Moves and Views

1 Totten Insurance Group Inc. has announced it has acquired the shares of Montreal-based National Brokerage Services S.C.N. Inc., a commercial insurance wholesaler. Totten Insurance Group, a subsidiary of Hub International Ltd., reports that its acquisition of NBS complements the company’s areas of focus predominantly in the business segments of construction, contracting, hospitality, agriculture, restoration and remediation, errors and omissions, directors and officers and hot works roofing. NBS has offices in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, all of which will remain in operation. Guy Boissé [1a], NBS president and founder, will join Totten Insurance Group, reporting to president and chief executive officer Heather Masterson [1b].

2 Willis Group Holdings plc has named Scott Saddington [2] as Willis Canada’s new senior vice president and Canadian practice leader for FINEX North America. Saddington previously worked for American International Group, Liberty and Munich Re, and has established two Lloyd’s-backed managing general agents. The FINEX division of Willis Group has experts in financial, executive and professional who provide advice and services to clients.

3 Triton Claims has opened an office in Toronto. “The primary focus of the Toronto business will be commercial claims handling (financial lines, property and casualty) and audit services.” The Canadian operation will be led by Krystyna Kouri [3a], vice president of Triton Claims Canada, while Dino Zenarosa [3b] will serve as assistant vice president. Kouri previously was complex claims director at AIG Canada and has also served as claims counsel for Liberty International and Encon Inc. Previously claims manager for Cott Corporation, Zenarosa has also worked for Catlin Canada, Premiere Insurance Underwriting Services and Zurich Insurance.

4 David Black [4] has been appointed vice president of business development for Ontario at Cowan Insurance Group. Black, who holds the Chartered Insurance Professional designation and is licensed with the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario, has 20-plus years of experience in property and casualty insurance. These include “12 years as an underwriter with a focus on traditional manufacturing, information and network technology, and the life sciences segments,” notes a statement from Cowan Insurance. Black “possesses specialized knowledge in global property and liability programs, including admitted local placements and overall risk management programs crafted to meet client needs.”

5 Two Western Ontario insurers – North Waterloo Farmers Mutual Insurance Company (NWFM) and Oxford Mutual Insurance Company – are planning to merge. The merger, which is subject to approval by regulators and by mutual policyholders, would create Heartland Farm Mutual Insurance Inc. Both NWFM and Oxford Mutual write farm, commercial, home and auto insurance, while in commercial lines, NWFM’s target markets include retail, office, contractors, churches and apartment buildings, notes the merger announcement.

6 Justin Kelly has been named Zurich Canada’s new assistant vice president and national underwriting director, international, while Benoit Lamontagne has been appointed regional vice president, Québec, for Zurich Canada Commercial. Kelly, who has 15 years of experience with Zurich Canada, previously worked in Ireland as technical underwriting manager for Zurich Europe. Lamontagne, who has 31 years of experience in the industry, “assumes Montreal branch manager responsibilities, including leading business development and overseeing market-facing underwriters and underwriting managers who are part of the Commercial Markets regional organization in Québec,” Zurich Canada reports.

7 Pario Engineering & Environmental Sciences now has a new branch location in Brantford, Ontario, appointing Edward Poon [7a] as director. Poon will receive support from Ryan Cockle [7b] and David Giles [7c], reports Pario Engineering, formerly Rochon Engineering. Among others, Poon’s areas of expertise include structural failure cause analysis and building envelope deficiencies. Cockle, a forensic engineer and mechanical engineer, has expertise in residential, commercial and vehicle fires. Giles, a senior environmental technologist, has been providing environmental consulting and contracting services to the insurance industry since 2006.

8 Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd. recently made four new appointments to the environmental services team of its EFI Global unit. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Ian Mendes [8a] has joined EFI Global as environmental team leader/senior project engineer and will oversee the Hamilton/Greater Toronto Area environmental group. Kerry Moules [8b], a project manager in Sydney, Nova Scotia, will be responsible for consulting environmental losses and bringing in new clients and geography. Working as a senior project manager out of Montreal, Jean-Marc Barbera [8c] has been site construction supervisor with Cirque Du Soleil. And Robert Foote [8d], a senior project manager working out of the company’s office in Kingston, Ontario, has responded to numerous home heating oil and transportation-related spills.

9 Unica Insurance is endorsing Fleetadvisor, a telematics-based commercial auto product from Independent Broker Resources Inc. With the fleet manager’s consent, both Unica Insurance and brokers will have viewing access to the drivers’ data. “Fleetadvisor is a tool that will enable (brokers) to solidify client/broker relationships by putting brokers in a position of a true fleet risk management advisor,” Dave Smiley, vice president of operations at Unica Insurance, says in a statement.