Quick! - Insurancewest Media Ltd.

www.insurancewest.ca
Shumka Craig & Moore
Shumka Craig & Moore Adjusters
Canada Ltd., established in 1986, is the
largest Canadian-owned independent
adjusting firm across Canada. Headquartered in Edmonton, SCM Canada
has 46 branches nationwide. Trained
claims personnel utilize state-of-the-art
technology to deliver professional claims
management. iAdjust, their awardwinning Web-based system, provides full
file management and auditing control
online. A 24-hour national emergency
claims service is also provided. Visit
www.scm.ca
BC - Vancouver Island: Victoria
BC - Lower BC & Mainland: Abbotsford,
Surrey, Vancouver
BC - Interior BC: Kelowna, Penticton,
Prince George
AB - Northern Alberta: Edmonton,
Edson, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie,
Peace River
AB - Southern Alberta: Calgary,
Canmore, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat,
Red Deer
SK - Saskatchewan: Regina, Saskatoon
MB - Manitoba: Winnipeg
YT, NT - Yukon, N.W.T: Yellowknife
Signature Claims Service
Specializes in auto, BI and liability
claims. J.W. (Jim) Denton AIIC, a
past-president of the BCIAA, has more
than 23 years experience as an independent adjuster. The firm services the
entire Thompson/Okanagan region:
The Coquihalla and Merritt; the
Trans-Canada highway — Kamloops,
Salmon Arm, Revelstoke and Golden;
Kootenays — Nelson, Trail and
Cranbrook; and south to the border —
Penticton, Osoyoos.
BC - Interior BC: Kelowna
Southern Interior
Claims Service Inc.
In Penticton since 1978. Handles all
types of general insurance claims in the
Okanagan, Princeton and Grand Forks,
and larger losses in the West Kootenays.
Owner/operator Kerry G. Reid CIP has
35 years in the claims business and expertise in all property and liability losses.
BC - Interior BC: Oliver, Osoyoos,
Penticton, Princeton
www.insurancewest.ca
Western Canada Adjuster Locator 2004
Sterling Pacific
Insurance Adjusters
Commercial property losses with
emphasis on strata claims are the
specialty of this five-office firm operating from Hope to Vancouver, north
to Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton.
Sterling Pacific is an amalgamation of
Coast Pacific Insurance Adjusters, started
14 years ago in New Westminster, and
Sterling Adjusters, which has serviced the
Fraser Valley since 1995. The thirteen
experienced adjusters and appraisers
also include senior property and casualty
specialists with expertise in auto claims
and large property and farm losses.
BC - Lower BC & Mainland:
Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack,
Coquitlam, Delta, Hope, Langley,
Maple Ridge, Mission, New Westminster,
North Vancouver, Richmond, Squamish,
Surrey, Vancouver, Whistler
Triad Claims
Service (1994) Ltd.
Please see their website to view their
service areas and for information regarding their experienced, knowledgeable
staff. Emergency service is available by
pager; quick response and complete
handling is Triad Claims’ promise. Visit
them at www.triadclaims.com
AB - Northern Alberta: Barrhead,
Westlock
AB - Southern Alberta: Banff, Calgary
R. Zacharias Adjusting
Established in 1999, the offices handle
all types of losses. Robert Zacharias,
a licensed Level III adjuster, has 14
years experience as a general insurance
adjuster and specializes in property and
liability. Adjuster Bryan Gale specializes
in heavy equipment and appraisals.
Services B.C.’s central Cariboo country.
24-hour service; mediation available.
Member CIAA.
BC - Interior BC: Kelowna, Williams Lake
Quick!
It’s an
emergency...
You’re a claims manager at an
insurance company. A fresh
claim on a long-time client’s
property lands on your
desk. It’s red flagged for fast
action. Problem is, you and
all your in-house adjusters
are in Calgary, the claim is
uncomfortably north of
The Pas, Manitoba.
What to do? You’ve already
called an independent
adjuster firm who’s done
work for you in the past. No
joy there – their nearest is as
far away as you are.
Think, think. Hey, how about
the Insurancewest Adjuster
Locator? Quick, look up The
Pas. Ah ha, there are TWO
there! Hand me the phone.
BINGO! Problem solved.
In just minutes this handydandy mini-directory has
helped you turn a problem
into an opportunity: to give a
valued client exactly what was
wanted most – fast action
from an experienced, qualified
adjuster.
