Waterloo-based Economical Insurance on Wednesday informed its employees and brokers that it plans to launch a direct channel later this year.
 
The company said its branded direct channel will operate completely independently from the broker network, as it looks to expand and become a multi-channel organization, according to spokesman Doug Maybee.
 
Details on the new channel are scant but it is understood that the new channel will deal with personal insurance lines and will not compete with the broker network.
 
Earlier this week, Economical named Alice Keung as senior vice-president and chief information officer. Twice named to the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, Keung has more than 25 years of experience directing large-scale project implementations and negotiating with external business partners.
 
Last week, Elaine Lajeunesse was named senior vice-president and chief risk officer. Prior to joining Economical, Lajeunesse was vice-president and chief risk officer, insurance, at BMO Financial Group. She also held executive leadership roles in actuarial services at Markel Insurance Company of Canada and at XL Reinsurance.