The Insurance Podcast

The insurance industry is not the easiest one to sell as a career but it can be one of the most rewarding.  Recruitment and retention is difficult at the best of times so how do insurance professionals fill the talent pipeline?  Page Forron and Bettina Urban from McConville Omni Insurance might have some ideas about what the solution is for tapped out agencies, brokers and companies.  They take a...

Usage-based insurance is not a new concept but telematics has evolved and Ryan McMahon, VP of Insurance for Cambridge Mobile Telematics explains how.  The technology has moved way beyond plugging something into the OBD II port in a car and now uses bluetooth connected tags to prove near real-time data.  As Ryan points out CMT technology can be used in a Ford Model T to a Tesla Model S and connects...

Talking to a chat bot should not be this fun but Avdhesh Sexana, the founder and creator of the Friendly Agent Chat Bot, explains what so many within the insurance industry don't understand about the technology.  Chat bots aren't just about backend AI, they are about front end lead generation and store minding as Avdhesh explains. They are part of  social media plans and customer engagement as wel...

Claims service is when insurance matters most but the often overlooked part is how to make the payment of claims efficient.  Jeff Brown, the President of Vpay, explains how their service solves so many problems for the payee and the payer with the use of the 'V card'.  It's not just about transferring funds, it's data security too and Jeff explains how VPay's technology empowers a safe and secure...

Broker technology comes in many forms but Sherif Gemeyal has been a pioneer in the next phase of the customer-facing insurance experience.  Sherif and Marnie Osborne share their experience with how the broker distribution channel is changing and where they see the biggest opportunities for insurance companies and their partners.  Their company Trufla Technology has more than a few ideas for both b...

There's a perception about the mutual insurers but John Taylor, CEO of OMIA, is ready to dispel it.  These aren't smaller companies filling a niche, rather they are a group of long-standing innovators that have served segments of the economy developing products and solutions for over 100 years.  John explains why mutuals of all sizes have a role and how they not only help the marketplace but also...

All corporations are using social responsibility as part of their brand value but no on within the insurance industry does it like Aviva.  They started with the Aviva Community Fund and have now moved on to a new cause, Take Back our Roads.  This cause is bigger than simple road safety, its about engagement with many stakeholders to find solutions to problems with road design, traffic flaws, and o...

AJ Altman, the CEO and founder of Hover is happy to change the parts of the insurance industry, in fact he's inspired to do so for all the right reasons.  AJ has a incredible story about inspiration and risk and not how to look at risk as insurance professionals do. He also shares his fears and how they drive him More importantly his view of how insurance can work is shaped around efficiency and C...

It's one thing to talk to a company developing AI technology but to talk with their key customer is another thing but that's what happened in this episode when the co-founder of Boost AI, Henry Vaage Iversen and the Business Efficiency Lead from Tryg, Benjamin Alex agreed to record.  This was a trans-Atlantic recording and a ton of fun to talk about how a company took leading edge artificial intel...

Innovation does not have to come from the 'big guys' when it comes to insurance companies and Val Fehr, CEO of My Mutual Insurance is proof.  Val's beliefs formed a long time ago and once the chance arose was able to put them into place to create a flat management style operation that puts people first.  In many ways that's a refreshing change in the hyper-tech driven space of insurance and Val ex...

Insurance sales always seemed complicated until Mark Evans from Standard Sales reached out.  As the guest on this episode, Mark explains how creating the right experience with innovative touch points, value mapping the customer experience, and thinking how you can transform your customers are all tactics for a great sales strategy.  Yes, this is all about insurance too!  Mark's energy is as contag...

Insurance can be seen as a ruthless business and at times it is, but David Ferreiro from USI Insurance Services has a different view.  David explains how brokers can insure to their values and how empowering the next generation to see that possibility can bridge the divide between the old guard and millennials.  Everything with the insurance industry is in a state of change and David has great ins...

While insurance regulation may not be the most glamorous subject the new regulator for Ontario's FSRA branch Tim Bzowey might be able to change that perception.  With IBC's Don Forgeron asking the questions Tim explains his philosophy, his views and how a regulator can serve as an advocate for all interested parties with respect to insurance products.  Please rate, review and follow the podcast! S...

