Gallery

Hundreds of industry professionals descended on Spirale Banquet and Convention Centre in Toronto for ‘Friendship Night’ on on May 8. Presented by the Insurance Brokers of Toronto Region (IBTR), the fun-filled evening allowed industry peers to meet and greet each other to the Caribbean-inspired music of Keith Buddle and his band and enjoy a true taste of the Caribbean from the kitchen and bar of Spirale.

More wishes will be coming true this year, thanks to the 14th Annual Insurance Charity Gala in support of Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. The ‘Roaring Twenties’- themed event drew a sell-out attendance of 480 guests. The black-tie soiree was held at The Carlu in Toronto and helped raise Cdn$213,000 for the charity (including 22 wishes). Six ‘Fun Centres’ will be placed in hospitals selected by the president-level sponsors of the event. According to gala co-chairs Carla Blackmore and Wendy McCowan, “the gala committee was overwhelmed by the support that we received from the insurance industry. Everyone we have talked to loved the venue, so we are going back to The Carlu next year – May 2, 2009. Hold that date so you can be there with us!”

Guy Carpenter Canada was delighted to host its second (Re)Insurance Industry Charity Poker and Casino Event in Toronto on May 22 for WICC (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade). The Four Seasons Hotels’ penthouse salons, ‘Windows,’ set the scene for the event. The 32nd-floor venue offered a spectacular view of the Toronto skyline. Seventy guests competed for various prizes, including the Grand Prize of four days’ accommodation for two at the world famous Peregrine Lodge in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Cdn$10,000 value). Tom MacDowall of GCAN Insurance won the poker tournament.

The XL Insurance companies hosted a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception on May 28 in University of Toronto’s historical Hart House. Along with XL colleagues and senior management from across North America, more than 200 of XL’s business partners and clients enjoyed the evening in one of Toronto’s cornerstone gathering spaces since 1919. Hart House features soaring stained-glass windows, marble floors and oak-timbered ceilings.

More than 120 industry veterans attended the 49th Annual Reception of the Quarter Century Club, held May 7 at the Hilton International in Toronto. Emcee John Cherrie welcomed members and presided over the “roast” of Scott ‘Scooter’ Francis. Francis started his insurance industry career in 1972 with The Co-operators before moving to L. S. Croth for two years. He spent the next 16 years at Cunningham Lindsey, before joining The Shumka Group. He is now senior vice president and national claims advocacy leader with Aon Reed Stenhouse.

Caisse Centrale de Reassurance held its 7th annual Blues Night on April 16 at Fionn MacCool’s in Toronto. Little Bobby and the Jump-starts, one of the city’s premier blues bands, captured the sounds of the ‘golden era’ of 1950s blues. In the meantime, members, clients and guests of the (re)insurance community mingled and sampled culinary treats.