The moral of the story? Keep
this issue of Insurancewest in
a nearby desk drawer labeled
In Case of Emergency,
Pull Handle!
(Or give us a click at
www.insurancewest.ca and go
to Adjuster Locator)
July 2004 Insurancewest 31
Senior-age
ADJUSTERS!
(Continued from Page 12)
$40/month
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TERS
KEY ADJU–Sby city
a quick look
t adjusting offi
ing independen
g guide to lead
An advertisin
tel
ces in Alberta
fax
ADJUSTER
S – Calga
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M.D.M. AD
JUSTERS
OF ALBER
316 Me
TA
ridian Rd
PRO SOLID
SE
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T2A 1X2
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.......... 403
Fax..........
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............780-486
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Brouwer Claims .........780-466-6544 780
Peggy McC
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SW
T2V 0E5
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rim
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...............
Edmonton
780
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...... 403-26 to939
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read... better than
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Direct tel:
4-3602
Lindsey ....780-4
403-974-110
780-440-3403
CET
Cunningham
6
80-440-3443
2
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780
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400-1021
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84-0364 780
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10th Ave
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780-465-9297
in the Adjusting Firms section
Shumka Craig
...............
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0-468-3360
.......... 403
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Loss .........78
Toll-free...
-228-5800
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Toll-free... ................. 403-57
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660 780-723
...... 800-66
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near
your
usual
city-listing.
Grande Prairie
780
CGI Adjuster
02-6311
-539-7739
Lindsey ....780-4
Add a duplicate ad (40% off) in
Cunningham
39-7737 780
& Moore..780-5
another city-section, extra $288
Shumka Craig
780-875-0302
780-875-1201
-875-5505
780
Claims ............
• Toll-free 1-80
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118
Brou
75-0
0-558-4877
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SW, Calgary,
-645-3471
Shumka Craig
ree 1-800-55
Kate Tem
AB T3C
8-4877 • Fax
45-3830 780
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Peace River
(403) 571-4284 0M4
Pat
Brad Dun
Lindsey ....780-6
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• Email: matd
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fax
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OFFICE: 202,
tel
Tel (780) 4409440 - 49 Stree
3443 • Fax
erta
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(780) 440-3403 t, Edmonton, AB T6B
Iain Botly
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AIIC • Rick
-9217 403-228
Southern Alb
White AIIC • Email: matd ned1 @tel
............403-228
-296-1316
usplanet.net
Brouwer Claims .........403-296-1300 403
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Inc.
Calgary
933 403-262
CGI Adjusters
66-3
03-2
.................4
403-266-2078
050
Crawford ......
71-2
03-5
Lindsey ....4
403-571-4284
271
Cunningham
71-4
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0-9076 403
Matthews-Da
Email: dca
ada ........403-64
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1-2611 403
McLarens Can
LTD.
Jodi Payne llegaro@scm.ca
-5764 Pos
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28-5545 403
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shaw.ca
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403-320-7809
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03-320-7141
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3500-205
Shumka Crai
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5th Ave SW
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............403-526
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...............
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Brouwer Claims
27-4205 403
.......... 403
Fax..........
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.................403-5
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...............
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Medicine Hat
Crawford ......
26-2920 403
........... 403
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. 403-201-6
0-3700 403
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Direct tel:
403
Inc..........403-34
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Email: gran -538-4700
CGI Adjusters
47-7747 403 PR
03-3
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Shumka Craig
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Northern Alb
Bold listing!
Key Adjusters!
“I’m convinced that doing nothing all of
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the insurance business since 1955 – I know.
You fall off everyone’s mailing list.”
Chambers took a few detours before establishing Chambers Olson Ltd. on West
Broadway. He joined the air force after high
school but the war was winding down and
he never saw action. He took some pilot
training and remained a reservist for a
decade afterwards, rising to the rank of
squadron commander.
With a commerce degree from UBC – and
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32
Insurancewest July 2004
Gordon Chambers: ‘A perpetual student.’
a young bride at home – he was hired as a
conciliation officer with the Department
of Labour. He later worked in personnel
at a wholesale hardware company, becoming president of the Personnel Managers
Association of B.C. along the way. There
was also a stint as vice-president of finance
with B.C. Life & Casualty and – the first of
four children having arrived – an evening
job as a driving instructor.
