Operations

Brokers negotiate major role in this province’s digital auto insurance distribution

Manitoba’s brokers will provide input on designing a system for online auto insurance in the province and will be involved in every digital transaction, says the provincial broker association. A recently-signed, five-year agreement between Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) and the Insurance Brokers Association of Manitoba takes effect Apr. 1, IBAM CEO Grant Wainikka told Canadian […]

By Greg Meckbach | January 14, 2021

2 min read

Top 5 insurer expanding into Quebec commercial

Quebec brokers can now place commercial coverage with Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company for policies starting Feb. 1. The Manitoba-based insurer announced Monday that it is offering commercial coverage in Quebec, making good on a promise made to the province’s brokers more than two years ago when Wawanesa announced it would stop writing insurance directly in […]

By Greg Meckbach | January 13, 2021

2 min read

A primer on business planning for the ‘new normal’ after COVID

As the arrival of vaccines in Canada promise to put an end to the pandemic, insurers and brokers now face the same task as their commercial clients: Creating a business plan for the ‘new normal,’ after the threat of COVID-19 is gone. The task will require some guesswork, say the authors of a Harvard Business […]

By David Gambrill | January 8, 2021

4 min read

Why some tech vendors are becoming MGAs

Insurers could distribute coverage through technology firms that adopt the managing general agent model, a Montreal expert for a venture capital fund observes. “Some technology startups are adopting the MGA model to partner with a carrier or reinsurer to distribute their product,” said Laviva Mazhar, investment associate at Luge Capital. “Some tech-driven MGAs are partnering with […]

By Greg Meckbach | January 7, 2021

2 min read