Moves & Views

1Susan McGrath [1] is the newest chair of the board of directors for LawPRO, the professional indemnity company for Ontario’s lawyers. As a sole practitioner in Iroquois Falls, McGrath has served as president of the Cochrane Law Association, the Ontario Bar Association for 1999-2000 and the Canadian Bar Association for 2004-2005. She succeeds Ian Croft, who will continue as vice-chair. Also at LawPRO, Dan Pinnington has been named vice president of the newly consolidated claims prevention and stakeholder relations department. Pinnington is credited with playing a pivotal role in growing the company’s risk management program and building the profile of its risk management initiatives within the legal community. He will oversee LawPRO’s extensive risk management initiatives and its evolving stakeholder relations portfolio. Ray Leclair will take on duties as vice president of public affairs.

2Rick Swanarchuk [2] has been appointed vice president of sales, marketing and distribution at Grain Insurance & Guarantee. With 13 years of experience in the Canadian property and casualty market, Swanarchuk will lead the national sales, marketing and distribution team, with a strong emphasis on investing in broker relationships. Most recently, Swanarchuk held the position of assistant vice president for Aviva Canada. Founded in 1920, Grain Insurance & Guarantee is a leading property and casualty insurer headquartered in Winnipeg.

3John Rhuland has been named vice president of Totten Group’s Atlantic region. Charged with overseeing the operations of both the Moncton and Dartmouth offices, Rhuland will lead the rebuilding of Totten’s team in the Maritimes and will continue to support the brokers in eastern Canada. Daniel Moses, who has been with Totten since the company’s inception, is the new vice president for Ontario region. Moses has also served a stint in London with one of the company’s Lloyd’s brokers, gaining extensive knowledge that will serve him well in his new duties. James Ricci, most recently a senior underwriter in Totten’s casualty division, will take on the position of casualty manager in the Toronto office. And Melanie Pon has been appointed hospitality and property manager. Pon has a background in the hospitality field and her strength is expected to help in what has become a very competitive arena. The appointments are the first of a number of changes that will take place this year in response to upcoming retirements and the need to change business structure, the company notes.

4Sarina Visram [4] has been named manager of member relations and communications for the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO). Visram will develop and implement programs and activities to improve membership engagement and promote CSIO’s technology standards and solutions. CSIO has a membership of more than 2,100 brokerages, 21 insurers, 43 mutual insurers and 25 vendors. Holding a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Queens University and an MBA in marketing and strategic management from the Schulich School of Business at York University, Visram has worked in various human resources, broker distribution and investor relations positions at Intact Financial Corporation.

5Aon Risk Solutions has named Bill Besse the new national leader for global and large business. Besse will work with large, global firms to deliver a wide array of Aon’s insurance, risk and health and benefits solutions. Also at Aon’s global and large business operations, Craig Gilmour will take on the role of executive vice president. Gilmour will oversee several key practice groups, including financial services, risk consulting, risk control, real estate and actuarial consulting. The construction services group will continue to report to him.

6David Horner [6] has joined Kernaghan Adjusters’ Edmonton office. Working in the insurance sector for more than three decades, Horner’s past responsibilities have included serving as a claims representative for a large multi-line insurer, being a roads adjuster handling auto, bodily injury, property and fire claims, and investigating and settling property damage claims and large commercial losses. “David is adept at negotiating as well as mediating with insured parties,” notes a press release from Kernaghan Adjusters. “He has full knowledge of fidelity and fire loss claims. In addition, his experience includes total loss claims as well as claims on combines, livestock barns and commercial vehicles.”

7EGI Financial Holdings Inc. has announced that Hemraj Singh, chief financial officer (CFO) for the company, will retire effective Dec. 31, 2012. Singh’s responsibilities will be gradually transitioned during the intervening period, and a search for a new CFO has been launched. “He has been a key member of our executive team, guiding the company in its initial growth, through going public, to our current solid financial position,” Steve Dobronyi, EGI’s CEO, says of Singh. “He has gained the appreciation and respect from everyone he’s worked with, both within the EGI team and throughout the insurance industry.” EGI Financial primarily focuses on non-standard automobile insurance and other niche and specialty general insurance products.

8Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. has named five adjusters as leaders within the company’s global technical services (GTS) division. Paul Hancock [8], national director of GTS, called each of the new leaders “experts in their fields, knowledgeable about industry trends, competitive practices and the needs of their clients.” In her role as environmental leader, Lori Festarini will work with other adjusters and clients to assist with environmental losses. Festarini has 21 years of experience in environmental consulting and geoscience, which includes managing numerous Phase II site assessments and remediation projects at residential, commercial and industrial properties in Ontario. The other GTS leaders are: Bohdan (Bob) Krywiak (commercial property), a chartered insurance professional and certified fire and explosion investigator will handle major property, boiler and machinery losses; Lorne Montgomery (commercial property) will deal with industrial property, boiler and machinery losses and associated production losses; Brad Cox (commercial transportation) is licensed in all lines and handles commercial transportation losses, including truck, rail and cargo claims, and physical damage to rolling stock and heavy equipment; Neil Gibson (media, entertainment and contingency leader) has concentrated on developing expertise in entertainment- and contingency-related losses, including motion picture and television production, non-appearance, music, photography, theatrical, prize indemnity and over- redemption losses.

9Western Financial Group, a subsidiary of Desjardins Group, has completed its first acquisition in Victoria, British Columbia with the purchase of Hodges & Company Insurance Services Ltd. Hodges & Company, a full service insurance broker specializing in the commercial insurance marketplace, will operate under Western’s banner. “By joining Western’s expansive network, with its wider variety of insurers, insurance products and financial services, we will build the best possible client relationships and provide our customers with great insurance at more competitive premiums,” says Steve Hodges, owner and operator of Hodges & Company. Adds Western president and CEO Scott Tannas: “As we enter the B.C. capital for the first time, we look forward to offering Steve’s customers more service s at competitive prices.”

10A familiar face, Jeff Purdy [10], will be returning to Canada, thanks to Applied Systems Inc.’s recent acquisition of Compu-Quote Inc., a Canadian provider of comparative insurance rating solutions (please see Page 8 for details). The two companies will be integrated into one unit under the name Applied Systems Canada. Purdy, who once ran Applied Systems’ Canadian business prior to his current position running the company’s U.S. sales force, will be returning to Canada as Applied System Canada’s general manager. “He will run Applied Systems Canada for us, which is the combination of Compu-Quote and Applied Systems Canada,” Applied Systems CEO Reid French confirmed in an interview.