The industry has spent the past year navigating a market in transition, with hardening conditions in some lines and increasingly competitive, soft market pricing in others, such as construction and transport.

Layered onto this is a market that is softening overall but unevenly so. Canadian commercial insurance renewal rates decelerated sharply in the first quarter of 2026, with the average increase falling to 1.67 percent, less than half the 3.85 percent recorded in the same quarter of 2025, according to Applied Systems’ Applied Commercial Index. IBC reported this marked the steepest year-on-year deceleration since the index launched, with Canadian casualty rates also declining for an eleventh consecutive quarter.

Aon’s Spring 2026 Canadian Insurance Market Update similarly found insurers competing actively for quality commercial accounts as capacity remains ample across most lines. That competitive pressure is not universal, however.

Guy Carpenter Canada notes that the property catastrophe reinsurance market has been in a firming cycle since 2021, driven in part by a record $8.9 billion in catastrophe losses in 2024, and the Insurance Marketplace Realities 2026 Report from WTW points to Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record, with more than 7.25 million hectares burned, as a factor keeping certain property and casualty segments under pressure even as broader commercial rates ease. That pressure may be easing too: Guy Carpenter Canada’s 2026 Executive Outlook points to a softening reinsurance market for 2026, citing favourable global reinsurer performance and limited 2025 catastrophe losses, with reinsurer capacity outstripping demand by 20 percent globally at mid-year renewals.

As one 2026 winner describes it from the broker’s chair, renewal rate increases of 30 percent to 40 percent are not unusual in tightening lines, while their own specialty of construction and transport remains “a very, very soft market right now,” a split that lines up with the broader market data above.

At 7 am in Calgary, a broker is walking a multinational energy client through the early stages of a cyber incident. On a Main Street in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, a brokerage built from zero on the strength of one person’s word is open for business. In Halifax, a senior vice president is preparing to make the broker community’s case to the people who write the rules. In British Columbia, an operations manager is holding the line on service standards while the business grows around her. Six winners with different answers to the same question: what does it mean to be exceptional right now, in this market?

 

 

The professionals recognized on these pages share no single credential, career trajectory, or corner of the industry. What they share is an impact that ripples outward, improving the people around them, the clients who depend on them, and the profession.

Quick profile: Joel Askew is a 2026 Rising Star and cyber excellence lead at Navacord Alberta. He built the brokerage’s national Cyber Claims Protocol and leads commercial risk placement for complex mid-market and energy clients.

Leading a commercial services team of nine direct reports at Navacord Alberta, Joel Askew is part of a brokerage network that has recently completed a coast-to-coast expansion across Canada, supporting complex mid-market, large, and multinational industrial and energy clients. He also provides technical guidance to all 14 junior service staff across the office. Cyber has become one of the fastest-growing corners of Canada’s commercial insurance market and increasingly a segment where response speed matters as much as coverage breadth. On top of those leadership and advisory responsibilities, he serves as the office’s cyber excellence lead, a role he stepped into when it became vacant.

Over the past year, Askew developed a cyber claims protocol mapping out the full lifecycle of a cyber incident, from initial reporting and breach coaching through to forensic investigation, regulatory considerations, and claims resolution.

Drawing on data and experience across Navacord’s network, he is working with other internal experts on how the protocol can be applied across its national platform. He credits national cyber practice leader Patrick Bourk as a mentor who supported that expansion.

“The worst time to figure out how a cyber claim works is when you’re right in the middle of one,” Askew says. “I wanted to create something practical that both clients and advisors could use during an actual incident.”

Askew has also authored a client-facing presentation on how AI and deepfake technology are being used by cybercriminals to facilitate social engineering, business email compromise, and funds transfer fraud.

He cites the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report, which found the average breakout time – the interval between an attacker gaining initial access and moving laterally to a second system – fell to 29 minutes in 2025. That marks a 65 percent increase in attack speed from 2024, with the fastest observed case at 27 seconds.

Beyond the office, Askew maintains an active presence at the University of Calgary’s risk management community, mentoring students regardless of whether the firm is actively recruiting them. He was also selected by Chubb as one of their Rising Stars, an insurer-led recognition program for high-potential brokers across Canada and the United States.
 

 

Q: You stepped into the cyber excellence lead role when it became vacant and built it into something the whole organization now relies on. What did you see in that gap that made you want to fill it?

A: Cyber was already becoming a large part of client conversations, but there were still a lot of advisors in our office who didn’t spend all day dealing with cyber insurance claims and security trends. I saw an opportunity to contribute by supporting them and helping develop resources they could use in day-to-day conversations.