He learned the insurance business at
Allstate. The office, he remembers, was run
by a former American general. “It was the
best university you could attend. Insurance?
When I started I couldn’t spell the word.
But I learned how to handle office staff and
opened every claims office from Winnipeg to
Victoria. The discipline was awesome.”
He was also involved in Liberal politics
and held various positions within the
party, including raising money for the
late MP Arthur Laing. Chambers himself
took a stab at provincial politics, running
against the NDP’s Mike Harcourt and Socred Stephen Rogers in Vancouver South.
Rogers won.“By that time I had helped three
companies prosper,” he says. “I decided it
was my turn.”
He launched Chambers Olson in 1975.
He sold – and still sells – property, casualty,
auto and life while founding partner Stanley
www.insurancewest.ca
Olson, who passed away in 2003, handled
real estate. Three generations of the Chambers family now work there: son David is
vice-president; David’s daughter Jordan is
a licensed broker; Gordon’s spouse Maggie
is secretary-treasurer. Jacquie Eng, Maggie’s
Sighle Noel: ‘It’s like a family here.’
daughter – Gordon’s stepdaughter – is also
in the business as a commercial underwriter
with Aviva Insurance Co.
“The insurance business gives you a lot
of knowledge about a great many things,”
Chambers says. “It’s very complicated and
there’s plenty of variety. The business is always changing. You have to be a perpetual
student.”
Personal experience taught him the perils
of owning a business. As a child, his father, a
well-educated former Navy man, ran a retail
operation in remote Kyuquot Sound on the
West Coast of Vancouver Island. Mom, a
strawberry redhead from Glasgow, homeschooled older brother Bob, now 85, sister
Sheila, 82, and wee Gordie.
However, in the early ’30s, fishermen
and the local natives were unable to pay
off their accounts and the business went
under. A grandfather’s fish cannery in Alert
Bay suffered the same fate.
For years Gordon and Maggie lived
aboard a floating home in Ladner. These
days they reside on terra firma in the same
municipality. Away from the office they
golf – “both badly,” says Maggie – garden
and travel.
A vine growing in their backyard provides
enough grapes in a good year for about 30
bottles of hooch.
Between the two of them there are now
seven children, 15 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild. His eyes flare trumpeting
their accomplishments.
Chambers no longer feels compelled to
arrive at the office at the crack of dawn.
“We’ve got a rule around here,” he says
with a wink. “If you arrive late, you have
to leave early.” IW
Paul Curtis
Rob Seal, Senior Vice President, Operations,
is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul
Curtis to Branch Manager of our Vancouver, British
Columbia office effective July 2, 2004.
Most recently Paul was an adjuster in our Calgary
office and receives this promotion in recognition of
his strong adjusting background, dedication to
customer service and proven leadership capabilities.
Paul has over 15 years experience in the
insurance industry, during which time he was an
adjuster for ICBC as well as the Special Investigation
Unit Officer. Prior to joining the insurance industry,
Paul served over nine (9) years with the RCMP.
Cunningham Lindsey Canada is an independent insurance services company providing a wide
range of claims adjusting and risk management
services through a network of 485 professionals in 77
branches nationwide. For more information, visit our
web site at www.cunninghamlindseycanada.com.
Have you ever heard such a claim?
All banks claim to offer financial services for small businesses. BMO Bank of Montreal®,
however, goes one step further and is the only financial institution to offer a
comprehensive program developed for Western Canadian Insurance Brokers members.
Giving value to your client list, we offer: • Acquisition Financing • Premium Financing
• Succession Financing • Employee Group Banking Plan.
To learn more about how our pre-arranged financial services program can meet
your specific needs, call Mark Adler, Senior Manager, Insurance Brokers Services at
1 877 629-6262, contact us by email at segment.solutions@bmo.com or visit your local
BMO Bank of Montreal branch.
A member of BMO Financial Group
TM/®
Trade-mark of Bank of Montreal.
www.insurancewest.ca
July 2004 Insurancewest 33
ON THE OTHER HAND
PROBING THE
Insurance Market Transition
PHENOMENON
By Lawry Shand
I
www.spookshop.com
f you are an insurance broker, you
have probably heard the rumour that
the current hard market is about to
soften, and you are likely spreading
the rumour like crazy.
If you are an insurance company person,
you have probably heard the same rumour
but steadfastly deny it, and refuse to pass
the rumour along to anyone, not even your
spouse.
