Some brokers have a different career before they come over to insurance, but not many come from the world of sports. Before Gavin Benson (pictured) became a broker – and an Insurance Business Canada Elite Broker at that – he was a golf professional for a number of years. Then, he met Lloyd Sadd Navacord president Chris Huebner and soon started hitting holes-in-one on a different kind of green.
“I was done with golf at that point in my life. I played for two or three years and was looking to get into some sort of a career, so I took the Grant MacEwan risk and insurance program here in Edmonton and got connected with our president,” explained Benson. “He said, ‘I think you could sell insurance, have you ever thought about it?’ And at that point, I really didn’t know what opportunities existed.”
When Benson joined Lloyd Sadd in 2013, he didn’t have a ton of experience in insurance. Nonetheless, he worked through the ranks over six years and eventually became the youngest partner in Lloyd Sadd history at the age of 27.
During his career at the brokerage, he also developed a specialty in energy, resources, and infrastructure.
“I quickly realized that the best producers in our office were specialists, not generalists, so I knew that you had to specialize in something. And, I knew that the insurance world was a complicated world and you couldn’t be an expert in all things, so you had to narrow down what you wanted to be an expert in,” said Benson. “The energy sector has always been something that’s interested me.”
He formed a partnership with another producer who focused on energy in the office, Terence Hogan, and the two worked hand in hand on building this book of business. The pair later formalized their practice and work as a formal team now, rather than just as individuals.
A key strategy that Benson has employed to maintain strong relationships with clients in the sector has been to put in the time to see them face to face.
“I would say I travel more than anyone else in our office across Western Canada and in that energy space. We’re a specialist in oilfield services and that doesn’t mean just staying here in Alberta – that applies to Northern BC and Southeast Saskatchewan. I’ve never been afraid to drive eight or 10 hours to go meet with someone if they want to talk about how we help them,” said Benson, pointing out that it doesn’t hurt that there’s a lot of business across the country. “It says a lot, as far as the relationship goes, when you’re willing to drive 10 hours to meet with someone. I think that builds some credibility right away, instead of just trying to do it all over the phone.”
Yet, navigating the economic environment in Alberta hasn’t necessarily been easy. The economy has been challenging in the province for three or four years now, says Benson, as it battles its way through a recession.
“It’s been extremely tough on the clients in the energy sector, so managing that has been priority number one. Cost is on everyone’s mind, so being proactive and talking through strategies to help with cost reductions has been important, and then with the insurance marketplace hardening in the last year or so, that’s been sticking it to clients on both ends,” Benson told Insurance Business. “Their margins have been compromised, yet their insurance premiums are also going up, so they have less money to spend, but their costs are increasing. Getting in front of that and talking about strategies on how to combat both things has been really important.”
As the accomplished broker looks to the future, he plans to continue building out Lloyd Sadd’s energy practice as one of Western Canada’s biggest.
“I think there’s also a potential to grow within Navacord as an executive on the management team,” he added. “There’s a lot of good opportunities within Navacord as a national company – to help it grow just outside of my own client base or portfolio and help it grow on a much bigger scale.”