Q: Your cyber claims protocol is now being applied throughout Navacord. Walk me through what problem it was solving.

A: If a client has a data breach or a ransomware attack, there’s often a lot of uncertainty around who needs to be called and how insurance fits into the response. We mapped out the whole lifecycle of a claim, from initial reporting through to claims resolution, so clients and advisors would know what to expect during an actual incident.”

Q: AI and deepfake technology are changing how cybercriminals operate. What’s the most important thing a commercial client needs to understand about that right now that most of them don’t?

A: What I’ve really seen within the last year is what happens after an attacker gets access. AI is helping attackers work faster and at a greater scale than they ever have before. Once inside a client system, they can more easily identify valuable systems, locate sensitive information, abuse trusted user accounts, and move through cloud environments much more efficiently than they could in the past.

Q: You talk about building judgement in people rather than just giving them answers. What’s the difference, in practice, between a mentor who develops people and one who just makes them dependent?

A: Giving someone an answer is the easiest route to go, but in commercial insurance there are very few situations where everything fits neatly into a box. I try to spend more time explaining how I approached a decision rather than just telling somebody what to do. A great mentor teaches people how to make decisions when the answers aren’t obvious. The goal isn’t to solve that problem for them; it’s to help them solve the next one on their own.

Quick profile: Talsa Warken is a 2026 Rising Star and account executive at Lakeview Insurance Brokers, where she opened a new office in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, three years ago. She built her book of business from scratch and helped found the province’s #BrokersCare charitable initiative.

Rather than inheriting a book of business, Talsa Warken built her own from scratch in the community she calls home, relying on trust, meaningful relationships, and steady organic growth.

Coming from an entrepreneurial family of restaurant owners, tradespeople, and small business operators, Warken, an account executive at Lakeview Insurance Brokers in Saskatchewan, chose insurance and then chose to do it her own way, leaving a previous brokerage to open a new office in Assiniboia rather than acquire an existing one.

“The hardest part was building trust from zero. I wasn’t just opening an office; I was asking people to believe in a name they had never heard before,” she says. “While I brought personal credibility with me, I had chosen to stand behind a new company, and I had to earn people’s trust in me again. Rebuilding that trust was harder than I expected.”

While many clients knew her from her previous brokerage, Warken knew trust had to be earned all over again. She rebuilt her client base one relationship at a time through community involvement, consistent marketing, and an unwavering commitment to service.

In just three years, she has grown the brokerage from the ground up, expanded her team, and transformed a Main Street property into the brokerage’s home, a deliberate investment in the heart of the community she serves. She was also part of the founding group behind the #BrokersCare initiative in Saskatchewan, a grassroots fundraiser launched through the Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan in 2021.

It started out supporting STARS Air Ambulance exclusively before broadening into a provincially recognized program that now gives away thousands of dollars annually to causes including youth mental health, children’s learning and development, food insecurity, and community resilience, with past recipients including Ronald McDonald House Charities, KidSport, and the Canadian Red Cross.

Warken has also taken her advocacy to Parliament Hill on behalf of the Emerging Brokers. She believes the gap with policymakers is not a lack of awareness about insurance but a lack of understanding of the broker’s role.

While most people recognize the importance of insurance, they don’t always see the day-to-day work brokers do to advocate for clients, provide choice, and help them navigate complex decisions. Unlike representatives tied to a single insurer, brokers work on behalf of their clients.

One of the clearest priorities we have consistently advocated for is keeping the Bank Act and the Insurance Act separate. The goal is simple: to protect consumers by ensuring they are not pressured to purchase insurance at the same time they are obtaining credit, keeping clients at the centre of every decision.

As one client told her, “I don’t even have the words that express how grateful I am for you. The time you have spent with me going over everything and the honesty you have given me means so much.”

Warken sees her work and life as one and the same. Building a successful business isn’t just a career. It’s a way to invest in the people and community she calls home.
 

 

Q: You left your previous brokerage to open a brand new Lakeview office in a region where nobody knew the name yet. What was the hardest part of that first year that nobody warned you about?

A: With opening a new office, I was asking people to believe in a brokerage name they’d never heard of before. In my area, and in our industry generally, trust is relationship-based, and it’s a huge part of what we do. Even though I had personal credibility from a different brokerage, no one really had that same trust in the new name I was now representing.

Q: The #BrokersCare initiative has gone national. When you were part of founding it in Saskatchewan, did you expect it to travel that far?

