Operations
A pandemic triggers a state of emergency. You have 24 hours to shut your doors to customer walk-in traffic and protect 1,900 of your brokers and support staff across Canada from catching and spreading the novel coronavirus. Even for smaller brokerages, it can be a logistical nightmare to cease walk-in traffic and send people home to work […]
By David Gambrill | March 23, 2020
4 min read
Tech
Canadian P&C professionals have approached Cookhouse Labs, an industry innovation hub, to help with staff training. Cookhouse co-founder Sven Roehl (pictured here) and Ibeth Ramos, Cookhouse’s program manager and innovation coach, explain why. – As told to Jason Contant
March 20, 2020
2 min read
All Northbridge employees are working from home and the company doesn’t expect any disruption on service levels, according to the carrier. Northbridge told Canadian Underwriter that its top priority is the health and wellness of its employees, brokers, and customers. “As a proactive measure to help curb the spread of COVID-19, all of our employees […]
By Adam Malik | March 20, 2020
Aviva Canada is ensuring that its efforts to keep employees safe will not impact service during the COVID-19 pandemic that is forcing companies from all industries to change the way they do business. The country’s second-largest carrier has 97% of its more than 4,200 employees working remotely, Aviva’s CEO Jason Storah said in an email […]
Smart phones and high-speed Internet makes it easier to do business when offices are closed and staff are working from home, but what about the client who doesn’t have the latest and greatest technology gadgets? Some clients, especially some elderly people, do not necessarily have access to technology such as e-mail and printers, suggests Chuck […]
By Greg Meckbach | March 20, 2020
The Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta is calling on its members to take necessary precautions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including closing offices. The group is also temporarily shuttering its offices but will try to ensure members can still get their continuing education hours. “The COVID-19 crisis is one that none of us could have anticipated, […]
By Adam Malik | March 19, 2020
The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) is welcoming the federal government’s announcement of a slew of measures to assist Canadian employees, consumers, and businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the financial aid, worth about $82-billion, will provide a wage subsidy for small businesses, create the Emergency Care Benefit for […]
By Adam Malik | March 18, 2020
Brokerages that don’t have a pandemic or business continuity plan in place that allows employees to work from home could follow the lead of one Ontario brokerage that is trying to recreating the office workspace experience in their employees’ homes. Mitchell & Whale has shut down its Whitby, Ont. office and arranged for its employees […]
By Adam Malik | March 17, 2020
3 min read
No clients will be walking through the doors of at least one Alberta brokerage, thanks to fears around spreading coronavirus in the office. Leibel Insurance Group has closed its doors to client visits and told all employees to work from home as COVID-19 concerns grow. It’s the first brokerage in the country that Canadian Underwriter […]
By Adam Malik | March 16, 2020
The Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IBAA) and the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba (IBAM) are the latest organizations to hold back an event, as threats from COVID-19 are forcing industry organizers to rethink, postpone, or outright cancel events. In a statement announcing the postponement, IBAM president Mario Reimer and CEO Grant Wainikka said, “Manitoba […]
By Adam Malik | March 13, 2020
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