I don’t know who starts these
rumours about a change in insurance market conditions, but
I swear on my 30-plus years in
this business when I tell you that
such rumours always prove to
be correct. Yes, whoever starts
them are infallible.
Of course, it may be that
the simple act of spreading
the rumour is what causes it to
come true. It may be a form of
mass hysteria – like flying saucer
sightings. Some kook thinks he
saw a flying saucer on the way
home from the pub and tells the
media. The media reports the
sighting and the next thing you
know all of the kooks are seeing
flying saucers – with a good number of them
suffering the indignity of alien abduction
and anal probing.
Not that I’m suggesting there is any real
connection between a change in insurance
market conditions and anal probing. Nor
am I suggesting there is anything wrong
with people who maintain that aliens have
probed them anally. The only point I’m trying to make here is that rumours can take
on a life of their own.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that an
alien life form, intelligent enough to create
the technology necessary to travel hundreds
of millions of light years, would spend so
much time exploring the human rectum.
There is nothing of great interest up there
… certainly nothing as lofty or important
as the meaning of life or the unified theory
of everything. Is there something kinky
going on here, I wonder? What are these
extraterrestrials looking for? Maybe they
lost a valuable piece of jewelry during an
34
Insurancewest July 2004
Compelled to probe?
earlier mission to our planet.
Mind you, one has to keep in mind that
these are aliens. They aren’t from around
here. In their galaxy, an anal probe may carry
an entirely different meaning than in the
Milky Way. Maybe they aren’t looking for
anything. For them, anal probing may be
a form of socializing … the equivalent of a
handshake or some other form of human
greeting … such as G’day Mate. But I’m
just speculating, and that isn’t appropriate in a technical piece on the insurance
market cycle.
No, my purpose in writing today is to
help insurance brokers explain to their customers what they should do when a hard
market turns into a soft market. This does
not mean that insurance company people
won’t find it interesting, but since they are
still in denial about the looming soft market,
it might be best for them to skip the balance of this article and go straight to Stan
Sauerwein’s TechWatch column. I have it on
good authority that Stan will be
probing the merits of exploiting
alien computer technology in a
last ditch attempt to move the
long suffering CSIO company/
broker interface project into
Phase 26b.
In fact, I would recommend
that all readers consider shifting
over to Stan’s back page right
now. He is very resentful of the
fact that nobody reads his TechWatch column, and since he is a
friend, I encourage everyone to
read it and drop Stan an email
saying something like, “even
though insurance technology
articles are dumb and boring,
you is a pretty good writer.” Go
ahead, I’ll see you later.
(For those who simply can’t bear the
thought of reading TechWatch, I will
carry on.)
For an insurance broker to explain the
significance of the looming soft market to
a customer, one must deeply internalize the
answers to three (possibly even four) critically important questions:
What is a hard market?
A hard market is that period of time during the insurance market cycle when everything you try to do seems impossibly hard.
www.insurancewest.ca
www.sneill.com
What is a soft
market?
Soft is a bit of a misnomer. A soft market
is not really soft; it is
simply softer than a
hard market. Many
things (like convincing
your underwriter to
delete the mold exclusion from the standard
Nuclear Waste Dump
Liability form) become
easier during a soft
market. And things become cheaper during
Fairly typical suburban alien couple
a soft market. Much
(Sauerwein sighting)
cheaper.
What would cause
Even normally simple things, like obtaining
a hard market to become soft?
liability insurance on a nuclear waste dump,
Nobody really knows, but some people
become a hassle. And expensive. Everything
think it has something to do with a covert
costs more during a hard market. Even appursuit of critical mass and optimum marples and oranges, which I wouldn’t normally
ket share. Others believe that soft markets
compare, become relatively more expensive
arise as a result of a recursive dynamic
during a hard market.
imbalance between capitalization and
RIMS co-chairs
(Continued from Page 16)
a career in risk management. “I ended up
getting into risk management by kind of a
fluke. I got a job working for the Insurers’Advisory Organization (a national company).
By then I had a background in inspections,
so instead of doing health inspections I was
doing commercial insurance inspections.”
Soon he moved over to the risk management department of Inter-City Gas Corpo-
ration, a natural gas and propane retailer
in Winnipeg, working there for six years
before joining the Manitoba government
in 1986.