A: I never really thought it would go national, but there was always a hope that if there were a thriving initiative, people would pick up on it. The buy-in wasn’t even hard. Everyone was so excited about it, and now all the provinces have taken it and started doing their own campaigning and giving back.”

Q: You’ve built a book, a team, a property, and a community presence in three years. What’s the one decision that made the most difference?

A: I made the decision to trust myself, even when I didn’t fully know what was going to happen. I knew it might be slower and it probably wouldn’t be a straight line, but I trusted that I knew what I wanted to do. I also had to trust the group at Lakeview; they believed in me, and I believed in them, and knowing I still had a real say in decisions made a world of difference.

Quick profile: Jane Kivlichan is a 2026 Rising Star and the operational backbone of Royal Claims Services in British Columbia. She oversees compliance, processing, and client liaison functions and is recognized for maintaining operational consistency through a period of rapid business growth.

“It was an opportunity that came my way,” Jane Kivlichan says of her entry into the industry after working at a law firm that dealt with insurance companies.

Four years on, she is the operational backbone of Royal Claims Services in British Columbia, overseeing processing and BDX functions, client liaison, compliance, and the internal workflows that keep the business running as it grows.

Kivlichan’s standout achievement over the past year has been maintaining the quality and consistency of core operations through a period of business growth, when service delivery, accuracy, and internal coordination all come under pressure.

She also took ownership of compliance without being directed to, building expertise in an area she identified as critically important. “When I started here, all the processes were kind of in people’s heads and not really written down,” she says. “I gathered as much information as I could from everyone’s minds, did my own research, and put some processes in place.”

Her nominator describes her as someone who combines operational excellence with kindness and patience, a genuine commitment to helping others that has made her a trusted internal leader as much as an operational one. Staff turn to her for guidance, and her willingness to stop what she’s doing to support a colleague is, in her nominator’s words, part of what sets her apart.
 

 

Q: You took ownership of compliance without being directed to. What did you see that others hadn’t, and how did you go about building that expertise?

A: I’ve always enjoyed solving problems and building processes to make things work better and easier. I saw a great opportunity to do that at a growing company. It was still quite small when I joined, and we’ve grown quite a bit since then.”

Q: You describe consistency as the most important trait in an insurance leader. What does inconsistency actually cost an organization when it shows up?

A: Consistency isn’t necessarily rigid. Things in the industry are often changing, but as long as you have consistent expectations, that’s key to success.

Q: Operations roles in insurance don’t always get the recognition that client-facing roles do. What would you say to someone who underestimates how much the back end of a brokerage or claims business matters?

A: When operations are running well, you don’t notice them, and I think that’s kind of the point. No company can have long-term success without a good operational base. It’s the foundation that allows everyone else to do their jobs better.

Quick profile: Brayden York is a 2026 Rising Star and vice president and client executive at BFL Canada. A former in-house risk manager, he has helped clients reduce their total cost of risk by more than $1 million across multiple engagements.

Brayden York serves as vice president and client executive at BFL CANADA Risk and Insurance Services, one of Canada’s largest employee-owned commercial insurance brokerages, where he leads complex commercial client relationships across mid-market and enterprise organizations.

What distinguishes him is his background as a former in-house risk manager, five years spent on the client side of the table that fundamentally changed how he thinks about the broker’s role.

“I spent close to five years sitting on the client side, so I understand how frustrating broking can be for a client,” York says. “Many insurance discussions remain heavily focused on annual renewal cycles. As a risk manager, I cared about the total cost of risk, internal optics, and long-term strategy. So, in practice, I’m not acting like an intermediary. I strive to act as an extension of their risk management function.”

In practice, that means anchoring every engagement in total cost of risk rather than premium, building programs with governance in mind, and being willing to support clients when making risk decisions.

York has helped clients identify opportunities that contributed to total cost of risk reductions exceeding $1 million across multiple engagements. In each case, the savings resulted from a combination of program redesign, market strategy, and operational improvements tailored to the client’s circumstances.

“The turning point is when we quantify the total cost of risk and isolate where the leakage actually is,” York says. “Many insurance discussions remain heavily focused on annual renewal cycles. Once the conversation shifts from renewal to optimization and total cost of risk, the opportunities become much clearer.”

The outcome, he is careful to point out, is never just a one-year result. The real value sits in the repeatable framework that continues to generate savings across multiple renewal cycles.

Within two years of joining BFL, York received partner recognition. As one client noted in a reference, “He feels more like an extension of our team than an outside service provider. He’s very client-centric and has not only identified potential areas for our risk management operations to improve but has also been a resource to help us attain those improvements."

