RIMS conference to feature Pride celebration in Toronto

RIMS Canada conference to close out with a brand new, all-inclusive party

RIMS conference to feature Pride celebration in Toronto

Insurance News

By Sam Boyer

This year’s RIMS Canada conference will feature an exciting new insurance community celebration – a Pride cocktail party to round out the event.

The party, on Tuesday night at the conclusion of the conference, from 9pm-midnight, is being sponsored by Marsh’s Pride colleague resource group – to “bring the risk management community together fostering understanding and full inclusion of all people and cultures.”

The event is open to all RIMS attendees, as well as friends and families.

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“It’s promoted as an inclusive event, so you do not have to be LGBT, you can be whoever you want to be and come. It’s a cocktail reception … and it will also include a special guest to bring some entertainment to the event, which is a drag queen,” said Jeff Ince, vice president of integrated broking, and co-chair for Marsh’s Pride colleague resource group.

The Marsh Pride colleague resource group (CRG) was established in March this year. It is an employee group for LGBT staff, both “in” and “out of the closet”, as well as for supportive friends and family – known as “allies”.

The Marsh Pride CRG decided to contact RIMS to host the celebration and, Ince said, the response had been positive.

“I’ve been going to RIMS Canada events for 10 or 15 years,” he said. “As an ‘out’ gay man, I never had an event or a place to go that made me feel at home, per se. I don’t mean that to sound dramatic. [But] I was thinking one day, because this event was here in Toronto this year, and because some colleagues and I had formed this group here at Marsh, and feeling this whole inclusionary thinking, we thought it was a good idea to suggest it to the organisers of RIMS Canada.

“We really didn’t recognise how well it was going to be received. To be honest, it was received really, really well.”

And in terms of celebrating diversity and inclusion in insurance, it seems a great way to close out the national event.

“It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s with the times. Everybody is talking about diversity and inclusion,” Ince said. “Everything just seemed to line up really well for us to promote this thing. We’re really excited with the way it’s been accepted and embraced.”


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