As director of the insurance and risk
management branch with the Department
of Finance, Rislahti is in the same position
today as he was when he joined 18 years ago.
“We’re basically a corporate office so we
deal with all departments and all agencies
of the government. We have an office of
five staff, including myself.” IW
Leah Kirkham new general manager
Tim Howley, President and CEO of the A&B Sound
Group of Companies, is pleased to announce that
Leah Kirkham has been promoted to the position
of General Manager of A&B Claims, a division of
A&B Sound. Based in Vancouver, Leah will lead a
dedicated team of A&B Claims professionals and
will oversee A&B’s contents replacement services in
Canada’s four western provinces.
Leah’s twenty year career with A&B Sound
began in A&B’s retail stores and included a variety
of administration, logistics and security positions. In 1995, she joined the A&B Claims division and has
been instrumental in that division’s growth and success. In her new position as General Manager of A&B
Claims, Leah will lead 16 branch offices in providing contents replacement solutions to more than 300
insurance companies, brokers and independent adjusting firms.
The A&B Sound Group of Companies is privately held and includes retail,
real estate and specialty services business units. A&B’s retail operations
represent Western Canada’s largest regional provider of consumer electronics
and pre-recorded music and movies. Its real estate operations include all the
A&B Sound retail locations as well as other commercial real estate investment
properties. A&B’s specialty services business units offer insurance replacement
A division of A&B Sound Ltd.
services, services to auto dealers, and custom audio and video design and
www.abclaims.com
installation services for individuals, real estate developers, and corporations.
www.insurancewest.ca
shareholder equity. Still others think it may
have something to do with cyclical changes
in the frequency of alien abduction.
What should the insurance consumer
do during a soft market?
The Canadian Institute for the Creation
of Safe Consumer Behaviour Standards
(CICSC-BS) recommends that consumers
do nothing during a soft insurance market.
Insurance markets, hard or soft, are fundamentally dangerous environments and
a licensed professional should handle all
manoeuvres. IW
Editor’s Note: Unlike this peculiar corner
of the magazine, TechWatch has a huge and
loyal following among IW readers.
APPOINTMENT
René Fenez
Applied Systems Canada, Inc., a leading provider
of insurance automation, is pleased to announce the
recent addition of René Fenez to their team as Sales
Consultant based out of Calgary, Alberta.
“René brings over 10 years of combined
experience in the insurance, technology, sales and
marketing industries,” affirms Jack Smith, VP of
Sales at Applied Systems Canada. “We have been
dedicated to seeking out someone of his caliber
for some time and believe that his multi dynamic
experience and expertise will bring tremendous
benefit to new and existing Applied customers
across Canada.”
Prior to joining Applied, René’s roles had him
working on insurance related investigations; claims
adjustment and examination; business development
- building partnerships with Western Canada’s broker
force in property and casualty lines of insurance. He
is currently a member of the Insurance Professionals
of Calgary and is an active committee member for
the Canadian Association of Insurance Women 2004
convention.
According to Greg Purdy, Chief Executive Officer,
“Applied Systems Canada recognized a need
for more personalized representation in Western
Canada. Having René based out of Alberta, we hope
to fill that need and deliver enhanced point of contact
service to new and existing customers in that region.
We always take great strides to ensure a local
presence within the national realm of our operation.”
July 2004 Insurancewest 35
GET CONNECTED ONLINE!
www.insurancewest.ca
INDE X OF
ADVE RTISE RS
A&B Claims ...................................... 35
Amac .................................................. 6
Applied Systems............................... 35
Axa Pacific........................................ 37
Western Canada’s
Website Links
Accountants
LBC International
www.lbcintl.com
Paterson Jamieson
www.patersonjamieson.com
Adjusters
CGI/UAB
www.cgi.com
Coast Claims
www.coastclaims.com
Crawford
www.crawford
andcompany.ca
Companies,
Markets
Autoglas
www.ami.ab.ca
Aviva
www.avivacanada.com
Axa Pacific
www.axa.ca
Beacon
www.beacon724.com
Canada Worldwide
www.cwwbrokers.com
Special Risk
www.srib.ca
Paine Edmonds
www.paine-edmonds.com
Sports & Fitness
Health club, tanning,
martial arts and dance
studio specialists
www.sportsfitness
canada.com
Singleton Urquhart
www.singleton.com
Sports-Can
Canada’s leading sports,
leisure and recreation
insurer
www.sports-can.ca
McLarens Canada
www.mclarens.ca
Economical
www.economical
insurance.com
TWIG
Wholesale Group
www.twig.ca
IFS Financial
Insurance premium
financing solutions
www.ifs-finance.com
Pritchard Woodall
www.pritchardwoodall.com
Elliott
www.elliottsr.com
Wawanesa
www.wawanesa.com
Shumka Craig
www.scm.ca
Employers Re
www.ercgroup.com
Assns., Gov’t.