York holds the RIMS-CRMP designation and actively supports early-career professionals, pushing them toward the same shift in mindset: away from transactional placement and toward genuine risk advisory grounded in business outcomes.
 

 

Q: You spent time as an in-house risk manager before moving to the broker side. How has that shaped the way you advise clients differently from brokers who came up through traditional placement?

A: I spent close to five years sitting on the client side, so I understand how frustrating broking can be for a client. Many insurance discussions remain heavily focused on annual renewal cycles. As a risk manager, I cared about the total cost of risk, internal optics, and long-term strategy. So in practice, I’m not acting like an intermediary. I strive to act as an extension of their risk management function.

Q: You helped clients reduce their total cost of risk by more than $1 million across multiple engagements. Walk me through how those engagements typically start and what the turning point is.

A: Most engagements start the same way. The client believes inefficiencies may exist within their existing program but lacks clarity on where the inefficiencies are coming from, and they’re typically operating on a legacy program that’s been rolled forward without being properly stress-tested. The turning point is when we quantify the total cost of risk and isolate where the leakage actually is. Once we shift the conversation from renewal to optimization and the total cost of risk, everything changes.

Q: A lot of brokers talk about being strategic advisors. What does that actually look like in practice on a day-to-day basis?

A: It means I’m not waiting for renewal to create value. I’m consistently reviewing loss data, challenging assumptions, and identifying where clients are overinsured, underinsured, or misallocating capital. It also means being willing to support clients when making risk decisions. If a client is facing a challenging risk decision, I address it directly with data instead of defaulting to agreement. That’s the difference between a strategic advisor and being transactional.

Q: A lot of brokers talk about being strategic advisors. What does that actually look like in practice on a day-to-day basis?

A: It means I’m not waiting for renewal to create value. I’m consistently reviewing loss data, challenging assumptions, and identifying where clients are overinsured, underinsured, or misallocating capital. It also means being willing to support clients when making risk decisions. If a client is facing a challenging risk decision, I address it directly with data instead of defaulting to agreement. That’s the difference between a strategic advisor and being transactional.

Q: You’re two years into BFL and already a partner. What do you know now about building trust at the executive level that you wish you had known earlier?

A: Early in my career, I thought trust came from having the right answers. What I didn’t fully appreciate at the time was that trust at the executive level isn’t built on having all the answers. It’s built on how you think, communicate, and simplify complexity. Executives don’t want more insurance detail. They want to understand risk in terms that enable them to make decisions with confidence.

Quick profile: Matthew Cutulle is a 2026 Rising Star and commercial account executive at Mowen Insurance Brokers in Ontario. He manages a full commercial client portfolio across multiple lines and built a structured renewal playbook now used across his team.

Despite being so young, Matthew Cutulle has built a reputation at Mowen Insurance Brokers in Ontario that belies his age. As a commercial account executive, he manages the full cycle of a commercial client portfolio, from exposure assessment and underwriting submissions through to placement, renewals, and claims liaison across property, casualty, professional liability, cyber, fleet, auto, and specialty lines.

Cutulle worked in claims handling before becoming a broker and says many of the tools he picked up there carried directly into his current role. “It was an industry I kind of just fell into,” he says of insurance. “But honestly, it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made." He credits Mowen’s CEO and president with ongoing one-on-one mentorship, alongside seven of the 10 courses completed toward his CIP designation.

Over the past year, Cutulle led several complex commercial renewals, securing continuity of coverage through early carrier engagement and disciplined submission quality. That work isn’t always comfortable. He has had to deliver double-digit premium increases to clients twice his age, aware that some may wonder whether the number reflects his young age rather than the market itself.

His response is to bring clients a full market picture rather than a single option, sometimes splitting a single account across carriers, liability with one insurer, property with another, and fleet with a third when that combination saves more than bundling everything with one company.

In one case, he moved a client’s policy after 14 years with the same insurer, reducing their premium by tens of thousands at renewal. Beyond his own files, he developed a structured renewal playbook, including timelines, checklists, and a standardized proposal format, that improved turnaround times and consistency across the team.

“I treat all my clients the same,” Cutulle says. "One client could be paying $500,000; another could be paying $2,000. They’re all going to get the same level of service from our staff and me.”

Cutulle points to a common blind spot among smaller commercial clients who accept automatic renewals year after year. Even modest annual increases compound significantly over a decade or more.

“I find being the most transparent with your client works best,” Cutulle says of his approach to hard renewal conversations. “I’ll go to market, shop it around, negotiate with the current market on risk, and give my client a full profile of what’s going on, and then let them make the decision.”

