A move to Canada sparks shift from law to commercial P&C

Putting people back on their feet following a loss, and the customer feedback that follows, keeps Richard Sanchez motivated. The senior property and marine claims specialist with Zurich Canada illustrates this with a story about devastating fire at a farm in Western Canada. 

“During my initial contact with our customer, he said [to me] ‘Richard, I don’t know what to do. It’s all blurry. I haven’t slept for three days.’ And I told him, ‘I’m here. We are here. We’re going to figure this out together,’” Sanchez says. 

“I did my best to expedite the investigation [and the] assignment of experts. And [when it was over] the client said something that’s very heartwarming: ‘When everything was blurry, Richard Sanchez was a beacon of hope.’”

He is one of six recipients of the Insurance Institute of Canada’s 2025 National Leadership Awards in the ‘Emerging Leaders’ category.

From law to insurance

Before immigrating to Canada five years ago, Sanchez was a lawyer specializing in maritime and international business and trade clients at a firm in the Philippines. He noticed a large amount of the firm’s clients were insurance companies. “So, I just moved from the legal side. I had a good working knowledge of the insurance industry, especially in shipping [and] international business,” he tells Canadian Underwriter.  

Upon arrival in Canada, he initially applied to work at law firms, but the COVID-19 pandemic was dampening opportunities. Yet firms he interviewed with were impressed with his background, and during those conversations the idea of working with insurers specializing in marine insurance was raised. 

“One of them mentioned…’They’re handling their claims in house. Why don’t you try them?’ And insurance welcomed me with open arms,” he says.

It was a fit. The work lets Sanchez collaborate with a range of internal and external experts, in Canada and abroad, including risk engineers, underwriters, lawyers (especially for duplicated claims), forensic accountants and special investigations units. Plus, his accumulated experience and legal background made him an ideal mentor for colleagues, including new industry entrants. 

An eye on change

Sanchez says he makes an effort to stay close to changes impacting maritime coverages, including the International Union of Marine Insurers’ recent conference in Singapore, which centred on emerging trends in international shipping.

“The number one [issue] is geopolitical events, such as tariffs, the ongoing conflicts [in the] Middle East and Ukraine, and also events in major thoroughfares and seaways [such as the] Suez Canal and the Panama Canal,” he says. “Especially during summer season, the water in the canals is going down, which delays the movement of ships from point A to B.

“Geopolitics are disrupting the supply chain, and then this also hampers the free movement of goods from one country to the other.” 

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The conference also noted rising accident rates, including the 2024 destruction of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland that was hit by a container ship that lost manoeuvering control. 

Sanchez stresses such accidents don’t just plague other countries. “In Canada, we’re seeing…a lot of groundings in the St. Lawrence Seaway. In the last six months, we got four to five ships that were grounded, resulting in a declaration of what we call ‘general average,’ where everybody [connected to] the voyage has to contribute to that event to save the ships and vessel.” 

“These general average [incidents are happening] more often every year. Last year, we got close to more than 100 files being opened…What’s happening anywhere in the world…reverberates in Canada and we’re working with our insurance partners to be prepared in case these claims reach our desks.” 

Phil Porado

Phil, an award-winning journalist with over 30 years of experience in financial topics, has been managing editor of Canadian Underwriter for more than three years.