Moves and Views

1 As of January 4, John Bowey [1a] has replaced Gerry Hooper [1b] as chairman of Economical Insurance, a position Hooper held since 2005. He had also been chair of the Board of Directors’ (BoD) special committee on demutualization, but will continue as a member of both the BoD “until the expiry of his current term in 2018” and of the special committee. Among other positions, Bowey has served as chairman of Deloitte Canada and is a former partner at what is now KPMG. The special committee’s new chair is David Wilson [1c], who was a senior member of the advisory group assisting Manulife Financial with its demutualization process while working for the Bank of Nova Scotia. On Economical Insurance’s BoD since 2012, Wilson is a past chair of the Ontario Securities Commission and the Bank of Nova Scotia.

2 Joseph El-Sayegh assumed the role of chief executive officer of SCOR’s Canadian subsidiary January 1, bringing his 25 years of experience in the insurance/reinsurance market to the position. An electrical engineer, El-Sayegh also holds Canadian Risk Manager and Chartered Insurance Professional designations. His prior responsibilities at SCOR include serving as property and casualty chief underwriting officer for Canada, underwriting manager for the Quebec market and risk manager for SCOR Canada. Also at SCOR, Neil Ringrose has been named chief agent for the SCOR U.K. branch in Canada. Ringrose most recently co-lead the SCOR U.K. Company initiative to establish SCOR Insurance – Canadian Branch as a licensed insurance company in Canada. Henry Klecan will now serve as a non-executive director for SCOR U.S. companies, SCOR Canada, SCOR Global Life Americas and SCOR Global Life USA.

3 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, the result of the merger of Willis Group Holdings and Towers Watson, began operating in January. As announced earlier, John Haley [3a], previously chairman and chief executive officer of Towers Watson, has assumed the role of chief executive officer of the merged company, while Dominic Casserley [3b], previously CEO of Willis, is the new deputy CEO for Willis Towers Watson. In addition, members of the company’s executive team with responsibility for North America are Carl Hess [3c] and Todd Jones [3d], both co-heads, North America.

4 Doug Heaman [4] officially took on duties as the 73rd president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario on January 1. With more than 33 years of experience in the insurance industry, Heaman’s theme as president for 2016 is “Create Your Future,” based on the famous quote from Abraham Lincoln: The best way to predict your future is to create it.

5 Aviva Canada’s long-standing partner in the Quebec market, Leclerc Insurance and Financial Services, has been appointed managing general agent in Quebec for the insurer’s specialty personal lines business underwritten by Elite Insurance Company of Canada. The appointment of Leclerc Insurance – which distributes products to 600-plus brokers in Quebec – takes effect April 1. Leclerc Insurance will be the official distributor of Aviva Canada’s recreational insurance products. NautiMax will continue to manage Aviva Canada’s watercraft program, which brokers can access through their contracts with Leclerc Insurance.

6 Julie Pemberton [6], director of enterprise risk and insurance management for Outerwall Inc., will lead RIMS, the risk management society, as president for the 2016 term. The 16-year member of RIMS has served on its Board of Directors (BoD) for the last six years, and is a former vice president and board liaison to the RIMS External Affairs Committee. Other officers on the RIMS 2016 BoD include vice president Nowell Seaman, director of global risk management for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.; treasurer Jennifer Santiago, director of insurance for Novartis Corporation; and secretary Steve Pottle, director of risk management services at York University. The new board members are Emily Cummins, Barry Dillard and Laura Langone, while the incumbent members are Gordon Adams, Gloria Brosius, Robert Cartwright, Jr., Richard Roberts, Jr., Janet Stein and Robert Zhang.

7 Ontario-based City Insurance Offices Ltd. and Philpot & Delgaty Insurance Ltd. are joining BrokerLink, one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurance brokerages, whose companies are subsidiaries of Intact Financial Corporation. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In the coming months, the operations of both brokerages will “transition and integrate” under the brand, BrokerLink.

8 South Western Insurance Group Limited has welcomed Doreen Teoh [8] as senior underwriter. In her new role at the wholesale insurance intermediary/managing general agent (MGA), Teoh will join the company’s specialty casualty team, supporting the Canadian hospitality and leisure marketplace. She has spent most of her more than 25-year career in various underwriting and leadership capacities in the MGA space.

9 H.W. Kaufman Financial Group has acquired Toronto-based loss control inspection and consulting firm Technical Risk Services (TRS). TRS will continue to operate under the TRS name as part of Canadian Reports, a Canadian provider of audits, loss control inspections and risk management services. Gilles Proulx, TRS’s former executive vice president, client services, will become president of Canadian Reports.

10 Mississauga, Ontario-based Fenchurch General Insurance Company has a new surety manager in Iqbal Bhinder [10]. “With his 10 years of surety underwriting and business development experience, Iqbal is positioned to further capitalize on Fenchurch’s identified niche market segments,” says Steve Brown, Fenchurch General Insurance’s president and chief executive officer.

11 McDougall Insurance and Financial is merging with Upper Canada Commercial Insurance Group (UCC). The merger will enhance McDougall Insurance’s commercial lines expertise and introduce its personal lines strength into UCC offices. All 40 UCC staff will remain with UCC, and all branch locations will continue.