 

Q: You’re 24 and already developing internal tools and training resources that the broader team relies on. Where does that instinct come from at this stage of your career?

A: Before I became a broker, I worked in claims handling, and a lot of the tools I learned there were transferable into my day-to-day role. My current mentors have been teaching me and helping me grow; we do a lot of one-on-one training. I’ve asked the right questions and taken courses so I can be a better broker, not just for myself but for my clients and for our overall team.

Q: The market has been hardening, and carrier appetite has been tightening. Tell me about a renewal that really tested you over the past year and how you got it across the line.

A: I specialize in construction and transport, which is actually a very soft market right now; prices are competitive. But when renewal rates do spike, sometimes 30 or 40 percent, you have to have those hard conversations with your client. So I’ll go to market, shop it around, and give my client a full breakdown, sometimes splitting the account across carriers rather than keeping it all with one company, so they can save money on certain lines while still getting better coverage overall.

Q: You’ve said your biggest strength is turning complex commercial risk into clear, confident decisions. What’s the most common mistake you see brokers make when they’re trying to do that?

A: Not full transparency. I find a lot of clients have been with the same market for 15 or 20 years, and their broker hasn’t gone back to check it in that time. Historically, a market stays competitive for about two to three years before you need to shop it again. After 15 years, premiums get out of hand, and there’s a lot of room for savings that clients never see. 

Quick profile: Mark Townsend is a 2026 Rising Star holding three concurrent roles at Aon’s Halifax office, including senior vice president. He is president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia (IBANS) and a national advocate for the broker channel through IBAC’s Hill Day.

Based at Aon’s Halifax office, Mark Townsend holds three concurrent roles: account executive, senior vice president, and commercial risk leader, alongside serving as president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia (IBANS).

As an account executive, he manages a portfolio of complex commercial and public sector clients. As commercial risk leader, his role isn’t formal oversight of the sales team; they don’t report to him. It’s helping the account team draw on the full breadth of Aon.

“I help provide ways that we can leverage the best of Aon to the rest of our account team,” Townsend says, pointing to risk capital, health capital, and wealth expertise as areas he helps connect clients to. His promotion to senior vice president over the past year recognized sustained performance and what his manager cited as a collaborative leadership style and focus on continuous learning.

Townsend’s path into insurance began with an eight-month co-op residency during his MBA. Eight years into the industry, he has since completed his CAIB, CRM, and CIP designations in quick succession before moving on to his FCIP, taking one deliberate break during that process when his first son was born.

On the broker association side, this year Townsend attended the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada’s (IBAC) Hill Day for the third time, which involved direct advocacy with government decision-makers in Ottawa to advance national public policy issues on behalf of brokers and consumers. IBAC’s advocacy on this issue dates back to 1988, when the association launched its Broker Identity Program in response to federal proposals that could have blurred the line between banking and insurance.

“The biggest thing we try to communicate is the value of the broker and how we’re advocates for consumers and businesses, not for insurance companies,” he says. Chief among IBAC’s recurring asks is maintaining that separation under the Bank Act, protecting consumers from what Townsend calls the “high-pressure sales tactics” that can come with being offered insurance at the point of getting credit from a bank, which can ultimately lead to consumers being deprived of choice if they feel their mortgage or line of credit is tied to purchasing insurance from the bank.

Thanks, in part, to IBAC’s advocacy, a review of the Bank Act has been pushed to 2033 under the federal government’s 2025 to 2026 budget and, in the meantime, the important consumer protection provisions will remain in place. Townsend is currently serving his one-year term as IBANS president and is set to become chair of the board next year. He will also be joining the IBAC board in September 2026.

In parallel with these responsibilities, he completed his FCIP designation, crediting several mentors, including Aon’s interim CEO, COO, branch manager, and broker technical lead, with reinforcing the importance of continuous learning.

“Early in your career, it’s easy to focus on just the technical insurance, coverage, claims, contracts, and placements,” he says. “The FCIP challenged me to think about how business strategy, organizational culture, financial stewardship, technology, and risk all interact. Good leadership is rarely about finding the perfect answer; it’s about balancing competing priorities and making sound decisions with incomplete information.”
 

 

Q: You’re a senior vice president at Aon and president of IBANS simultaneously. How does leading an industry association change the way you think about your work as a broker?

A: It’s forced me to zoom out. My focus at Aon is naturally on helping individual clients manage their risk, but leading IBANS means thinking about what’s best for the profession as a whole, including education, advocacy, recruitment, and regulation. That broader perspective has actually made me a better broker.

