., has been selected as one of Business Insurance’s 2013 Women To Watch. Before joining Totten, Masterson held several executive positions at Totten’s parent company, HUB International Ltd., and previously worked at American International Group Inc., notes a statement issued in December by Totten Insurance Group. The Women To Watch feature “spotlights 25 women who are doing outstanding work in commercial insurance, reinsurance, risk management, employee benefits and related fields,” the statement adds. Totten has divisions that specialize in commercial lines, commercial casualty, commercial property, hospitality and professional liability.

3 Unica Insurance and Wawanesa Insurance recently made their respective eDocs solutions, using Extensible Market Language (XML) standards from the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO), available to their brokers. Unica’s XML eDocs solution, which is now live, provides electronic declaration pages for brokers using any broker management system (BMS) providing eDocs support, including TAM and Epic (Applied Systems), The Broker Workstation (CSSI), SigXP (Keal Technology) and Powerbroker (Zycomp Systems). Wawanesa Insurance has also made its XML eDocs available to broker partners. Via CSIOnet, eDocs can now be automatically transferred directly into the BMS and electronic documents can be automatically attached to the correct customer and policy in Keal Technology’s sigXP BMS, notes a news release from Keal. The eDocs process uses CSIO data standards to transmit over electronic data interchange (EDI) attaching an XML message to the transmission. Aviva Canada, Intact Insurance, RSA, Economical Insurance, Gore Mutual Insurance Company and SGI Canada also offer eDocs to Keal clients.

4 The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) has appointed two new directors to its board. “Sean Christie, chief information officer and vice president of information services at Gore Mutual Insurance Company, brings a wealth of skills and leadership expertise in the areas of strategic planning, infrastructure, operations and information technology,” notes a statement from CSIO. Andrew Wood, chief information officer for Northbridge Financial Corporation, has also joined the board. Wood “brings considerable skills and leadership expertise in the fields of process re-engineering, business architecture, IT strategy, and organizational design and development,” CSIO adds. 

5 Gregory Knowles [5], vice president of sales and producer management at commercial carrier CNA Canada, has been honoured with the 2014 Greater Toronto Area Fellow of Distinction Award, notes a statement from the Chartered Insurance Professionals’ (CIP) Society, a division of the Insurance Institute of Canada. CIP Society presents the award – recipients are nominated by colleagues and a nominating review committee makes the final selection – annually to a Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) for his or her “outstanding achievement in the insurance industry in Toronto.” Knowles began his insurance career in 1992 with Chubb Insurance, and joined CNA Canada as an underwriting manager in 1998. He was promoted to branch manger of CNA Canada’s Calgary office in 2003 before being transferred to the Toronto office in 2007.

6 Burns & Wilcox Canada announced in December that Philip Zanotti [6] has been hired as the company’s senior manager of operations. Zanotti previously served as senior project manager, business management services at the investment management firm, Invesco Canada Ltd., notes a statement from Burns & Wilcox, a wholesale broker and underwriting manager for retail brokerages. Before that, he worked for three years at TD Waterhouse Canada Inc., “where he led two account management departments, and designed and implemented procedures that ensured anti-money-laundering compliance when validating corporate entities.”

7 Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc recently announced the launch of JLT Towers Re, which combines Towers Watson & Co.’s North American and London market reinsurance broking businesses with JLT Re’s international reinsurance operations. In September, London-based JLT agreed to acquire the reinsurance broking business of New York City-based Towers Watson. JLT provides insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits-related advice, brokerage and associated services, while Towers Watson’s services include administering retirement plans, and managing health and group benefits programs. As part of the sale, Towers Watson clients will continue to have access to its risk consulting and software services and JLT Towers Re can continue to use Towers Watson’s proprietary actuarial models and software. JLT reported in November that regulatory approvals required to complete its acquisition of Towers Watson’s reinsurance broking business have been received. “This announcement removes all the prior ownership uncertainty that had surrounded the legacy Towers Watson Brokerage operation,” Eric Steen, Toronto-based senior vice president of JLT Towers Re, says in a release.

8 Applied Systems has announced that Caroline Schweppe [8] is the company’s new vice president of insurer solutions. Schweppe had been vice president of business development at ClearRisk Inc., an online provider of risk management solutions to carriers, brokers and professional risk managers. She has also worked at CGI and the Insurers Advisory Organization. Schweppe holds a diploma in Canadian Risk Management from the University of Toronto. “With her deep understanding of information technology and the business needs of insurers, Caroline will enable us to enhance the products, services and value we provide across Canada,” says Jeff Purdy, Applied Systems’ senior vice president of international operations.

9 In December, Edmonton-based Peace Hills Insurance announced its president and chief executive officer, Diane Brickner [9], had been selected by Alberta Venture magazine as its 2013 Business Person of the Year. “The Business Person of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual in the business community who has made an impressive impact on not only the economy, but the workforce and the people,” notes a statement from Peace Hills Insurance. Brickner, who joined the company in 1982, has served as president and CEO since 1990. Owned by the Samson Cree Nation, Peace Hills Insurance is represented by 186 brokers with a total of 478 locations.

10 Wynward Insurance Group hasannounced the company has been selected by Mediacorp Canada Inc. as one of Canada’s top 50 small and medium employers for 2014. The award “recognizes companies that lead their industry in attracting and retaining quality employees,” Winnipeg-based Wynward notes. The top 50 employers are assessed on eight criteria: physical workplace; work atmosphere and social; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. In addition to the head office in Winnipeg, the company has offices in Regina, Halifax and London, Ontario.