Views (December 01, 2003)

This year's B.C. Insurance Person of the Year Award goes to John M. Toomer, partner and manager at Vancouver General Insurance Agency. He has been in the industry for 35 years, starting as an underwriter with Safeco, before moving into the brokerage business. He is a past president of the Greater Vancouver Insurance Brokers Association, on the executive of the Insurance Brokers Association of B.C., and has served on the ICBC broker liaison committee for 13 years.|The RIMS Canada Conference was the scene of the 11th annual "municipal risk managers forum". Chaired by Nancy Chambers, with vice chair Craig Rose, the group meets to network and discuss issues of common concern each year at the conference. The forum also participates in an e-group of 108 Canadian municipal risk managers, who connect online each day.|Staff and retirees of Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada joined recently to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. In 1953 Swiss Re Canada (then called Canadian Re) became one of the first domestic reinsurance companies incorporated in Canada, although the global company has been writing business here since 1912. Pictured are veterans of the company representing a collective 513 years of service.|Applied Systems Canada Inc|TIC|W.J. Sutton & Co.|Over 450 industry guests attended the 6th annual "Breakfast for Breast Cancer", put on by the Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC). Featured speaker was Eleanor Nielson (left), inspiration for the book "How to Ride a Dragon", by Michelle Tocher (right). The book tells the stories of dragon boat racers who join together to share their experiences with breast cancer, race competitively and raise money for a cure. More on the event and the book is at WICC's new website, www.wicc.ca.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|At the most recent luncheon meeting of the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association (CIAA), Sandra Cleghorn (left) presented the Ken Hall Award, sponsored by Munich Re, to CIAA Fundamentals of Insurance top student Winnie Siu, of Deloitte Touche.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|TIC|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|TIC|TIC|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|TIC|John Rislahti|Steve Pottle|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Patty Kelly (second from left), from the Chatham Kent Women's Centre, receives a donation of $4,700 from the 12th annual Dillon Pudwell McNeill - The Insurance Group golf tournament at Countryview Golf Course. Presenting, from left, are office owners Bob Dillon, Ed Kys, Eloise Williscroft and Brian Pollard. To date, the tournaments have raised about $50,000 for local charities.|Joe Restoule, Marly Drainville and Richard Higgins|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Steve Pottle|Compu-Quote Inc. — This year’s B.C. Insurance Person of the Year Award goes to John M. Toomer, partner and manager at Vancouver General Insurance Agency. He has been in the industry for 35 years, starting as an underwriter with Safeco, before moving into the brokerage business. He is a past president of the Greater Vancouver Insurance Brokers Association, on the executive of the Insurance Brokers Association of B.C., and has served on the ICBC broker liaison committee for 13 years.|The RIMS Canada Conference was the scene of the 11th annual “municipal risk managers forum”. Chaired by Nancy Chambers, with vice chair Craig Rose, the group meets to network and discuss issues of common concern each year at the conference. The forum also participates in an e-group of 108 Canadian municipal risk managers, who connect online each day.|Staff and retirees of Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada joined recently to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. In 1953 Swiss Re Canada (then called Canadian Re) became one of the first domestic reinsurance companies incorporated in Canada, although the global company has been writing business here since 1912. Pictured are veterans of the company representing a collective 513 years of service.|Applied Systems Canada Inc|TIC|W.J. Sutton & Co.|Over 450 industry guests attended the 6th annual “Breakfast for Breast Cancer”, put on by the Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC). Featured speaker was Eleanor Nielson (left), inspiration for the book “How to Ride a Dragon”, by Michelle Tocher (right). The book tells the stories of dragon boat racers who join together to share their experiences with breast cancer, race competitively and raise money for a cure. More on the event and the book is at WICC’s new website, www.wicc.ca.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|At the most recent luncheon meeting of the Canadian Insurance Accountants Association (CIAA), Sandra Cleghorn (left) presented the Ken Hall Award, sponsored by Munich Re, to CIAA Fundamentals of Insurance top student Winnie Siu, of Deloitte Touche.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|TIC|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|TIC|TIC|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|W.J. Sutton & Co.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|TIC|John Rislahti|Steve Pottle|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Patty Kelly (second from left), from the Chatham Kent Women’s Centre, receives a donation of $4,700 from the 12th annual Dillon Pudwell McNeill – The Insurance Group golf tournament at Countryview Golf Course. Presenting, from left, are office owners Bob Dillon, Ed Kys, Eloise Williscroft and Brian Pollard. To date, the tournaments have raised about $50,000 for local charities.|Joe Restoule, Marly Drainville and Richard Higgins|W.J. Sutton & Co.|TIC|Compu-Quote Inc.|Compu-Quote Inc.|Steve Pottle|Compu-Quote Inc.

