Message from the President

The New Year is upon us. On behalf of your national executive, I hope 2013 brings you all success and happiness with business and family. With a new year comes renewed hope and optimism. The members of the CIAA national executive and your regional chapters have worked extremely hard to advance the cause of Independent Adjusters across the country. They will continue to strive to represent our association and our industry as a whole.

The work of an association like ours is not flashy or glamorous. We have at times been criticized for being too slow to accomplish some of our goals. Changing the paths of a government or regulatory authorities is always a work in progress. I have learned that we can’t always accomplish our goals alone.

Recently, I met with the leaders of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) in a summit of insurance association heads. The discussion was not unlike one that takes place at our National Advisory Panel where we seek direction from Insurers and Industry groups. I realized we all have similar challenges. One of the discussions was the readiness of our industry to respond to a widespread disaster. It is not a case of if an earthquake or some other widespread damage strikes a densely populated area of Canada, but simply when – and where? I don’t believe the public is ready to respond to a disaster. Do You? Our emergency services would be stretched to breaking. Are you ready?

I think adjusters should review their businesses to ensure they are prepared to function in the aftermath of such an event. What would you do without electricity, the cell network or the internet? Could you and your adjusters relocate if your office space was inaccessible? Over the course of the coming year I want to try and learn, plan and prepare for such a disaster. I would urge our members who have gone through such an exercise share their knowledge so we are all prepared to serve our clients and the insuring public. I am hoping to develop a resource for our members to draw from on our website.

Keeping with the theme of working with other associations, I recently met with our Ontario Regional President Teri Mitchell and Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association President Steve DelGreco to discuss synergies we share within our organizations. The OIAA has been very successful in organizing industry events such as their OIAA Tradeshow and Conference. They have been advocates of adjuster education across Ontario with their educational programs and have a leadership structure that deserves to be emulated. Steve has proven to be a true friend of CIAA and we are moving towards having a closer ,more cooperative relationship with the OIAA to the benefit of all our members. I hope we can expand this type of relationship building across the country.

In my years in insurance, I have seen time and time again the industry rally to support charitable causes. I wanted to thank those that supported my Movember cause. My wife was never so happy as when she saw the first of December. I am also proud to work on the WICC Gala committee. This event is scheduled for April 11, 2013 in Toronto. It is sure to be an event that you won’t want to miss if you are in the Toronto area. This year’s entertainment is a great Canadian artist, Chantal Kreviazuk. You can always donate to WICC all across Canada, so let’s show them what Independent adjusters really stand for!

In closing, make sure you visit the CIAA website. It is a real benefit of membership. You will find forms, updates and links to invaluable resources for adjusters and clients alike. We are working to improve the website in conjunction with Claims Canada, so keep checking back regularly for more features and improvements.