Moves & Views (December 01, 2010)

1 Katherine A. Mabe will succeed Noel Walpole as president and CEO of The Economical Insurance Group (TEIG). She starts at The Group on Nov. 15, 2010. Prior to accepting her role at TEIG, Mabe was president of the specialty products division of Nationwide Insurance Company of America. In addition, she was president and CEO of Titan Insurance Company and Victoria Insurance Company (Nationwide subsidiaries). Mabe has more than 32 years of experience in the property and casualty industry.

2 Policy Works Inc. and SGI Canada have enabled straight-through processing of commercial lines data between a desktop application and an insurer’s underwriting system. Policy Works v2010.1 is the first mechanism to achieve this, a Policy Works release says. Brokers are able to send submissions to and receive quotations from SGI Canada’s underwriting system directly, without ever having to leave their Policy Works desktop application, according to a company release. “Policy Works also entered into an agreement with L’Union Canadienne to deliver a commercial lines data exchange solution, integrating Policy Works’ commercial management system (CMS) and L’Union Canadienne’s underwriting system. This solution offers pure no-touch processing, enabling brokers to send submissions and receive quotations electronically without a Web portal, which means no new portal or system for brokers to learn. The integration is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011.”

3 Esporta Wash Systems Inc. no longer has an exclusivity agreement with WINMAR Property Restoration Specialists and Disaster Kleenup Canada (DKC). WINMAR and DKC signed an agreement with Esporta Wash Systems in 2007, giving the two Canadian restoration contractors exclusive rights to use the Esporta technology for the restoration of soft contents. Esporta Wash Systems’ patented and proprietary technology helps restore large amounts of the soft contents traditionally cashed out by insurance companies, thus requiring fewer damaged goods to be transported to landfill sites. “The Esporta Wash System technology has provided us with the benefits of reduced loss costs, as well as being more sustainable,” said Glen Oxford, national property claims manager for Cooperators Insurance. “The end to the Canadian exclusivity is important to us, because it makes the technology available to more contractors and other organizations who can bring the benefits of the Esporta to a greater number of our clients.”

4 Global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH) has appointed Vic Krauze [4] as chairman and CEO of Willis North America. Krauze will report to Joe Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group, and will serve as a member of Willis’ executive committee. Krauze, formerly president and chief operating officer of Willis North America, succeeds Don Bailey, who is leaving the company in December after a transi- tion period to begin a new role for a major U.S. personal lines insurance carrier. Willis also appointed Todd Jones, formerly national partner for the Northeast Region, as president of Willis North America.

5 Duck Creek Technologies Inc. (Duck Creek), a provider of software and services for the insurance industry, has signed an agreement with B.C.’s public auto insurer, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), to license Duck Creek Rating. Duck Creek Rating is a solution designed to modernize a company’s rating function, whether by means of replacing a legacy rating function or providing a rating solution for a new business line. ICBC sought the new rating technology to help improve its flexibility and speed to market for new products and rating changes to respond more quickly to customer needs. Recently, Gartner MarketScope for North American property and casualty insurance policy management modules gave Duck Creek a positive rating.

6 Swiss Re has appointed Jonathan Turner as chief financial officer of its Canadian operations, effective Nov. 22, 2010. Turner joins Swiss Re from Ernst & Young, where he specialized in both the property and casualty and life and health insurance sectors. He started his career with Ernst & Young in the United Kingdom and has been located in Toronto since 2001. He holds an ACA (UK Chartered Accountant) and is fluent in French.

7 Isabelle Perreault has been appointed executive director of the Regroupement des cabinets de courtage d’assurance du Qubec (RCCAQ). She was previously the director of communications and public affairs with the Chambre de l’assurance de dommages (ChAD) and the Coalition pour la promotion des professions en assurance de dommages. Perreault has 13 years of experience in public affairs, communications and public relations, including more than eight years as manager for a self-regulating organization in the financial sector.

8 Mathieu Brunet [8] has been selected president of L’Association de la relve en assurance du Qubec (LARAQ), a nonprofit organization established to help young insurance professionals network and share professional resources. Now 10 years old, the association has more than 2,000 members across Quebec. The Association has three committees (Montreal, Quebec and Eastern Town ships), each of which organizes several events during the year. Brunet succeeds Simon Charbonneau as president. Also, LARAQ Montreal has selected new members of its board of directors for the period 2010-11. They include: Mathieu Brunet, Anne-Marie Deschnes, Marie-Helene Plourde, Caroline Cormier, Andranne Paquet Vincent Lessard-Phillips, Genevive Ducharme and Benoit Tessier.

9 Chesterfield Canada Inc., a specialist independent wholesale broker, is expanding its presence across Canada. The Lloyd’s broker has applied for and successfully obtained licenses to offer its wholesale products in Alberta and British Columbia. “We are very pleased that the regulatory authorities in both Alberta and British Columbia have seen fit to award us their licences to operate in their provinces, as it allows their brokers to access a broader range of insurance products for their insureds,” said Gary Hirst, Chesterfield’s director of business development. Chesterfield’s Toronto team will focus on the drive into British Columbia and Alberta, offering access to hard-to-place property/liability, sabotage and terrorism, host/ hospitality, builders’ risk and renewable energy power production classes of insurance.

10 SCM Risk Management Services (RMS), in partnership with the Insurance Brokers Association of British Columbia (IBABC), has launched the pilot of iClarify services in B.C. More than 50 brokerages across the province have been selected to take part in the test phase, which is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2010. Province-wide release is targeted for 2011 Q1. iClarify is a validation tool providing brokers with information on specific residential properties, including 14 critical construction data elements, geo-coded streetscape and satellite imagery and valuation services. The product was first rolled out in Ontario earlier this year. “We’ve been watching with great interest the development of this product and its rollout in Ontario,” IBABC executive director Chuck Byrne says. “We’re now pleased that BC brokers get their chance to put it to the test in their daily operations. We’re looking forward to hearing what brokers have to say about it.”