A New Era

When I started at Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) in 1975, Jaws was the top grossing film at the box office, KC and The Sunshine Band dominated the music charts and the Vietnam War was coming to a close. Back then, IBC’s relationship with the consumer was also decidedly different than it is today.

At that time IBC’s consumer outreach was by-and-large a one-man operation, with Bob Collings, IBC’s auto insurance expert, responsible for all consumer calls.

Every now and then, I would drop by Bob’s office and ask him how the calls were going.

“Not such a bad day,” he would reply, displaying a notepad with just a simple tally of the calls he had taken that day.

Bob could always remember the detailed nature of the calls. After all, this was 1975: the extent of our relationship with consumer callers could be summarized in one chat with Bob and a glance at his tally sheet, a series of ticks on a page.

How things have changed!

Today the consumer, both in principle and in practice, is at the centre of our industry. For example, IBC now has five Consumer Information Centres across the country, employing 20 consumer information officers. These centres manage more than 46,000 calls a year, responding to inquiries about all lines of personal and commercial insurance. The calls are now tracked and recorded using vastly more sophisticated methods than Bob Collings’ tally sheet.

I think this evolution towards our Consumer Information Centres is symbolic of how IBC has changed over the years. When I was hired as a research analyst in 1975, the organization was mainly composed of employees well versed in the technical aspect of the business. There were some consumer and government relations initiatives, such as anti-drinking-and-driving campaigns, as well as calls for mandatory seatbelt use, but IBC’s primary function was to provide analysis of legislation and technical support to the industry.

We continue to provide this support today. But now our public affairs and government relations roles, our responsibilities as an industry advocate, have been dramatically enhanced; in fact, they have become the core of what we do.

I’ve been a part of this dynamic industry for more than 32 years now, including two years as president and CEO of Facility Association and, during the past five years, president and CEO of IBC. It seems to me that after all these years, the prevailing story of IBC is one of an intuitive organization, anticipating the challenges its members will face and working out

the best way to navigate through these challenges.

Our organization’s move toward enhanced government relations was one such response to the changes taking place around us. In the late 1980s, provincial governments began taking a greater interest in the insurance industry and looked to IBC to demonstrate the industry’s value in the marketplace. We responded by developing programs that highlighted insurers’ investments in provinces in which they competed for business. We became adept at communicating to legislators the vital role of our industry and its commitment to consumers.

Triumphing in Tough Times

I’ll never forget the first big crisis on this front during my time at IBC. I had just become the first vice-president of IBC’s Ontario region when the New Democratic Party was elected in Ontario on Sept. 6, 1990, and then-premier Bob Rae promised to implement a government-run monopoly on auto insurance.

It was a blow to the heart of the industry – Ontario was the biggest market for auto insurance in Canada, the industry’s largest employment base and home to the majority of head offices. Particularly frustrating was that just a few months earlier, the industry, under the leadership of the Liberals, had introduced to a new modified no-fault system in Ontario – the Ontario Motorists’ Protection Plan (OMPP).

“Why not give the new system a chance to work before casting out an entire industry?” the industry responded to the dramatic public policy position of the NDP.

Led by IBC, the industry launched a multi-pronged initiative to demonstrate that a government-run monopoly would be a costly endeavour and that it would not be the solution the New Democrats thought it would be.

We were successful. Exactly one year after being elected, Bob Rae announced his party would back away from its position on government-run auto insurance. It was a tremendous victory for IBC,

the industry, and, frankly, for Ontario drivers.

Looking back, I can see the arguments we made then continue to provide us with a framework to use whenever another provincial government raises the idea of implementing government-run auto insurance. They were solid arguments then, and they still ring true to this day.

Continuous Growth

As challenging as things were for our industry in 1990, there has been no shortage of challenges since. I became IBC’s president and CEO in 2002, which was also a tumultuous time, marked by a hard market, provincial elections in many pockets of the country and a declining industry image.

I am extremely proud of how IBC handled those challenges and of what we have accomplished during these past five years. We helped usher in important auto insurance reforms in six provinces and have achieved great strides in reconnecting with consumers – including the implementation of a Consumer Code of Rights and Responsibilities and the creation of the Standards of Sound Marketplace Practice. In addition, we continue to reach out to consumers through our Driver Distraction Campaign and nationwide ‘Be Smart. Be Safe.’ program. IBC has also undergone a comprehensive renewal effort, which has strengthened the organization and its capacity to be a credible voice for our industry.

In one of the meeting rooms at the IBC offices, there hangs an etching donated by my predecessor, George Anderson. The image shows the words “crisis” and “opportunity” positioned side by side. One takes from this coupling the possibility that crisis can give rise to opportunity.

That has certainly been my experience. In my 32-year career, I have seen my share of crises and have found that the industry, IBC in particular, has consistently emerged stronger because of these experiences.

So what will the next big issue be? Are we entering another hard market? Will the oft-predicted period of intense consolidation ever take place? How will the conflicting needs of various distribution channels continue to affect our business? How will our relationships with governments and consumers be affected by whatever changes may come?

Suffice to say, no matter what happens, I know that IBC will be the credible voice of our noble industry, finding opportunity in every crisis.