The Toronto Insurance Conference (TIC) hosted its annual “Black Tie Dinner” at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel recently. In attendance were company and vendor representatives, along with TIC member commercial brokers. Guest speaker for the event was Carla Collins, comedian and radio and television personality.

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Applied Systems Canada Inc. wrapped up its 15th anniversary celebration and national Technology Showcase Seminar at the IBAO convention. Pictured are vice president of sales, Jack Smith (left), and CEO Greg Purdy, welcoming guests to a demonstration of the company’s products which have been used by more than 10,000 clients. The event also marked the company’s announcement that it has teamed up with AIG Credit Corp. to provide integrated premium finance to Applied’s TAM brokerages. “We are excited to be working with a top notch financial service organization such as AIG Credit Corp.,” says Purdy. “We are always looking to establish new relationships that will enhance a seamless user experience and add value to the overall brokerage distribution system.”

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Compu-Quote Inc. celebrated its 20th anniversary in Toronto during the 83rd annual IBAO Convention recently. The underwriting and rating software firm was founded in 1983 by John Savage, Brian Schwab and Stephen Savage. Today, the company provides access to rates for more than 700 insurance company plans across the country.

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W.J. Sutton & Co. celebrated its 25th anniversary with a “family skate” at the Air Canada Centre, including autograph signing sessions with four Toronto Maple Leaf captains: Rick Vaive, Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour; current Leafs coach Pat Quinn and “the voice of the Leafs” Joe Bowen. The Leafs were the first client of company founder Bill Sutton, back in 1978. Today, the company writes a wide range of special risk accident and health risks, and manages a reinsurance brokerage operation, Sutton Re.

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John Rislahti, risk manager with the Government of Manitoba, is this year’s winner of RIMS Canada’s highest honor, the Don Stuart Award. Rislahti (pictured with daughter Kate and wife Elizabeth) has been a long-time force in the Manitoba chapter and is co-chair of the Portage 2004 RIMS Canada Conference in Winnipeg. Also honored at the conference was Steve Pottle, risk analyst for York University (pictured with RIMS Canada education chair Maureen Graham), recipient of the Fred Bosson Award for highest standing by a CRM graduate. The ceremony wrapped up with new donations to the McGannon Foundation for Advanced Risk Management (pictured is foundation chair Joe Restoule with Marly Drainville of SARIMS and Richard Higgins of Agnew Higgins Pickering), which named Scott Holden its first scholarship winner.

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The “Change for Change” campaign launched this fall by WICC BC has raised almost $6,000 thus far for the Canadian Cancer Society. Highest contributors included ING, Elliott Insurance (Squamish), ICBC’s business analysis unit, Kernaghan Adjusters and Lindsay Kenney. WICC BC is asking everyone to start imagining ways to collect for the 2004 Change for Change campaign.

Yukon gets $45M to prevent Whitehorse-area landslides, more money for flood recovery

Regulator defends use of territories for rating auto insurance

Earthquakes Canada receives hundreds of reports in B.C. after 4.9 magnitude quake