Insurers want united front with brokers when lobbying government, managing Cat response

As natural catastrophes continue to drive up home insurance rates in Alberta and elsewhere, insurers are calling for stronger collaboration with brokers and all levels of government to strengthen community resilience.  

Canada’s biggest carriers play a large role in influencing public policy and engaging local governments to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters. But insurers at the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta Convention in Banff last week made one message clear to brokers: “We need your help.” 

It’s clear Canadian policymakers listen to the industry’s biggest movers and shakers in the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, in terms of market share at least, panellists suggested at the conference.

“We’re lucky at Intact. We’re the largest insurance company in Canada, so we do have some influence when it comes to lobbying and government relations,” said Rosa Nelson, vice president of sales and business development at Intact. “We’ve worked with municipalities across Alberta and B.C. after events in Kelowna, Lytton and Fort McMurray to talk about building codes and how we can build back better.” 

Jennifer Leflar, vice president of experience, marketing and communications at SGI, agreed large private insurers play a major role in shaping public policy and engaging local governments. “Government officials listen to the biggest organizations that have the loudest voice, and [Intact] plays such an important role, in that respect.” 

But policymakers also listen to the Crown-owned insurers, she added.

SGI, with a government ownership structure in Saskatchewan, sees a unique opportunity to influence policy directly, Leflar said.  

“We have some capabilities, we think, in this space around influencing public policy,” she said. “Where we can be of service because of our government background and our ownership structure, we want to put that forward.” 

Nelson acknowledged the challenge of maintaining momentum with government after a disaster fades from the headlines. “It’s easy for attention to shift,” she said. “We need to do a better job of keeping these issues top of mind.” 

That’s where brokers come in. They are acutely aware of what’s happening at the ground level of a community because of their relationships with their clients at the local level.  

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“I would just say one thing: we need your help,” Nelson addressed the broker audience. “You are in the communities, you’re talking to your [Members of the Legislative Assembly], your personal relationships — that’s really where a lot of the action happens.” 

Industry working together

From the broker perspective, Jhnel Weller-Hannaway, CEO of IBAA, said the association is also pivoting its approach to support resilience at the local level.  

“One of the things we’re doing is kind of shifting our focus to more of a municipal one,” she said. 

Still, affordability remains a barrier, she said. Albertans are struggling to afford or even access insurance, even when mitigation discounts are available. 

Brokers can educate clients about proactive steps they can take to prevent damage, thereby reducing their premium costs, Weller-Hannaway said.

“[Pre-loss prevention] is very important to keep costs down — you get a discount on your on your policy — but it’s also absolutely required in order to keep insurance available,” said Kimberly Palatnick, senior vice president and chief personal lines officer at Wawanesa. “Because if that doesn’t happen, then we’re continuously rebuilding and rebuilding.” And that’s highly inefficient and costly, she added. 

The fragmented nature of Canada’s regulatory landscape is a recurring hurdle insurers face when lobbying governments, Palatnick said.  

“The federal government, they set the building codes — [but adopting them] then becomes optional at the provincial level, and even more optional at the municipal level,” she said. “And so it’s something we all need to work together on, it takes that whole-of-society approach, and all three levels of government [must] work together as well.” 

Palatnick likened the collaborative approach of insurers doing government lobbying to another concept familiar to the P&C insurance industry — pooling risk.  

“When we think about it as an industry, the concept of insurance came from pooling risk, and one insurance company can’t take on all of that risk either. That’s where that commitment to being in Alberta, the commitment for all of us to take a share of that risk, is so important.” 

Alyssa DiSabatino

Alyssa Di Sabatino has been a reporter for Canadian Underwriter since 2021, covering industry trends, market developments, and emerging risks.