Encon
www.encon.ca
Alberta Brokers
www.iibaa.com
Family Insurance
www.familyinsurance.ca
B.C. Brokers
www.ibabc.org
Gore Mutual
www.goremutual.ca
Brokers Canada
www.ibac.ca
Guar. Co. of N.A.
www.gcna.com
CSIO
www.csio.com
Hud Insurance
www.hudinsurance.com
Institute B.C.
www.iibc.org
ICBC
www.icbc.com
Glass
Institute Canada
www.iic-iac.org
ING Insurance
www.ingcanada.com
Standard Glass
www.belroncanada.com
Insurance Bureau
www.ibc.ca
Kingsway
www.kingswaygeneral.com
Jewellers
Auto Retailers
www.ara.bc.ca
Carstar
www.carstar.ca
Portage Mutual
www.portagemutual.com
Premier Marine
www.premiermarine.com
South Western
www.swgins.com
Network Search
www.networksearch.net
Restoration
Insurancewest July 2004
Cunningham Lindsey.................. 19, 33
IFS Financial .................................... 20
Marshall & Swift/Boeckh..................... 3
Policy Works..................................... 39
Portage Mutual ................................. 16
PowerSoft ......................................... 10
Special Risk Insurance ..................... 27
Sports-Can ....................................... 11
TIC Travel Ins. Coordinators ............ 15
Twig – The Wholesale Ins Group ....... 6
Wawanesa........................................ 40
Barclay
www.barclayrestorations.ca
Western Medical............................... 25
Western Undwtg.
www.western
underwriting.com
Cromwell
www.cromwell.ca
Other
Disaster Kleenup
www.disasterkleenup.com
Adjuster Locator ............................... 21
Contents
A&B Claims
www.abclaims.com
First General
www.firstgeneral.net
B.C. Insurance Directory .................. 14
On Side
www.onside.ca
Coming Events ................................. 37
Financial Serv.
Bank of Montreal
www.bmo.com
Scotiabank
www.scotiabank.com
Birks
www.birks.com
Harling's Jewellers
www.harlings.com
Lawyers
Carfra & Lawton
www.carlaw.ca
Lindsay Kenney
www.lindsaykenney.bc.ca
ServiceMaster
of Lethbridge
The clean you expect.
The service you deserve.
www.servicemaster
lethbridge.com
Alberta Insurance Directory .............. 32
Services & Suppliers ........................ 16
Technology Forum ............................ 18
Website Links ................................... 36
Salvage
Liquidation World
www.liquidationworld.com
Tech/Systems
Applied Systems
www.appliedsystems.com
Custom Software
www.cssionline.com
Policy Works
www.policyworks.com
PowerSoft
www.power-soft.com
To list your website here,
please contact Linda Helme for rates at 604-874-1001
or email to: manager@insurancewest.ca
36
Cromwell Restoration ....................... 23
On Side Restoration ......................... 24
Travel Undwrs.
www.travelunderwriters.com
Automotive,
Appraisers
Crawford Adjusters ........................... 12
Harcourt
www.harcourt.ca
Coast Underwriters
www.coast-uw.com
Pacific Marine
www.pacificmarine.ca
CIP Society / Ins. Institute .................. 4
Network Corporate Search ............... 17
Prem. Finance
Sask. Brokers
www.ibas.sk.ca
CGI ................................................... 14
Personnel Firms
Totten Group
www.tottengroup.com
Media/Professional
www.mediaprof.com
Carfra & Lawton ............................... 32
ING Insurance Co. of Canada ............ 2
Can-Sure
www.can-sure.com
Manitoba Brokers
www.ibam.mb.ca
Canada Worldwide ........................... 18
Western Medical
www.westernmedical
assessments.com
TIC Travel
Coordinators
www.travelinsurance.ca
Kernaghan
www.kernaghan.com
Belron Canada ................................. 28
Harcourt & Associates ...................... 29
Medical
Can. North. Shield
www.cns.ca
Cunningham
Lindsey
www.cunningham
lindsey.com
Bank of Montreal .............................. 33
Question number one:
Are you a firm that sells systems,
software, hardware or anything
else of a high-tech nature?
