Snowbirds flying south for the winter should heed that they need a policy that differs from a traditional travel policy, one expert says. They also must inform their broker that they’ll be on an extended trip, so they can update their home and auto policy accordingly. The main difference between snowbird travel and regular travel […]
By Alyssa DiSabatino | October 20, 2022
3 min read
Jamie Lyons will become the president and CEO of Westland Insurance Group effective Jan. 1, 2023, the brokerage announced Thursday. Current CEO Jason Wubs will transition to the newly created role of vice chairman, head of mergers & acquisitions and strategic initiatives. Lyons was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Westland in 2019. […]
By Jason Contant | October 20, 2022
2 min read
Recent merger deals announced by Canadian commercial P&C brokerages increasingly feature acquisitions of wealth management and employee benefits firms, and this is no accident, brokers tell Canadian Underwriter. This subset of M&A is about P&C brokerages becoming a type of one-stop shopping for existing commercial and personal clients, adding additional financial services offerings to their […]
By Phil | October 14, 2022
3 min read
P&C brokerage merger and acquisition activity in Canada remains strong and healthy, as evidenced by the number of deals announced in just the past couple of weeks. Those deals involve brokerages that include Westland Insurance Group, BrokerLink, Western Financial Group, StoneRidge Insurance Brokers, and Ing & McKee (a Navacord brokerage). On the carrier side, Trisura […]
By Jason Contant | October 13, 2022
3 min read
BrokerLink has made its 19th and 20th acquisitions of 2022 with the purchase of two Ontario brokerages. The Intact Financial Corporation subsidiary said L&M Dallaire Insurance Ltd. and Cryderman Insurance Brokers Ltd. joined BrokerLink effective Oct. 1. Both brokerages offer personal and commercial insurance. In particular, L&M Dallaire Insurance provides home, auto and business insurance […]
By Jason Contant | October 12, 2022
2 min read
Definity Financial Corporation has increased its ownership interest in Ontario-based brokerage McDougall Insurance from approximately 25% to 75%, “building a broker partnership with proven M&A expertise.” The partnership is for a cash consideration of $217 million (subject to post-closing adjustments), bringing Definity’s total investment to $251 million when the deal completed, the insurer said in […]
By Jason Contant | October 7, 2022
3 min read
Westland Insurance Group and the American Rental Association (ARA) have announced an exclusive partnership to deliver insurance solutions to ARA members across Canada. ARA is an international trade association for owners of equipment and event rental operations, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of rental equipment. Together, Westland and ARA offer a commercial insurance package […]
By Jason Contant | October 6, 2022
2 min read
More than half of your clients want to receive their insurance documents in paper format, according to extrapolated results of Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s (IBAO) Going Paperless project. “It’s not a slam dunk – just because somebody wants to go digital, whether it’s the broker or the insurance company – that the consumers want […]
By Jason Contant | October 5, 2022
3 min read
The Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario (RIBO) is working with the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO) to review property & casualty agent and broker education and training requirements to make recommendations regarding a harmonized standard. This could take the form of a single, common curriculum for education and training. A common curriculum, if developed, […]
By Jason Contant | October 4, 2022
3 min read
Global reinsurers are looking at the current rise of managing general agencies (MGAs) with a critical eye, questioning whether the phenomenon will be long-lasting, or simply a fad rooted in a hard-market demand for capacity. “At the risk of sounding trite, I think I’ve seen this movie before,” Dick Sanford, CEO of Toa Reinsurance, commented […]
By David Gambrill | October 3, 2022
4 min read