Traci Boland (pictured) was born into an insurance family, with her father working for insurance companies and, 37 years ago, venturing out into the brokerage world. Boland, however, ended up being a competitive figure skating coach for her first career, though after September 11, she re-evaluated her trajectory since she was working in the States at the time, and moved back home to London, Ontario. There, Boland began working with her dad at the family brokerage, Ontario West Insurance Brokers, where she is now one of the partners at its helm.
“In London, we are truly a community broker. We believe in quality versus quantity,” said Boland. “We are a family brokerage that believes that the relationship is what is true to the value of the contracts that we have with our clients.”
However, it’s Boland’s work for the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) that she sees as her proudest accomplishment.
“Fifteen years ago, I went to a young brokers’ convention. There were 31 one of us, and that was it – [I was] hooked,” said Boland, who today is the chair of IBAO’s board of directors and is very familiar with the obstacles facing her fellow brokers in the province. “In Ontario right now, heading into a different type of hard market I think is a huge challenge. We need the government to change the auto product in order to sustain the business that’s in Ontario right now and to eventually be able to lower the prices.”
The direct-to-consumer model is likewise presenting challenges to brokers across the country, according to Boland.
“The trend is that insurance is something that can be done quickly and easily. The trend to sell consumers on the fact that they can go online and purchase a home policy in five questions – you see it over and over again right now – I just don’t understand how an insured can make the biggest purchase of their life and trust that five questions is going to make sure it’s covered,” she told Insurance Business.
“Insurance is getting more complex every day with all of the technology that’s coming out. With the Ubers, the Airbnbs, the rental of parking spaces, with everything that’s going on inside of houses right now, with the cyber liability that can be going on within a house when all of their Nest stuff is taken over by an intruder – how are you ensuring that is all covered in five questions, and how does the general public know that they have the coverage?”
