Ross Totten is a well known and warmly regarded name in the Canadian insurance industry.
The insurance veteran has almost 52 years of industry experience and was recently awarded the
First Insurance Funding of Canada award for Lifetime Achievement at the
Insurance Business Canada Awards 2017 after being nominated by his peers.
Totten has spent decades working the MGA field in Canada. His accomplishments include founding Totten Insurance Group in 2002 and being a past CEO and major shareholder of
South Western Insurance Group. Upon retirement from Totten Insurance Group, he turned his focus to HRT Insurance Consulting, Inc, of which Totten is now president and CEO.
He is a past president of the Insurance Institute of Ontario and past governor of the Insurance Institute of Canada. Totten has also been involved in education for several years, coordinating Insurance Studies at St. Clair College, and teaching and lecturing for RIBO licensing and CAIB courses.
Despite such an impressive resumé, Totten told
Insurance Business he was “a little overwhelmed” by the lifetime achievement award, but added that it’s always nice to be recognised by peers.
“I’ve worked in the industry for almost 52 years, and sometimes something like this comes along and recognises the hard work and contributions you’ve made in the industry – and I’m very grateful for it,” he said.
Insurance Business caught up with Totten to find out his views on the Canadian insurance industry and how it has transformed during his five decades of experience:
After 52 years of service, what do you make of today’s insurance industry?
I still enjoy the industry and think it’s a
wonderful opportunity for young people. No matter what you trained for or what you enjoy, you can always find something to do in the insurance industry – there’s accounting, actuarial work, underwriting, claims management, distribution, legal work, and so much more. It’s also an industry that will allow you to work anywhere in the world. Once you have the skills, you can put them to work anywhere you want, which is a huge opportunity for young people.
How do we bring more young people into the industry?
We’ve done a bad job recently of bringing young people into the industry and telling them how exciting it can be. The economy of Canada simply wouldn’t function without the insurance industry. For example, banks won’t lend money for a construction project unless it’s insured – and that happens across all industries. Insurance really makes the world go around, and we haven’t told young people that.
Recently, in the past five years or so, the insurance industry has done a much better job of holding career days and educational forums in high schools and universities. The brokers’ associations are also working hard to get more young people involved in the brokerage side of the business. But as an industry,
we still need to reach out further. We’re going to lose of lot of the workforce to retirement over the next few years, which means there will be lots of opportunities for young people.
What’s the key to success in the insurance industry?
Surround yourself with good people. Find the people who are best at doing what they do and let them get on with it. I don’t see any sense in hiring really smart people and then dictating how you want things done. Tell them what you want them to achieve and accomplish, supply them with the tools they need to do the job, and let them do it. If they can’t do the job, then you have to replace them with someone who can. My staff consistently made me look good, which was because they were doing such a great job.
How do you think the Canadian insurance market will evolve in the future?
Automation will play a big role. Insurance companies are investing vast amounts of money into technology, which is going to drive more and more change in the industry. There are also going to be lots of new insurance coverages that we haven’t even thought of yet. If you’d mentioned
cyber insurance 20-years-ago, nobody would have known what it was. So, new types of insurance will be created and those who embrace change first will have a huge advantage over people who procrastinate and don’t create new things.
We need creativity in the industry to deal with these changes. It’s an exciting time to be in insurance.
Related stories:
Winners of the Insurance Business Canada Awards 2017
Totten Insurance acquires Ontario-based digital insurance brokerage
