The saying, ‘God helps those who help themselves’ can easily be applied to this one broker.
Insurance Business asked Roxanne McKenzie of J.W. Davis Insurance Brokers Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont. how she was mentored coming into the industry.
“I wasn’t,” laughs McKenzie. “That’s the problem. I am the mentor. That was one of the reasons that I took the CAIB.”
The Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) is a professional development program designed by brokers for brokers, and the designation can only be bestowed after passing all four levels.
Like many agents coming into the industry, McKenzie took the entry-level RIBO (Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario) exam to become a licensed insurance broker. But upon completion, she felt that she needed more to succeed in the industry.
“The RIBO level one teaches you not a lot; very minimal. The focus is on RIBO’s regulations, and you get very little on the commercial side of it,” McKenzie told Insurance Business. “In our office, we help people manage their insurance, to have a better understanding of what’s available. You need to be able to explain why you are offering them coverages, or when the client asks for a certain coverage and you review their situation, you can say, ‘what do you need this for?’”
For McKenzie the RIBO level one had “insufficient information” to provide that level of expertise she needed.
“It certainly didn’t give you the confidence to help in that type of an environment,” she says. “I didn’t have a mentor, so I decided to take my CAIB.”
And the information was overwhelming in the CAIB curriculum, says McKenzie.
“You really have to take the time to study it and take the time to read it,” she says. “Unlike the RIBO, it is more involved – but it is empowering.”
After completing the four units of the CAIB, McKenzie kept her books from the CAIB course handy for years, finding them to be a handy reference.
“They are so detailed,” says McKenzie. “I would go back to my books and say, ‘Oh yeah, in reference to the commercial side of it, what represented a stock? What represented a building?’ And if you saw my CAIB books, you’d laugh, because there are sticky notes and tabs throughout.” (continued.)
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Treating her CAIB books with the same reverence that some treat the family bible, McKenzie admits that she has never gone back to her RIBO level one reader – ever.
“I have repeatedly gone back to my CAIB manuals just to refresh myself,” McKenzie, “and to get a good description of what an umbrella was, or what a garage policy was.”
And for McKenzie, it is those CAIB books that have helped her on that path to the top.
“Over time, CAIB empowered me to do so much more, and help my clients better understand insurance,” says McKenzie. “I didn’t have that attitude with my RIBO level one; but with my CAIB designation, I feel so much more professional.”
