The partnership between two of Canada’s top-flight insurers and investment companies has given birth to a nationwide platform that promises to benefit the independent insurance brokerage community.
Jones DesLauriers Insurance Management Inc. (JDIMI),
Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited – have come together to create Navacord Inc., a Canadian platform to benefit the independent insurance brokerage community.
“Today, brokerage consolidation in Canada is taking place at an extremely rapid rate,” said T. Marshall Sadd, Executive Chairman at Navacord. “As acquisitions continue to intensify, local mid-sized independent firms struggle to compete, perpetuate and thrive.”
The company will invest in and form a nationwide partnership of entrepreneurial brokers with deep roots in local business communities.
According to the joint press release, Navacord was created with the mandate to help build and guide the best performing brokerages in the country, while keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive. The name itself is a combination of ‘navigation’ which is the art or science of ascertaining or directing the course, and ‘accord,’ which means to be in agreement or harmony.
Navacord partners currently manage approximately $400 million in premium volume, making them one of the largest commercial insurance brokers in Canada.
According to Sadd, Navacord’s business model enables partners to remain majority broker owned, while focusing on organic growth, producing healthy profits, and internal perpetuation. Each broker will maintain their regional focus, but will benefit from a wealth of expertise, innovation, buying power, and enhanced talent management that will help keep them in the game, he says, adding that they will also benefit from the financial strength of Fairfax, a proven leader in supporting Canadian business.
“With a vision that is new and unique in the Canadian marketplace, we are shaping the future of the broker distribution channel,” said Shawn DeSantis, President & CEO at Navacord, “and are inviting regional brokers to become part of something bigger and stronger.”
