Is the worst of the pandemic and its economic fallout behind us? It would seem so, if we choose to take recent actions by Westland Insurance as a sign of more optimism in the marketplace.
“Certainly, at this time last year, we were focused more internally and thinking about the impact of COVID, what it meant for our business, what it meant for our communities, what it meant for our clients, what it meant for our staff,” said Jamie Lyons (pictured), president and COO of Westland Insurance Group Ltd. “And so we largely paused our M&A strategy to focus on the right places in terms of our existing business.”
What a difference a year makes.
Over the past 12 months, the Surrey, BC-based independent property and casualty insurance broker has been on a bit of an acquisition spree, bringing on board “some very attractive brokerages” from across Canada.
Most recently, Westland announced the acquisition of Hillcrest Insurance and Pinks & Plates Insurance -- both based in Alberta -- and Moon Insurance in Saskatchewan, adding their combined seven branch locations to Westland’s 170 locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
And that’s on top of its acquisition in November 2020 of Gillons Insurance Brokers, a move that saw Westland add 11 locations to its portfolio and marked the brokerage’s first foray into the Ontario market, as well as a deal announced in December to purchase Storm Insurance Group in Nova Scotia.
“We feel like we accomplished a significant milestone last year by becoming a truly national brokerage being represented from B.C. all the way out to Atlantic Canada,” Lyons said. “We’re looking to grow in communities across Canada and we’re looking forward to more opportunities across the country.”
Helping Westland in embracing those opportunities will be Donna Barclay, who will become Westland’s executive vice-president, commercial, effective June 01. Most recently president and COO of The Guarantee Company of North America, where she also served as chief underwriting officer, Barclay will assume responsibility for Westland’s national commercial strategy.
“Donna is very well-known and respected professional within the industry,” Lyons said. “She’s got a depth of experience and a proven track record in the commercial space in the industry. So, for Westland to be able to bring that kind of talent on board, it’s very exciting for us.”
Barclay will also be based out of Ontario – the first among Westland’s executives to work out of the country’s largest province – and that’s no accident, according to Lyons: “Commercial has been a growth area for us. Ontario has a deep pool of industry talent, and we hope that Donna will open more doors for us in the Ontario marketplace.”
Overall, Lyons acknowledges the past year or so has been a challenging time for everyone trying to adjust to the new normal caused by the pandemic’s impact, but he is optimistic about what lies ahead, and he feels a sense of pride about how well his business – and the insurance industry as a whole – has weathered recent storms to forge ahead in a new, post-pandemic marketplace.
“I would say as a general comment the insurance industry has proven incredibly resilient through COVID,” Lyons said. “We have been incredibly pleased with the performance of not just Westland as an organization, but the industry as a whole and how the industry has responded to the challenges.”
