Moves and Views

1 Marsh is creating a single global risk management (RM) practice group by bringing together G5, the company’s largest account platform, its multinational practice and its existing RM operations. The move is meant to enhance focus on meeting the evolving needs of the company’s largest clients worldwide. Tim Gardner [1], previously global sales leader for Marsh’s large corporate business, will lead the group. Based in New York, Gardner will report to Joe McSweeny, global sales leader and president of Marsh’s United States & Canada division. Marsh has also created chief client officer (CCO) roles to help drive the enhanced offering across its RM practice group. Tim Mahoney, formerly global risk manager leader for the U.S., has been named CCO in Marsh’s U.S. & Canada division, Gilbert Van den Eynde, formerly the global G5 leader, will be CCO for the international division and Alban Laloum will continue to lead the multinational team.

2 RSA has recently named Paul Lucarelli [2] as vice president of its large commercial and specialty business for the Ontario region. In this new role, Lucarelli will also lead RSA’s large commercial and specialty upper mid-market business in the province. He has held various commercial underwriting leadership roles, including heading the underwriting integration of GCAN and RSA, forming the current large commercial and specialty division after RSA acquired GCAN in 2011. Most recently, he served as vice president of the technical resource group.

3 Marilyn Horrick [3] is The Guarantee Company of North America’s new national vice president for the Guarantee Gold product, which caters to high-net worth individuals. Over the past 20 years, Horrick has held positions of increasing seniority within the property and casualty insurance industry, most recently as assistant vice president of strategic initiatives and communications manager for Chubb Insurance’s Canadian operations. She has also worked at Zurich Insurance, notes her LinkedIn profile. Horrick is a director on the Ontario board of WICC (Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade).

4 Intact Financial has taken a new step in its analytics capabilities and its implementation of the FellowDSS Accelerator business intelligence tool. Intact has acquired the FellowDSS Framework version, which will provide access to intellectual property functionalities, notes InEdge, the business analytics company behind the product. “By leveraging and customizing the FellowDSS platform, we will improve our ability to manage an ever-increasing volume of complex data and accelerate the deployment of our analytical solutions,” says Denis Pouliot [4], vice president of applications development for Intact. FellowDSS Accelerator is a business intelligence package for insurance companies that integrates technical elements and industry-specific business content. Its integrated data warehouse stores transactional data from a company’s operational support systems and consolidates and integrates data from across a company’s various systems, making the data easy to analyze through pre-defined or ad hoc reports.

5 Brokers would do well to be prepared to deal with the influence of telematics – something that George Cooke [5] suggests will ultimately revolutionize the way personal insurance is sold – or risk being left behind. “The reality is that this is coming,” Cooke, executive vice president of E-L Financial and former CEO of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co., said during a recent industry event in Toronto. “It will change the way we all do business. We can’t stop it, even if we want to, so we better figure out how to get on board that train because it’s leaving very quickly,” he said. “If you ignore it, I think brokers will lose very badly. If you pay attention to it, I think brokers would likely win, very quickly, very well,” he said of the influence of telematics. That makes it critically important for brokers to prepare now, not later, to ensure they have an opportunity to take part.

6 Toronto’s Granite Claims Solutions recently announced it has acquired Subrogation Group Ltd. in Burlington, Ontario. Subrogation Group will continue to operate under its current name as a division of Granite Claims Solutions. Beyond subrogation services, Subrogation Group specializes in deductible recovery, uninsured motorists, judgment recovery, premium compliance, small claims representation and restitution enforcements. “As a great resource on the recovery side of claims adjusting, their focus on providing the highest quality service for their client fits right in line and is a perfect complement with our product offering,” says Michael Holden, president and CEO of Granite Claims Solutions. Chris Smith, founder of Subrogation Group, adds the acquisition will allow “us to spread our services, both geographically and by line of business.”

7 The McLennan Group Insurance Inc. has launched a mobile app for its insurance programs for members of CARP, formerly the Canadian Association for Retired Persons. CARPMembers is available to current and future CARP members, notes a statement from CARP and McLennan Group Insurance, a personal lines brokerage owned by Northbridge Insurance Company. The app is available for iPhone 3GS-5 (iOS 4.01-6.0) and works on iPad, Android Smartphones (OS 2.3.3-OS 4.0) and BlackBerry Bold 9900 and Torch 9850/9860 (with OS 7.0). Users can browse for product information, rates and applications and get simplified auto, pet and travel insurance quotations. The app is an “example of how The McLennan Group Insurance Inc. is helping to make insurance easier to understand for CARP members,” says Jason Bednarz [7], director of direct personal lines for Northbridge Insurance.

8 ISB Canada, an information services firm in Milton, Ontario, has welcomed Fawn Mah [8] as customer relationship manager for Alberta and Western Canada. Mah has been a business development specialist at Aviva Canada, a personal lines field underwriter with The Dominion and an independent broker. In her new role, she will help train claims adjusters and branch managers to identify fraudulent claims and to improve efficiency by searching source documents.

9 Western Financial Group announced that as of February, Melfort Agencies Ltd. will be part of its network of insurance brokerages, marking the company’s 23rd location in Saskatchewan. “Joining Western Financial Group was the logical choice for me as I looked for ways to allow the office to grow and improve service to our customers and to Melfort,” says Wes Moneta, owner of Melfort Agencies. “We can now offer a much better selection of products and services and our office is part of an extensive network that stretches across western Canada,” says Moneta, who will manage the integrated office. Melfort staff will be maintained.

10 Cunningham Lindsey Canada has rejoined the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association (CIAA). “We believe there are some positive initiatives under way and have come to an agreement to rejoin the CIAA,” says Rob Seal, Cunningham Lindsey’s president. “We want to take an active role in pushing these initiatives and look forward to participating,” Seal says. “We are very excited to welcome Cunningham Lindsey back into the fold,” notes John Seyler, national president of the CIAA. “Although competitors, CIAA’s volunteers set competition aside and are dedicated to working together for the advancement and preservation of the independent adjusting profession. This significant increase in resources and expertise will be of considerable benefit for all members,” Seyler adds.