Question number two:
Would you like to sell more stuff
to the insurance industry in
Western Canada?
Question number three:
How about advertising in the
Insurancewest Tech Issue (Sept/04)?
Question number four:
What are you waiting for?
CALL LINDA HELME
1-800-888-8811
www.insurancewest.ca
TechWatch
(Continued from Page 38)
Photo Album, ACDSee and Picasa.
Browsing and tagging. I immediately
picked Jasc’s product because it organizes
photos in a traditional hierarchical Windows folder structure. With Jasc you have
to find the command under the Tools menu
to catalogue the images on your hard drive.
It’s fine for searching by file number, but
on the other hand it is a more expensive
way to go and it doesn’t have any transfer
simplicity advantages.
With ACDSee you’re able to group images
by month. I know a number of adjusters
who use ACDSee only for adding captions
and special info to photos, which seems a
waste of the software’s strengths.
Picasa is easier on the eyes, but the timeline component of its storage system isn’t
tied to its album view and I think that ruins
its value for adjusters who only care about
fast ways to store and retrieve. However,
it is cheap.
Ease of Use. If you are going to use
an image manager at all, it has to make
providing images to companies via e-mail
a painless task. It should be able to automatically control resolution and cap file
size and hand the images off to the e-mail
software seamlessly.
ACDSee does the best job of that when it
comes to control over the JPEG format. It
also provides some efficient batch functions
that include category assignment, and you
can do keyword, date, type, description or
camera metadata searching.
Picasa doesn’t take any effort on that score
either. Picasa goes right to work cataloguing
photos as quickly as you can start them,
and it’s ballistic with scrolling as well as
having screens that are clean and easy on
the eyes. The downside is it doesn’t have
the additional perks of file manipulation
that ACDSee can boast.
If all I had to do was archive and have
easy-to-find access, my choice would be
ACDSee. Adjusters can store thumbnails
from the CDs they’ve made of files and
then browse the CDs without having to
load or switch discs. Its import options are
also good, including TWAIN, FlashPoint
Digita and WIA digital cameras, memory
cards and CDs. With ACDSee you can also
save images in 10 formats.
If you can see the value of having images
stored with as much meticulous care as the
rest of your files, ACDSee can do the job.
Requirements: Microsoft Windows 98,
ME, 2000, or XP
• Intel Pentium-class processor or equiva-
lent (PIII 500 or above recommended)
• 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended)
• High Color (16 bit) or higher display
adapter
• 60 MB free disk space
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
• To view some media formats, DirectX
9.0 or later and QuickTime 6.0 or later
are required. IW
Western Canada’s Insurance Calendar
Coming
Events
For details about these events (and any new ones)
please visit Coming Events at
www.insurancewest.ca
July ’04
Jul 15 BC Gary Dorman golf tournament ................Surrey
Jul 29 BC Claims mgrs charity golf tourney...... Vancouver
August ’04
Aug 9 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver
Aug 13 BC North Okanagan golf tourney........ Salmon Arm
Aug 16 AB All-industry golf tournament ..............Edmonton
Aug 18 SK Institute/CIP golf tournament ...................Elbow
Aug 23 AB Institute/CIP golf fun day............. Spruce Grove
Spotlight on The People
George Bozanin
Corporate Director, Commercial Operations
Born in Toronto, George grew up in the satellite community of Ajax and attended York University, graduating with honours and a double major in economics and mass communications.
Signing on with the Royal & SunAlliance in 1990, it was a management career development
programme that got his insurance career on the move, in more ways than one. After a number
of training stints throughout Royal’s regional branches, George landed in Calgary in 1999,
assuming an underwriting management role.
In 2003 he signed on with AXA as the Corporate Director, Commercial Operations and
accepted a move to the West Coast. A move that remains not quite complete, with boxes and
furniture still in storage awaiting the completion of a new custom home on Morgan Creek
golf course. Avid golfers, both he and his wife of eight years, Janine, are more than anxious to
get in the swing of things.
