Moves (November 01, 2007)

Zurich Canada president and CEO Robert Landry will be retiring at the end of this year. Alister Campbell will be appointed chief agent of Zurich’s Canadian operations, subject to board and regulatory approval, a company release notes. Campbell most recently served as senior vice president, planning and communications at ING Canada Inc. “I have great confidence that our Canadian business will continue to grow and operate successfully under Alister’s leadership,” Steve Rand, head of Zurich’s commercial markets unit, said in the release. Landry joined Zurich’s claims department in 1971. He soon became branch manager at the London, Ontario office. Landry’s previous senior management positions at Zurich include senior vice president of Canadian field operations and president of the company’s commercial and personal finance solutions divisions. He became Zurich’s president and CEO in 2002. Landry currently serves as chair of the Insurance Institute of Canada’s board of governors. “I want to thank Robert for his many years of dedicated service to Zurich, and wish him a long and rewarding retirement,” Axel Lehmann, CEO of Zurich North America Commercial, said in a statement.

***

Eleven insurance companies headquartered in the Chaudiere-Appalaches region of Quebec are creating the Centre de developpement en assurances et services financiers (Insurance and Financial Services Development Centre) in order to ensure continued growth. The board of directors of the new non-profit centre includes the presidents of the 11 companies involved in the initiative. The new centre’s “main mission is to promote the many career opportunities available for young people, find ways to improve the English-language skills of existing and future employees and tell people about the industry and all that it has to offer,” says a statement. The centre will also focus on expanding joint projects between the insurers and educational institutions. Over the next five years, 3,000 new positions, not including normal turnover and retirement, will be created in this region of Quebec, the companies predict. There has already been a net growth of 2,700 positions over the last five years. “The more jobs we have here, the more spin-offs the critical mass will generate,” Yvon Charest, president of Industrial Alliance and president of the centre, said in the release. “To make this happen, we must ensure we have the human resources we need to continue to grow here in the region — with people from here.”

***

Philip H. Cook, CEO of Omega Insurance Holdings Inc., has announced the appointment of Elaine Collier to the newly created position of vice president of Omega General Insurance Company. Collier will work with existing and prospective clients to expand and enhance the portfolio solutions offered by Omega General and its associated company Focus Group Inc. She brings “a wealth of experience in the property and casualty industry in a variety of capacities, most recently as executive consultant with CGI Insurance Business Services,” an Omega release says. Prior to that she was senior vice president and chief underwriting officer at Zurich Insurance Company of Canada.

***

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was awarded the Nobel Peace Price on Oct. 12. IPCC panel members include Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) executive director Paul Kovacs and ICLR policy director Dr. Gordon McBean. The IPCC will share the prize “in two equal parts” with Al Gore “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change,” says an ICLR statement, citing the Norwegian Nobel Committee. According to Kovacs, the award “is further recognition of the international leadership demonstrated by ICLR researchers and the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, and acknowledgement of the importance of climate change for our society.”

***

The Co-operators has launched a sustainability program that entails measuring the company’s carbon footprint, developing a climate change strategy, incorporating sustainability principles into insurance products and educational initiatives, according to a company release. Working with The Natural Step, a non-profit organization that provides sustainability advisory and training services, The Co-operators has already created a department of sustainability to coordinate efforts across the group of companies. “Measuring our environmental footprint is crucial,” Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators, said in a release. “Without such baseline data, we could not genuinely understand our unique challenges as a group of companies and our progress would not be quantifiable.”

***

Dan Lawrie, president of Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers Ltd., has personally donated Cdn$125,000 to Mohawk College’s new, Cdn$3-million concourse for their insurance and financial services. In recognition of the donation, the Dan Lawrie Insurance Learning Centre will be established. The centre is intended to assist students in making the most of their learning experience. “It is an honour to be able to personally be one of the first to commit dollars to this important new initiative at Mohawk,” Lawrie said in a statement. Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers also donated Cdn$12,500, which the province will match.

***

Andy Hall has been appointed president and chief operating officer of CNA Financial Corporation’s Canadian operations, effective Jan. 1, 2008. He will succeed Chuck Lawrence, who announced his retirement after leading CNA since 1997. Hall is currently vice president of the Denver branch. He brings more than 25 years of experience to the position, including his work as vice president of CNA Canada’s Western region.

***

Christopher J. Ridge has been hired as managing director of XN Alternative Risk, a newly formed risk management consulting and reinsurance brokerage operating division of XN Financial. The brokerage will be operating exclusively in the alternative risk transfer (ART) marketplace, according to an XN Financial Services Inc. release. Ridge will provide independent expert advice and consultation in the design, formation and implementation of ART programs, with an emphasis on providing clients with innovative risk financing solutions that protect assets and satisfy personal and business objectives. Prior to joining XN Financial, Ridge was the managing director of captive management for a Fortune 500 company, overseeing their U.S. captive management operations.

***

Aviva Canada Inc. is partnering with Policy Works Inc. to exchange commercial-lines data, developing an efficient broker systems integration solution. The integration will provide Aviva brokers with the ability to upload commercial lines risk and rating detail directly from Policy Works’ commercial management system into Fastrax, Aviva’s Web-based application, enabling brokers to quote and bind business online. “This solution will enhance the brokers’ operational efficiency by eliminating double data entry and improving their customer response times on new business quotes,” Aviva said in a release.

***

Stewart Ponton, chair of McLarens Canada, has been elected president of the International Institute of Loss Adjusters (IILA). “As former national president of the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association, and with McLarens, Stewart has certainly proven his leadership and commitment to the independent adjusting profession in this country over the years,” Fred Plant, CIAA president and treasurer of the IILA, said. “It is fitting he has now been selected to preside over the prestigious Inter- national Institute of Loss Adjusters, a unique body of top-ranked adjusters from around the globe. IILA will be well-served and its membership will benefit greatly from Stewart’s experience and ability.” Ponton, the 40th president of the Institute, said: “It’s a great honour to be elected as president. We’re an organization that is meant to promote relations and interchange of information between associations of loss adjusters around the world. “[I’m] going to focus on that, as we have in the past … and promote a code of ethics suitable for the adoption and basically enforcement in all countries.”

***

Craig Horton has been appointed to senior vice president, claims, with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). Horton previously served as the vice president of claims operations with the California State Automobile Associa- tion, and brings with him more than 30 years of property and casualty industry experience, according to an ICBC release. He will oversee ICBC’s claims division, which includes services, programs and policies that support 39 claim centres and the 24-hour Dial-A-Claim call centre.