Positive Projections

Steve DelGreco, incoming president of the Ontario Insurance Adjusters Association (OIAA), intends to further develop education and training opportunities for OIAA members during his term so that the association’s membership can continue to project the value of the insurance industry as a whole.

DelGreco is a regional manager of accident benefits at Unifund. He said he always knew he wanted to work in the insurance industry. Growing up in the Toronto area, a good friend in high school had a dad who owned a brokerage. The stories his friend would tell him about his father’s line of work piqued DelGreco’s interest.

“He would tell me about his dad and the different scenarios and people he would encounter everyday through work, and it just seemed to be interesting to me,” DelGreco says. “So a career path into insurance became my route.”

Initially he intended to focus on the broker side of the business. But as it turned out, he started his career as a trainee in an insurer’s claims department.

“I really liked dealing with people,” DelGreco says. “In claims, you are helping them in their time of need. I’m a bit of a corny guy when it comes to insurance, but we help people, we really do. And that means a lot to me.”

The job can get stressful, he admits, for the very same reason why he loves it so much. “One of the challenges is that you’re dealing with people when they’re not at their best,” he says. “They’re under a lot of stress, understandably. That stress can be because they have lost their home or they have damage to their home. Or sometimes they are injured. “You’re helping them to rebuild their home, fix their basement or to get treatment for their injuries. The challenge is that they’re not always in the best mood. They’ve often heard misleading stories about how their insurance company is going to treat them.”

DelGreco is passionate about changing any negative perceptions of the insurance industry. As the incoming president of the OIAA, DelGreco says he and the association’s executives are all enthusiasts about the industry in which they work.

During his term, which will commence in the summer of 2012, DelGreco said OIAA’s focus would be on enhancing the training and development of its members and attracting new people to the industry.

He suggested the OIAA has already been successful attracting new people to the industry, pointing to a job fair that has become a fixture at the OIAA’s annual Professional Development and Claims Conference held each year in February at Toronto’s Metro Convention Centre. During the conference, the OIAA buses in students from nearby colleges with insurance programs. The students can take in keynote speakers and get tips on resume writing. Most importantly, they have an opportunity to network with representatives from various organizations and companies in the industry.

The event gets bigger every year. It started with 50 or 60 student participants; last year, the attendance surpassed 300. This demonstrates students are increasingly viewing the industry as a viable career path, says DelGreco.

Professional Education

For those already in the adjusting profession, the association is exploring ways to increase the educational and professional development opportunities available to its members. “We have a committee right now that is investigating online learning,” he says. “While a roll-out date has not been finalized just yet, we are exploring the possibility of putting some courses on our Web site. These will likely cover a range of topics from technical courses to computer skills.”

Auto insurance regulatory reforms in Ontario highlight the need for continuing education and professional development in the adjusting community. In addition, the OIAA’s board members wish to enhance the association’s educational offerings, he continues.

Last year, the OIAA collaborated with the Insurance Institute to develop a course focused on serious injury. The course was developed in response to a recommendation made during the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO)’s most recent five-year review of Ontario’s auto insurance legislation. The recommendation suggested insurance claims departments should focus on the needs of claimants with serious injuries, and that industry organizations and associations should work together to offer this training.

OIAA surveyed its membership. The feedback suggested a gap does indeed exist and that a course would be of great value.

The OIAA brought its expertise and knowledge to the table. The Insurance Institute of Canada brought its facilities and resources to develop and deliver the training. In the end, both groups worked together to create a 10-week long program, broken up into five different modules.

The training intends to modify the way an adjuster views the claim and injury. It calls on adjusters to expand their perspective to include not only the injured person’s physical ailments, but also the external forces that may affect the healing of those ailments.

The pilot program ran in the late fall of 2011. DelGreco says the OIAA is already immensely proud of the initiative. “Partnering with the Insurance Institute for an initiative on that scale was a first for us, but we’re hoping it’s the first of many collaborations,” he says.

Furthering the professionalism and expertise of the adjusting community helps to break down any stigmas plaguing the insurance industry, he says.

And involvement with the association itself is a form of education in how the industry functions, he observes.

“When I first started in the OIAA, I got to know a lot more people from across the province,” he says. “I’ve learned about the challenges in other regions, not just those in the GTA. If I need help or have a question, I now have a lot of people I can call on. My involvement at the association over the past six years has also educated me on this industry and given me even more of an appreciation for it.”

Although the insurance industry is very competitive, ultimately it is a community, DelGreco says. And when a member of the community falls on hard times, the industry rallies around them. “Despite the competition, when there’s a need, the flags are pulled down and everyone focuses together to help out,” he says. “It’s astounding and I am so proud to be a part of it.”