Moves and Views

1 Liberty International Underwriters Canada announced in April the appointment of Garth Pepper [1a] as president, replacing Mike Molony [1b], who is retiring and has served as LIU Canada president since 1999. Pepper most recently was senior vice president of LIU Canada, a position he has held since 2008. Prior to joining LIU Canada, Pepper led the management risk practice at Integro Insurance Brokers in Canada, and has held senior positions, in both Britain and Canada, with The Chubb Group of Companies.

2 Ross Betteridge [2a] is the new president of SCM Insurance Services Inc.’s ClaimsPro unit, replacing Bob Fitzgerald [2b], who was named chief executive officer of SCM Insurance Services in January. Betteridge has spent the last four years with Travelers Canada in senior roles, including as chief operating officer and executive vice president, corporate strategy and shared services. His experience also includes working at Aviva Canada.

3 ingenie (Canada) Inc., which provides auto insurance in Ontario to drivers aged 16 to 24, has appointed Lorie Phair [3] as its chief executive officer. Phair has previously held leadership and board positions with organizations, such as the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario, the Insurance Brokers of Toronto Region and the Insurance Institute of Canada, where she served as a member of the Board of Governors and as chair of its Academic Council for six years. She currently also holds an advisory council position with Magnet, a not-for-profit social initiative.

4 Managing general agent Creechurch International Underwriters has opened a Western Canada office in Vancouver, with Rhea Turchinetz relocating to lead the office as Western Region assistant vice president. “With our new office in Vancouver, we expect to provide enhanced local service to clients and further develop our business, particularly in the specialty property and casualty areas,” Phil Baker, vice president of Creechurch International, which also has Canadian offices in Toronto and Montreal, says in a statement.

5 Darren Berg [5] is Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd.’s new director of quality assurance and training, based in Vancouver. With 28 years of adjusting and managerial experience, Berg has “extensive knowledge and great capability of handling claims that are complex and technical in nature,” notes a statement from the company.

6 Micheál Kelly [6] has been named to Economical Insurance’s Board of Directors, replacing Charles Ormston, who retired in February after serving on the board for two decades. Ormston had been chair of the board’s Human Resources and Compensation Committee and was also a member of the Special Committee on Demutualization. Kelly is currently dean of business and economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and is a past dean of the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.

7 The Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia (IBANS) has named the recipients of its latest awards. Patricia Calder of MacLeod Lorway Insurance Group received IBANS’ client service award, Robert Wyre of Portage Mutual Insurance was recognized as insurance representative of the year, James Mizzi of Macdonald Chisholm Trask was named young broker of the year, Robert Wilson of R.K. Wilson Insurance Services Inc. was honoured with the volunteer service award, Anderson Brown Company Insurance was named brokerage of the year, and Founders Insurance Group Inc. received the professional development award.

8 Restoration firm DKI Canada has appointed Frank Sparfel [8] as director of commercial services. Sparfel “brings over 25 years of experience in the restoration and insurance industry, with a strong focus on strategic business development and partnerships,” notes a statement from DKI Canada. He “will be responsible for developing the commercial services sector along with supporting the continued growth of the (p&c insurance) market and broker community.”

9 Canadian National Insurance Crime Services (CANATICS) reports its system – which identifies suspicious claims and facilitates further investigations by individual insurers – is now up and running. It has started sending alerts to member insurance firms, which include Allstate Canada, Aviva Canada, belairdirect, The Co-operators, Desjardins General Insurance, Intact Insurance, Pafco, Pembridge, The Personal, RBC Insurance, TD Insurance, Travelers and Wawanesa Insurance. Insurers participate by allowing their data to be pooled and analyzed, with privacy controls. “Organized crime rings that stage collisions and fraudulently bill insurance companies should be very nervous right now,” suggests Ben Kosic [9], president and chief executive officer of CANATICS.

10 Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. has announced three new appointments in the marine survey area. Mark Thompson [10a], who holds a diploma in Marine Surveying from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy, is now a senior marine surveyor for the company’s Global Technical Services (GTS) team; Joseph Trudeau [10b], who has experience as a marine surveyor conducting valuation surveys, damage appraisals and investigations, has been appointed senior marine surveyor for the GTS; and Jason Trudeau [10c], who has been a marine surveyor and appraiser for 20 years, has been named a marine surveyor.

11 Intact Financial Corporation has announced plans to open Intact Lab, its centre for digital excellence, this May in Montreal. It will house user experience and digital analytics specialists, front-end developers, research and development teams, project managers and other experts who will work with all areas of the business to drive digital innovation and create solutions to benefit customers, brokers and the industry

CORRECTION

In our April 2015 issue, a reference to Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd.’s EFI Global unit was misspelled. CU apologizes for the error.