Q: You completed your FCIP while managing both positions. What pushed you to take that on, and what did it change about how you think?

A: I never wanted to reach a point where I thought I’d got everything figured out, because that’s impossible in our industry. The FCIP was an opportunity to deepen my understanding of strategy, leadership, and risk management, and it reinforced that we need to anticipate change rather than simply react to it.

Q: You’ve engaged with government on broker advocacy through Hill Day. What’s the single most important thing you want policymakers to understand about the broker channel?

A: Every day, brokers help Canadians navigate increasingly complex risk and insurance decisions. We provide advice, choice, and local expertise, and when a claim occurs, we’re usually the first call people make because they trust us to guide them through what can be a very stressful situation. These relationships allow brokers to bring a consumer-focused perspective to national policy issues.

Q: What does the next generation of brokers in Atlantic Canada need to be prepared for that the current generation wasn’t?

A: The pace of change. Technology, client expectations, regulations, data analytics, cyber and climate risk, and workforce demographics are all evolving at once. Technical insurance knowledge will always matter, but the future belongs to brokers who combine that with strong relationship-building and a genuine commitment to continuous learning.

The demographic and title shifts covered earlier in this report, an older, more experienced cohort increasingly recognized at the underwriter, broker, and advisor level rather than management titles alone, are on track to continue. That shift is landing in a market moving in the same direction, toward more competition for the professionals actually delivering the work, not just those managing it.

Applied Systems has since paused publication of the Q1 2026 rate index we cited earlier, as it reworks how it delivers market intelligence entirely, itself a signal of how quickly the softening cycle has reshaped the tools brokers rely on.

 

 

Marsh’s Global Insurance Market Index for Canada recorded a similar six percent decline in Canadian commercial rates for the same quarter, with cyber insurance rates specifically down five percent.

Cyber is where the gap between falling rates and rising risk is widest. Even as cyber rates soften, the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report found the average time between an attacker’s initial access and lateral movement fell to 29 minutes in 2025, a 65 percent increase in attack speed from 2024, with the fastest recorded case at 27 seconds. The same report found 82 percent of intrusions in 2025 involved no malware at all, with attackers relying on stolen credentials and legitimate tools instead, while AI-enabled attacks rose 89 percent year over year.

That gap between falling premiums and accelerating attacker speed is a live pressure point for brokers across the cohort working in cyber, including 2026 winner Joel Askew, whose national Cyber Claims Protocol reflects exactly this kind of institutional response.

What connects this year’s winners is a shared refusal to treat their early wins as endpoints.

As York puts it of his own work, the outcome “creates a repeatable framework that continues to generate value over multiple years.” There is a throughline of turning a single achievement into something durable that continues to generate value without them in the room.

Taken together, it’s a signal of what separates early promise from lasting impact across Canadian insurance broking more broadly, recognition following the people building things that outlast them, not just the people who arrived first.

 

This year’s Rising Stars were selected by an independent panel of five industry leaders. We asked two of them to share their perspectives on the 2026 cohort.

Q: What stood out for you about this year’s winners? Any qualities or accomplishments that set them apart from their peers?

A: A lot of them are already taking on bigger responsibilities, helping their teams, mentoring others, and finding better ways to do things. They are obviously strong technically, but they are also curious and willing to ask questions. In insurance, none of us ever knows everything, so being open to learning is a huge strength. They are looking beyond their own role and thinking about the impact they can have on their clients, their workplace, and the industry.

Q: With succession planning and retirements top of mind for insurers, how are these young professionals stepping into leadership earlier than past generations?

A: I think some of it is happening out of necessity. We know a lot of experience is going to leave the industry through retirement, and companies are realizing they cannot wait until someone is about to retire to start developing the next person. Young professionals are being included in bigger conversations earlier and are being trusted with projects and responsibilities that may have traditionally gone to someone with more years in the industry. They also seem less focused on leadership being tied to a title. They are stepping up, taking ownership, and becoming people their teams can rely on. But employers still need to support them. We cannot just give people more work and call it development. They need mentorship, feedback, and access to the knowledge of the people who came before them.

Q: AI adoption is reshaping underwriting, claims, and broking. How are this year’s winners using technology while still building the client relationships and judgment the role demands?

A: I think the strongest people see AI and technology as tools. They can help us work faster, improve documentation, and reduce some of the repetitive work, but they do not replace judgement or relationships. In broking, a client does not just need someone to get them a quote. They need someone who understands their business, asks good questions, identifies gaps, and explains coverage in a way they can understand. AI can give you information, but it does not always give you the context. You still need to verify what you are looking at, use your professional judgement, and take responsibility for the advice you are giving. Ideally, technology gives us more time to focus on the client, not less.

