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The Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba’s CEO, Dave Schioler, is stepping down after 11 years on the job but will hold on to his position until April 11, 2018.
Schioler announced on April 08 the IBAM’s endorsement of Aviva’s broker relationship and the organization’s planned meetings with Intact and Wawanesa Insurance, a move that contrasted partnership suspensions issued by the Ontario and New Brunswick brokers associations.
Despite the proximity of the announcements, Schioler said the issues are not connected – and he is instead staying on an extra year to ensure the transition of current projects to the next association head.
“There’s a lot of ongoing work, it’s the reason why it’s important for me to stay on during a transition so that the work doesn’t stop. That kind of thing (broker relationships with big insurers) it is ongoing, we’re in the process of now educating our members and meeting with more companies in addition to Aviva,” Schioler said.
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“When I first came on we were thinking I would be here for a three to five year period. But there was so much to do and we were moving in a such a positive direction and growth direction and we knew we could accomplish much more. So together, the board and I moved forward to make a lot of positive changes and a lot of growth for the organization which meant we could do more for the membership.”
For a couple of years, Schioler said he’d been considering a departure from IBAM and the time had come when changing roles was a positive step.
Whether Schioler stays in the insurance industry right now is unclear - he’s received promising offers both inside and outside insurance that he can’t elaborate on currently.
“When I took the helm (at IBAM) it was more of an administrative organization, it was a good organization but it was small,” he said. “We’ve grown it substantially over the course of my tenure, to the extent that our political advocacy is second to none. The work with government that we do, the work with premiers over the years and cabinet, MLAs and Manitoba Public Insurance has been very positive.
“Most, if not all, the companies will contact us first with major initiatives.”
