Views (September 01, 2005)

The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) will celebrate its first annual clothing drive this October. Posing a positive challenge to the insurance industry to dig deep into their closets, the drive will donate used women’s business attire to help economically disadvantaged women dress to prepare for interview success, acquire jobs and restore financial self-sufficiency. The clothing drive, which runs from October 1-15, supports Dress For Success (Toronto) – a not-for-profit that provides more than 1,000 local low-income women with free interview clothing and career counsel each year so they can successfully re-enter the workforce and begin rebuilding their lives. As the key sponsor of this clothing drive, CRDN will distribute garment bags to interested insurance offices. CRDN will then collect, dry clean, press and deliver all donations from participant offices to the Dress For Success clothing bank, located in Yorkdale Mall, Toronto. All clothing items must be in excellent condition with no obvious tears, stains, missing buttons or broken zippers. The Dress For Success Clothing Drive accepts suits, blazers, overcoats, separates (shirts, skirts, pants), new nylons, nearly new shoes, scarves, purses, belts, costume jewelry and unused cosmetics. The organization also has a need for plus size business clothing. To receive an CRDN before September 26 to receive an office garment bag 866-897-CRDN (2736).

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Jones Brown Inc. revel in their success at the Chubb Charity Challenge’s Toronto Regional Golf Tournament, held at the Glen Abbey Golf Club, while Mitchell Sandham Inc. and Jones Deslauriers Insurance Management Inc. tied for second. Moving on, Jones Brown will compete for a $50,000 donation to The Canadian Scholarship Trust in the national championship in Half Moon Bay, CA. Jones Brown will compete against 43 other regional tournament winners from Canada and the U.S. in the national championship on September 26. The Jones Brown team consists of: Richard Dowling, CFO & managing partner; John Lindsay, managing partner; Mark Puddy, partner – sports division; and, Ashley Chinner, vice-president – sales, Simmlands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jones Brown Inc. The fun-filled Toronto tournament, saw 15 teams raise a total of $25,000 for charity.

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Dale-Parizeau LM Inc. celebrate their victory at the Chubb Charity Challenge’s Montreal Regional Golf Tournament, held at the St-Raphal Golf Club. They will now move on to compete for a $50,000 donation to Centraide-United Way in the national championship in Half Moon Bay, CA. Just like Jones Brown, Dale-Parizeau will compete against 43 other regional winners. The French team is powered up for another win with team members: Maurice Bussires, vice-president, corporate markets; Robert Brunet, HR manager; Gilles Ppin, director l’Aubainerie Group; and, Martin Damphousse, president, Quebec Association of Denturologists. Bussires says the financial service Company chose Centraide as its charity because of the firm’s long standing support for this cause. Chubb’s Montreal tournament shone as only 12 teams raised an impressive $30,000 for charity. Rhodes & Williams Limited finished second, winning a $3,000 donation for Cystic Fibrosis. Stephen J. Patenaude Inc. finished third, winning a $2,500.00 donation for the Ste-Justine Hospital – Neuro Surgery Dept.

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Over 300 delegates participated in CARSTAR’s 8th Annual Industry Conference, which celebrated 10 years of leadership in the collision repair industry in Ottawa. The Conference was one of the franchise’s largest and most comprehensive conference, with over 80% of CARSTAR’s national network attending. From August 10th -12th, CARSTAR franchisees and their families, corporate employees, insurance partners and vendor partners celebrated the Company’s 10th anniversary at the luxurious Fairmont Chteau Laurier located right in the heart of downtown Ottawa. This year’s conference was kicked off by the Honourable Tony Valeri, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and MP for Hamilton. The theme of this year’s conference was “In The Spotlight” and included sessions on vital business topics such as branding, public relations, advertising, client relations, the latest trends in the collision industry, insurance trends & claims and maximizing growth and profitability. Awards at the annual O.S.C.A.R. gala awards presentation, which recognized “Outstanding Service, Commitment And Results,” were presented to franchisees that demonstrated distinguished service and outstanding leadership over the past year. This year, the Ottawa franchisees also organized a New Orleans-style bash for all the conference attendees at a restaurant called “Fat Tuesdays.” The conference wrapped up at a truly unique, candle-lit affair held at the famous Canadian Aviation Museum.

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Hub International Ltd. has engaged in a fold-in acquisition of The Innovators Insurance Agencies Ltd. (Innovators) by its regional hub, Hub International Barton Limited (HUB Barton), which services British Columbia, Canada. The Innovators operate primarily in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia, located in Cranbrook, B.C. Since its founding in 1973, Innovators has become well known for its general insurance expertise. In 2004, Innovators generated revenue of approximately CDN$1 million. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

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The Insurance Search Bureau of Canada (ISB) and StreetsofCanada.com (SOC) have entered into a new partnership that will provide insurance professionals with access to an online master photo directory of Canada’s intersections. The directory, containing hundreds of thousands of clear and accurate intersection photos, will be made available to the p&c claims industry through ISB’s Web portal. The photos include valuable detail such as signage and traffic signals. Photos can also be obtained to illustrate non-auto related incidents such as broken stairs or fallen tree damage. StreetsofCanada.com is an independent online database of digital photographs of the nation’s street intersections and accident locations for all Canadian Industries requiring immediate access to scene photos. These photos provide an online ‘window’ for claims handlers, allowing them to visit an accident scene from their desktop computer. For more information visit www.streetsofcanada.com.

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In response to Canadian Underwriter’s August web poll – which asked the question: “In lieu of the recent acts of terror in London and an increased international concern regarding risks and repercussions of terrorist acts, should the government back terrorism insurance, underwriting this indeterminate risk, or should the insurance industry form and fund a terrorism insurance pool?” – more than half of members of the insurance industry believe that the onus is on the government to protect its citizens against the threat of terrorism through insurance security. Tipping the scale by almost two-thirds, 60.7% of 257 respondents say the government should back terrorism insurance and underwrite the indeterminate risk while 39.3% say the insurance industry should form and fund a terrorism insurance pool. To access archives and view results for previous months web polls, please visit the current poll question at www.canadianunderwriter.ca.

NO 60.70% YES 39.30%

of a total 257 respondents to question asked “In lieu of the recent acts of terror in London and an increased international concern regarding risks and repercussions of terrorist acts, should the government back terrorism insurance, underwriting this indeterminate risk, or should the insurance industry form and fund a terrorism insurance pool?”