For the first time, the
IBAO bestowed its Danny Craig Spirit Award upon the insurance professional who best contributes to enhancing the broker channel and advancing its overall reputation.
Chris Floyd, former chairman of association, received the inaugural award this year. He credits his experience with the IBAO for his knowledge and expertise, and feels confident in forecasting the future role of brokers in Canada’s P&C insurance market.
“I’ve served the association since 1994 as a director and executive member, and I think I’ve been able to be a good leader but also demonstrate that I’m pretty passionate about broker distribution and the sustainability of our channel,” Floyd said.
Despite popular opinions to the contrary, Floyd believes that insurance brokers will remain essential for years and decades to come. In order to be sustainable, however, they will need to adapt to the next wave of consumer demands.
“I think brokers need to evolve their businesses and become more customer-centric and be easier to do business with, but I absolutely think the role as a consumer advocate is never going to go away,” he said.
Floyd describes the announcement as surprising and “very gratifying,” and is appreciative of the organization for recognizing Danny Craig’s commitment to industry practices.
“For an association to honor Danny Craig, who sacrificed so much time away from his family, not only to IBAO, but also to IBAC, is absolutely special and very, very well-deserved,” Floyd said.
The Insurance Brokers Association of Durham Region was also recognized by the IBAO as Affiliate of the Year, an accolade that its president partially credits to the organization’s ability to bolster the broker position with carriers in the region.
“We host a lot of fun events like golf, curling, euchre night, but we incorporate those with educational luncheons and information sessions, as well as advocacy for the broker channel,” said Beverly Mountain, office manager, Bardeau Insurance Brokers Ltd. “We like to get companies and brokers interacting together, so brokers can talk about what’s on their mind, and company reps can then take that information back with them.”
Mountain is also optimistic about P&C employment prospects, given the level of participation she sees not only from a variety of insurance functions, but also from the range of ages and demographics of those involved.
“There are people who have been in the industry for 30, 40 years who volunteer their time and support us, but we also see lots of young brokers as well,” she said. “It’s a very active industry and there are always new things to learn, whether it’s a flood seminar, emerging exposures such as cyber or new legislative changes that affect our industry.”