Q: Hard skills get someone in the door, but what is separating the winners who are actually advancing – is it EQ, mentorship, communication, or something else?

A: Technical knowledge gets you started, but advancing usually depends on what you can do with that knowledge. Can you explain something clearly? Can you handle a difficult conversation? Can you take feedback? Can people trust you to follow through? The people who stand out are also the ones who take ownership. They do not just point out a problem and walk away. They think about the solution, communicate when something is going off track, and take responsibility for the outcome. Mentorship matters too, but the best young professionals do not just wait for someone to teach them. They ask questions, look for opportunities to learn, and then share that knowledge with the people around them.

Q: What gaps still exist in how the industry attracts and develops young talent, and what should employers be doing differently?

A: I still think we do a poor job of explaining how many different careers exist in insurance. A lot of us ended up in this industry by accident. Young people may know about sales or claims, but they may not understand all the opportunities in underwriting, risk management, technology, analytics, operations, or leadership. Once we attract people, we also need to do a better job of developing them. Sending someone to a course is not a development plan. They need a chance to apply what they learned, take on meaningful work, and understand what their next step could look like. Employers need to provide mentorship, regular feedback, and exposure to different parts of the business. Young professionals also need to feel that their ideas are being heard, even when the final decision may be different.”

Q: What stood out for you about this year’s winners? Any qualities or accomplishments that set them apart from their peers?

A: What impressed me most was that many of this year’s winners aren’t simply executing within their roles; they’re actively helping shape the future of the industry. They demonstrate a combination of technical capability, strategic thinking, and an eagerness to challenge conventional approaches. They aren’t waiting for permission to lead – they’re identifying opportunities, building relationships across their organizations and communities, and creating meaningful impact early in their careers.

Q: With succession planning and retirements top of mind for insurers, how are these young professionals stepping into leadership earlier than past generations?

A: Leadership today isn’t defined solely by title. Many emerging professionals are leading through influence long before they’re managing teams. They’re taking ownership of strategic initiatives, driving innovation, mentoring peers, and becoming trusted voices within their organizations. Many are not only comfortable collaborating across departments but also seek out these opportunities, which gives them a broader understanding of the business.

Q: AI adoption is reshaping underwriting, claims, and broking. How are this year’s winners using technology while still building the client relationships and judgment the role demands?

A: The strongest professionals understand that AI is an accelerator, not a replacement for human expertise. They’re embracing technology to improve efficiency, uncover insights, and eliminate repetitive work, while recognizing that trust, empathy, collaboration, critical thinking, and sound judgement remain uniquely human strengths. The future belongs to professionals who are confident and who know how to combine technological capability with authentic relationships, team-building, and thoughtful decision-making.

Q: Hard skills get someone in the door, but what is separating the winners who are actually advancing – is it EQ, mentorship, communication, or something else?

A: Technical expertise gets your career started, but communication, emotional intelligence, curiosity, and adaptability are what create long-term success. The professionals who continue to stand out are those who seek feedback, invest in mentoring relationships, communicate complex ideas clearly, and remain committed to continuous learning. They’re building reputations as people others want to work with, not simply because of what they know, but because of the energy they bring to the organization and its culture and how they lead and collaborate.

Q: What gaps still exist in how the industry attracts and develops young talent, and what should employers be doing differently?

A: Insurance continues to have an incredible opportunity to better showcase the meaningful, innovative, and purpose-driven careers our industry offers. Young professionals want opportunities to make an impact, embrace emerging technologies, and solve real-world problems. Employers can accelerate development by providing earlier exposure to cross-functional experiences, investing in mentorship, encouraging innovation, and creating environments where new ideas are welcomed and celebrated.

 

Meet the judges

• 
  Chris McLean
  Managing Director and National Leader – Construction and Infrastructure
  Aon
• 
  Crystal Kaustinen
  Commercial Manager and Office Manager
  KRGinsure
   
• 
  MaryKate Townsend
  Head of Market Development
  Lloyd’s
  
   
• 
  Mila Araujo
  Assistant Vice President, DigitalShield and Personal Cyber Insurance Practice Leader – North America
  NFP
• 
  Richard McGee
  Senior Vice President – Specialty Lines and Business Development
  CannGen Insurance Canada
   

 

 

The Best Young Insurance Professionals Under 35 in Canada | Rising Stars

• 
  Jane Kivlichan
  Office and Compliance Manager
  Royal Claims Services
   
  
• 
  Brayden York
  Vice President, Client Executive
  BFL CANADA Risk and Insurance Services
   
