Agenda & Presentation Topics

Welcome and Introduction — 8:30am

Overview: MGA Industry & Technology 8:40am

Gary Hirst

– Gary Hirst, President, CAMGA; President & CEO, CHES Special Risk Inc.

The MGA sector is growing, both in Canada and in other geographies beyond.

As in all industries, technology is increasingly central and important.

Gary will review the latest in the sector, with commentary focused on technology.

Keynote Panel: MGA Industry Challenges 8:55am

David Cook

– David Cook, President, ENCON
– Gary Hirst, President, CAMGA; President & CEO, CHES Special Risk Inc.
– David Harris, COO, Angus Miller Ltd.
– Moderator: David Gambrill, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Underwriter

Between innovation and disruption, every industry faces major challenges. The P&C insurance industry is facing traditional obstacles, from overland flooding to changing customer expectations; newer issues, from cyber risk to millennial characteristics; and addressing opportunities, from new risk management tools to evolving risk characteristics.

The panel members will discuss the main challenges they face in their businesses, including recruitment, stability of market support of the MGA, and broker M&A.

Peer to Peer Insurance: What is the Hype About? 9:35am

Kevin Huang

– Kevin Huang, CEO, Peer Circle Agency

Recently, interest and activity in the peer to peer (P2P) insurance space by InsurTech start-ups and VC firms has increased dramatically. Is P2P insurance simply old wine in a new bottle or is something revolutionary happening? How will the role of underwriters and actuaries be impacted by P2P insurance? This session will explain the current market trends in P2P insurance, including major players and key features offered through various platforms. Several case studies will be used to illustrate the pros and cons with P2P insurance. We will offer our views on the future of P2P insurance.

Tech Panel #1: What Implemented Technologies Mean the Most For MGAs? 9:55am

Jeff McCann

– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.
– Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager, Insly
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

Innovation is now centre-stage – in product and in distribution, in claims and throughout almost every part of insurance, including corporate culture.

Maybe innovation spawned InsurTech, or perhaps InsurTechs forced incumbents to innovate. Whatever the case, rapid innovation of technology has been a key enabler.

This technology panel, the first of four throughout the day, will describe – in business terms – a number of new and emerging technologies that are being embraced by the insurance industry – such as AI, Machine Learning, Natural language Processing, Cloud, Microservices, APIs, and more.

Learn how each might be used by the MGA community, to what purpose, and in what time frame.

Coffee Break — 10:25am

Will Technology Play a New Role in the MGA-Insurer Relationship? 10:50am

Marc Lipman

– Marc Lipman, Chief Operating Officer, AIG Insurance Company of Canada
– Phil Baker, Head of Operations, Beazley Canada
– Patrick Vice, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

The MGA-Insurer business relationship varies a great deal in terms of responsibilities.

Today sees a more quickly-paced and dynamic insurance business environment enabled by – perhaps driven by – rapid innovations in technology (InsurTech).

What are the potential implications?

Cansure: An MGA Technology Case Study 11:20am

Brock Andrew

– Cameron Copeland, President, Cansure
– Brock Andrew, COO, Custom Software Solutions Inc.

Cameron and Brock will discuss the impact of the technology partnership between these two firms upon the success of Cansure over the past 10 years.

Tech Panel #2: What Will Technologies Being Implemented Now Mean For MGAs? 11:50am

Jeff McCann

– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.
– Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager, Insly
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

Innovation is a focus across almost every element of the insurance business, and rapid innovation of technology has been a key enabler.

This technology panel will discuss a number of new and emerging technologies being embraced by the insurance industry – such as AI, Machine Learning, Natural language Processing, Cloud, Microservices, APIs, and more.

Learn how each might be used by the MGA community, to what purpose, and in what time frame.

Lunch — 12:20pm

How Can MGAs Disrupt The Insurance Market? 1:05pm

Märtin Kosk

– Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager, Insly

With the growing prominence of InsurTech, the word “disruption” is being thrown around rather casually – but should we be talking about disruption or innovation in the insurance space?

What does innovation in insurance actually mean if you compare it to other industries, does innovation look the same in different countries and how are MGAs positioned to be a part of it?

Brokers Are Changing; Are You Keeping Up? 1:25pm

Kim Opheim

– Moderator: Kim Opheim, President, K. Opheim Consulting
– Brenda Rose, Vice President & Partner, FCA Insurance Brokers
– Colin Marshall, Vice President, Will Marshall Insurance Brokers Ltd.
– CJ Nolan, Vice President, Customer Care & Growth, Munn Insurance

Brokers are innovating in all directions, from customer experience and engagement to improved connectivity with markets, from integrated third party services to a culture change with staff, and more. New and emerging technologies are a major enabler, even driver, of the changes.

Hear from a panel of brokers who will discuss what they would like from their markets to help them maintain their competitive position, both today and going forward into tomorrow.

Tech Panel #3: What Will New Technologies Mean For MGAs? 2:00pm

Märtin Kosk

– Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager, Insly
– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

This technology panel will discuss a number of new and emerging technologies being embraced by the insurance industry – such as AI, Machine Learning, Natural language Processing, Cloud, Microservices, APIs, and more.

Learn how each might be used by the MGA community, to what purpose, and in what time frame.

Coffee Break — 2:30pm

An InsurTech Startup Project 2:50pm

Jeff McCann

– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.

An InsurTech startup will tell many different people about the project, beginning with an outline of the basic idea, progressing with outreach to innovation centres, to mentors, and to potential investors.

Now that he has proceeded through all the steps and is an operating MGA and Technology Provider, Jeff will tell us about “the product.”

Is Your Decision Process Responding to InsurTech Demands? 3:05pm

Jad McGregor

– Jad McGregor, President, ABEX
– Selena Fredericks, Director - Operations & Marketing, A.M. Fredericks Underwriting Management Ltd.
– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

With the escalating pace of innovation and change in insurance, MGAs face the challenges of rising expectations by insurance and distribution partners, not to mention the ultimate end-customer. Opportunities keep surfacing. How is technology changing the decision process?

Tech Panel #4: What Will Emerging Technologies Mean For MGAs? 3:35pm

Doug Grant

– Jeff McCann, CEO, Digital MGA Marketplace Ltd.
– Märtin Kosk, Commercial Manager, Insly
– Moderator: Doug Grant, Partner, Insurance-Canada.ca

The final technology panel will explore emerging technologies in insurance, highlighting the potential for blockchain in insurance, featuring Black Insurance as an example.

Learn how – and in what time frame – the MGA community can leverage blockchain for success.

Networking Reception — 4:15pm

Event Close — 5:15pm