Jardine Lloyd Thompson Canada Inc. (JLT Canada) is on a journey of evolution. The subsidiary of the global JLT Group is gaining dominance in Canadian niche and specialty lines and is making key strategic hires to accelerate growth.
Developing specialty business divisions requires talent, leadership and expertise - all things JLT Canada’s new aviation national specialty leader and managing director Steven Godfrey has in abundance, according to CEO David Richards.
“JLT Canada is on a journey of evolution towards becoming a purely specialist broker in Canada. We want to align our operations in Canada to the global specialties that exist already within JLT Group,” said Richards. “Developing our aerospace specialty is another peg in our journey to becoming a purely specialist broker.
“JLT Group’s strength within the aviation sector is unparalleled, [it represents 40% of the world’s airline operators with 10 or more aircraft in service] making it the right time to hire someone like Steven to lead our aviation business here in Canada. Steven is a top aerospace individual, a tremendous leader, and someone we’ve highlighted as the best person to help us grow our aviation specialty. It’s a fantastic appointment for us.”
Being a subsidiary of one of the world’s leading providers of insurance, reinsurance and brokerage services certainly has its advantages for JLT Canada. The ability to tap into a significant international knowledge pool and support network has helped JLT Canada accelerate growth in specialty lines, while also attracting and retaining the best talent, according to Richards.
Aviation and aerospace is just one area of development at the moment. Richards said JLT Canada’s focus for 2018 is to “deepen, strengthen and widen” all of its current specialties, including its healthcare, life sciences, construction and mining practices.
“Our clients are approaching us for help to address their specific coverage needs around their specialty, whether that’s aviation, mining, construction, etc. We strive to be purely focused in those specialties and have worked hard to hire and retain the right talent to allow us to be successful,” Richards told Insurance Business.
“We’ve taken a strategic look at Canada over the last few years, analysing the Canadian economy and business development, and we’ve aligned our business strategy around that. We’re not all things to all people. A lot of our competitors are generalist brokers, but JLT Canada is evolving to become purely specialist.”
Any evolution towards the niche requires talent and expertise. Finding the right people can be challenging, especially at a time when lots of insurance professionals are complaining of widespread ‘talent shortage’ and the ‘workforce gap crisis’.
“The rationale we have is that people join JLT Canada because we’re a group of likeminded individuals with a strong desire to build a specialist network in Canada,” Richards commented. “It’s an entrepreneurial organization in significant growth mode, and it presents great opportunities for workers to build a legacy.”
