IIC elects new board members

The Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) has elected new members of its board.

The elections occurred during IIC’s 66th Annual General Meeting on October 29, 2019, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Patrick Van Bakel, BA, CIP was elected chair of the board of governors. Based in Toronto, Van Bakel is the president and chief executive officer of Crawford and Company (Canada).

“The Insurance Institute of Canada plays a vital role in the success of the insurance industry and I am proud to assume this leadership role,” commented Van Bakel on his appointment. “With a broad offering of education programs, the Institute helps Canadian P&C insurance professionals to grow their knowledge and advance their careers.”

The other elected executive committee members of IIC’s board of governors for 2019-20 are:

• Deputy chair – Martin Thompson, ACII, president and CEO of RSA Canada
• Vice-chair, membership-at-large – Heather Masterson, BA, B.Ed, FCIP, president and CEO of Travelers Canada
• Immediate past chair – S. J. (Jeff) Goy, ACAS, CIP, president and CEO of The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company

The regional vice-chairs are:

• Western provinces – Ken De Decker, CIP, CRM
• Ontario – Heidi Sevcik, FCIP
• Québec – François Jean, CIP, CRM
• Atlantic provinces – Robert Byrne, CIP, CD

The divisional vice-chairs are:

• Academic division vice-chair – Anna McCrindell, BA, FCIP
• Professionals division vice-chair – Mike Kosturik, BA, FCIP

The IIC is a professional education body for the property & casualty insurance industry in Canada. It sets professional standards for the industry through education programs, which lead into a range of professional designations such as Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) and Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP). The IIC is also the parent organization of the Chartered Insurance Professionals’ Society.

A release said that that the body currently counts more than 40,000 members, which includes 18,000 active students.