Recruitment and holding on to talent is everything in the insurance industry right now and the IBAO 2019 Convention delivered the "Talent Pipeline" Tip Talk.  This talk featured three leaders around talent and the insurance industry: JOHN MCNEIL – PROGRAM COORDINATOR & PROFESSOR, HUMBER COLLEGE, INSURANCE MANAGEMENT POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM TREVOR MCINTOSH – HEAD OF TALENT AND CULTURE, ZE...

A round table discussion featuring 5 of Canada's top insurance companies executives including:  Carol Jardine, Rowan Saunders, Bob Tisdale, Heather Masterson, and Louis Gagnon.  With two sessions featuring commercial and personal lines subjects the 'podcast' put the executives on the hot seat to discuss the major topics in the industry today. Please rate, review and follow the podcast! See omnystu...

Fresh off Canada’s 2019 Federal Election mid-October, Ginny joins us to explain how election results will impact both Canada and the province of Ontario, focusing on the implications to small and large businesses and the broader insurance industry. Having worked at Queen’s Park as party organizer for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and appearing as panelist and contributor on CTV and...

For many Canadians, the impacts of climate change are associated with the Arctic or low-lying tropical Pacific islands flooded by rising sea levels—a mindset that causes complacency and unpreparedness as Canadian households become increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In this talk, hosts of TVO series The Water Brothers break down how Canadians are being impacted by flood and e...

Marketers have shifted from mass to millennial—a generation in the thick of life’s biggest moments, claiming their position as head of household—and every brand is competing for their attention. Learn Andrew’s winning formula for millennial engagement based on his research and experience working with some of today’s largest brands including Microsoft, 3M and Scotiabank. Find out the latest in life...

Almost live from the IBAO 2019 convention in Toronto is the recap of the BIP talk guests featuring The Water Brothers on climate change, Andrew Au on marketing to millennials, Ginny Roth on the federal election and political action, Tim Bzowey on regulation and John McNiel, Trevor McIntosh and Page Forron talking about managing the talent pipeline for your operation.   Please rate, review and foll...

When you get a chance to talk to someone with Bob Tisdale's experience and wisdom you jump at it. With his recent retirement announcement and legacy with Pembridge Insurance having Bob as a guest was a real coup.  Bob's career has taken him to many places and he talks about that journey the journey's he and his wife hope to take in retirement and shares a why he still believes the broker channel i...

The final installment talking about #ITC2019 what was learned and experienced.  This episodes features guests from GIC, IBM, Life.io, Core Logic, Hover, Anthemis and Bold Penguin.  Trying to make sense of what is at Insuretech Connect is hard at the best of times but after talking to many people it seems a general theme and idea emerged.  Using technology and services to reduce friction points to...

The IBAO convention is coming up on October 23rd and 24th and we'll be there to capture the entire event but before that Colin Simpson, IBAO CEO is the guest.  There are plenty of issues surrounding the insurance industry and Ontario right now and Colin provides a nuanced contextual view of issues affecting insurance brokers.  We talk about the upcoming convention, politics, regulation, technology...

What happens after day one at Insuretech Connect?  It's late afternoon in Las Vegas the skies are clear and air is warm so insurance folks head to the pool deck to unwind and decompress.  So I pulled out a couple of microphones and started recording the thoughts of some of Canada's leading brokers with their guard down.  This is raw, it's honest, and the audio is far from ideal but content is amaz...

CAA is launching a marketing program exclusively for insurance brokers and Brent Closs from CAA talks about why the broker distribution channel requires a specific set of marketing skills.  How do you ask the right questions when using marketing services and what services do brokers need?  Hear what Brent and CAA think about what brokers misunderstand about marketing and why your producers and mar...

In this episode John McClelland founder of miBroker talks about how building an online insurance solution requires understanding how 'digital natives' behave.  John Also shares his wisdom about how using various insurer innovation labs helped him develop his service and what he learned through the shared experience with other brokers.  There's more than simply a digital insurance service model her...