Golf is just one of the numerous sports George lists as hobbies or activities and, as an ex
junior hockey protégé, he enjoys an active lifestyle and still participates in a number of competitive sports. In fact, George discovered a very unique way of blending
his sporting bent with his interest in management, for while learning
the ropes of the insurance business in the day, he and his brother
co-owned and operated a popular sports bar, the Alumni Club
Sports Bar & Grill. A truly exhilarating learning experience, it also
facilitated another hobby for George – collecting sports memorabilia. A proud owner of Mickey Mantle, Joe Di Maggio and Rocket
Richard collectibles to name a few, he lists a
meeting with boxing legend Mohammad Ali
as a lifetime highlight.
Known for his competitive spirit, George is not
adverse to going that extra mile and occasionally
stretching a single into a double, if it helps
his team come out on top.
September ’04
Sep 9 AB SARIMS risk mgrs golf tournament ......Calgary
Sep 9 BC CIAA adjusters national convention ..... Whistler
Sep 10 BC Victoria brokers golf tournament............ Sidney
Sep 10 MB IWAWM golf day...................................Brandon
Sep 12 BC IBABC exec & board meetings......... Vancouver
Sep 14 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver
Sep 15 BC Salute scholarship close .................. Vancouver
Sep 15 BC BC Fellows golf tournament.............. Richmond
Sep 16 BC Kamloops Brokers’ golf tournament .. Kamloops
Sep 17 AB IIBAA industry staff conference.........Edmonton
Sep 17 MB Young Brokers golf day ..........................Pinawa
Sep 23 SK IBAC brokers national conference .........Regina
October ’04
Oct 1
AB IIBAA industry staff conference.............Calgary
Oct 3
MB RIMS Canada Risk Mgmt conf........... Winnipeg
Oct 7
MB MaRIMS risk financing workshop ...... Winnipeg
Oct 14 SK IBAS convention ....................................Regina
Oct 14 BC Salute insur person award dinner .... Vancouver
Oct 18 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver
Oct 19 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver
November ’04
Nov 15 BC IBABC executive meeting ................ Vancouver
Nov 16 BC ICBC liaison/MOUC meetings.......... Vancouver
Nov 17 BC IBABC past-presidents’ dinner ......... Vancouver
Nov 17 BC IBABC presidents committee mtg .... Vancouver
Nov 27 BC IBABC strategy planning session..... Vancouver
www.insurancewest.ca
July 2004 Insurancewest 37
TECHWATCH
Image archiving
worth the
hassle?
By Stan Sauerwein
T
he cost effectiveness of digital
photography, especially with
ever-improving optics, has been
both a blessing and a curse for
the insurance biz, especially for the army
of adjusters.
It’s a blessing because you know immediately if the shot taken has all the detail
required. And a curse because it is so easy to
take more pictures than you actually need.
And then what?
With literally thousands of megabytes
that could hog computer memory, the images have to be stored. That’s easy enough
to do. Just burn a CD. Many adjusters do
nothing other than store the images with
the file on CD, but storing them that way
doesn’t always make instant retrieval and
transfer easy when companies ask for the
images.
Luckily, the boom in digital took the
consumer market over first and resulted
in a score of album offerings that can
easily fit the bill in a commercial setting
when it comes to bridging the ‘storage to
transfer’ gap.
A B.C. company, ACDSee of Victoria,
became an international player on a
photo-sharing game plan. They gained
huge market position by offering free
use for long trials to consumers and then
enticed them to purchases with plug-ins
for image enhancement. Many adjusters,
sensitive even to the whisper of image manipulation, have rejected photo archiving
for that reason alone. But the advantages of
having software dedicated to making photo
retrieval simple and fast can balance that
attitude.
We’ve done a quick comparison of some
archiving alternatives, focusing only on the
tracking component and ease of use. We
compared Adobe Photoshop Album, Jasc
ACDSee
Picasa
Continued on page 37
38
Insurancewest July 2004
www.insurancewest.ca
www.insurancewest.ca
July 2004 Insurancewest 39
JULY 5 04 5:30PM
It only takes a minute
to become a customer for life…
Our reputation for fast, fair, compassionate claims service
has earned us a host of lifelong customers. With more
than 100 years of
experience behind
us and a solid future
ahead, you can
trust that Wawanesa
has the resources
and the know-how
to pick up the
pieces when the
unexpected occurs.
Earning Your Trust Since 1896
40
Insurancewest July 2004
www.insurancewest.ca