  
• 
  Harnoor Uppal
  Insurance Broker
  Armour Insurance Brokers
   
  
• 
  Ispita Ranjan
  Regional Head of Marketing
  Allianz Commercial
   
  
• 
  Joel Askew
  Unit Manager, Commercial Services
  Navacord
   
  
• 
  Mark Townsend
  Account Executive/Commercial Risk Leader – Halifax/Senior Vice President
  Aon
   
  
• 
  Matthew Cutulle
  Commercial Account Executive
  Mowen Insurance Brokers O/A A Division of Oracle RMS
   
  
• 
  Mitchell Patriarche
  Underwriter, Reinsurance
  Everest Reinsurance Company
   
  
• 
  Talsa Warken
  Account Executive
  Lakeview Insurance Brokers
   
  

• Aidan Battley
  Marketing and Communications Lead
  Mutual Fire Insurance
• Alan Falukozi
  Programs Lead
  Fortress Insurance Company
• Alannah Doxtater
  National Growth and Partnerships Director
  Sharp Insurance
• Ashley Bushfield
  Licensed Insurance Advisor
  Surex
• Blair Ball
  Assistant Vice President, Individual H&D, Life and Analytics
  Manulife
• Blake Knebel
  Risk Management Director
  Nova Mutual Insurance
• Cameron Kurkjian
  Multi-Like Broker/Claims Team Lead
  Nation West Insurance
• Chris Strazzeri
  Broker
  Billyard Insurance Group
• Cole Lambertus
  Senior Underwriter – Process Management
  Chubb
• Dylan Pinter-Findlater
  Manager, Digital Underwriting Strategy, National Commercial Lines
  Intact
• Fowad Ahmed
  Assistant Vice President, Commercial Underwriting
  Liberty Mutual Canada
• Haroon John
  Insurance Broker
  Billyard Insurance Group (Clarkson Branch)
• Isaac Cohen
  Sales Consultant, Individual Insurance
  RBC Insurance
• Jack DiGiuseppe
  Commercial Account Executive
  BrokerLink
• Jessie Dodman
  Leader of Digital Transformation, Canada and Caribbean
  Gallagher
• Karlee Kabatow
  Broker/Co-Owner
  Tom Agencies
• Kayla Squires
  Personal Lines Sales and Service
  GoToInsure
• Kiarash Soltani
  Director of Business Development
  Special Risk Insurance Managers
• Kori Duff
  Licensed Insurance Advisor
  Surex
• Laurel Ansell
  Senior Commercial Lines Account Executive
  Mitch Insurance
• Lauren Fotheringham
  Associate Underwriter – Management Liability
  Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions
• Leah Jurgens
  Commercial/Farm Broker
  Atlas York Insurance
• Mack Steele
  Producer
  C.M. Steele Insurance Brokers
• Madison Paje
  Senior Underwriter
  Special Risk Insurance Managers
• Mandeep Kaur
  Business Development Manager
  AiA Insurance Brokers
• Melissa Cheng
  Assistant Vice President – Underwriting Development
  Special Risk Insurance Managers
• Michelle Bragg
  Vice President of Personal Lines
  Billyard Insurance Group
• Miranda Michel
  Underwriting Manager
  Sandbox Mutual Insurance
• Mitchell Mackett
  Advisor
  Sun Life
• Natasha Newsome
  Communications Specialist
  Sharp Insurance
• Raniel Oyos
  Sales Team Lead
  Sharp Insurance
• Robert Roughley
  Commercial Broker
  Roughley Insurance Brokers
• Rowan Geddes
  Commercial Account Executive
  HUB International
• Samantha Thorne
  Account Manager
  Mitch Insurance Brokers
• Sarah Klatt
  Commercial Auto Underwriter II
  Heartland Mutual Insurance
• Scott Withers
  Senior Director/Toronto Growth Leader
  WTW
• Shamita Kumar
  Senior Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, Belonging, and Community Program Manager
  Zurich Canada
• Sukhpreet Kaur
  Lead Insurance Advisor
  InsureLine Brokers (Empire)
• Tyler McConnell
  Assistant Vice President
  Axis Insurance
• Vanessa Duguay
  Business Development Advisor – Atlantic Region
  Promutuel Insurance East-Coast (Promutuel Assurance Côte-Est)
• William Ferland
  Underwriter
  Revau
• Yonas Alemyehu
  National Sales Leader, Commercial Insurance
  BrokerLink
• Zac Isfjord
  Director, Commercial Sales
  Western Financial Group