Despite the challenges of insurance, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) president and CEO Celyeste Power (pictured) firmly believes it’s “one of the most incredible industries to work” in.
Insurance Business caught up with Power at the end of 2023, just over a year after she became president and CEO of the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), to find out what 2024 has in store for the IBC.
“I have felt so much support and commitment from the team at IBC, but also from our members,” she said. “Even though we’re in a very hyper-competitive environment, it feels like people want to help everyone succeed.
“The reason I’m so excited to get up every morning is the people that I work with and the people we serve.”
Power said there’s much work still to do for Canada’s property & casualty (P&C) insurance industry. The top two issues on IBC’s list? Climate change and regulation.
“We’re continuing to see weather events increase in frequency and severity, and unfortunately, I don’t think that’s just something going away,” Power said. “This is our new normal, and I think we’re going see it get worse rather than better.”
The IBC has been working closely with the federal government to launch a national flood insurance program.
While the private market can cover about 90% of Canadians for flood risk, the 10% in high-risk areas need public-private partnership, according to Power.
“We were pleased to see the government announce in its 2023 budget that it would seek funding to stand up that national flood insurance programme,” she said. “We want to get it done as soon as possible.”
At the same time, the insurance industry needs to “play both offence and defence” regarding climate risk. Aside from flood insurance, the IBC is helping operationalize Canada’s first-ever national adaptation strategy.
Described as “a whole-of-society approach” to addressing climate-related disasters and building resilience, the landmark strategy includes meaningful targets and investment initiatives related to flooding, supply chains, freshwater, and security.
Putting the government’s climate adaptation plan into action means educating decision-makers in Canadian municipalities and provinces and helping them make the right decisions about where and how to build infrastructure.
“We need to get our mitigation efforts right. But we also need to adapt to the climate we’re seeing, and that means building more resilient communities that can stand up to these weather events,” Power said.
The second priority that IBC wants to focus on this year is ensuring the industry adapts to increasing regulation.
Power told Insurance Business that the IBC has noted a trend of “sweeping regulations and government intervention,” and that the association was seeking a “bespoke” approach to regulation for the insurance industry.
“This is from everything from the most ambitious consultation agenda we’ve ever seen from OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) to intervention into markets like Alberta, with the rate freeze and now rate cap [on auto insurance],” she said.
“We’re really pressing for a bespoke approach to regulation. We’re not the same as the life insurers or the banks, and our regulatory environment should be conscious of that.”
The goal is to have a stable, predictable regulatory environment for insurance companies.
“Of course, we need to keep up with the changing risks, but we want to make a plan and be able to stick to it because [insurers] do want to focus on their customers,” Power said.
Power also revealed that she has been collaborating with the IBC’s management team and its members on a three-year vision for the organization.
The vision focuses on three core areas: regulation and taxation, auto insurance, and climate.
“We’ll be working hard with regulators across the country on principles-based regulation that will allow us to innovate and to move our capital around [so we can] be best positioned for our customers,” Power said.
It is hoped that regulatory focus will help lead to sustainable auto insurance markets, particularly in Alberta and Ontario.
“My hope is that the IBC is seen as a place where we can collaborate on the big issues that are facing our society, a place where we can get together to advance strong public policy solutions that not only make it better for our industry but also for Canadians,” Power said. “That’s what we’re aiming to do in the three-year vision.”
Finally, one crucial change Power wants to make while at IBC is to improve the narrative around insurance careers.
“I’m so passionate about this industry,” she said. “I hope we can start telling our industry story in a way that I feel is fairer to all the great work we do.
“We are a pillar for the Canadian economy. We help people in their worst times. Unfortunately, that story is not told often. I hope that IBC can work with other associations and members to better tell that industry story. Because I do think it’s a great story to tell.”
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