Debbie Thompson | Insurance Business CA Hotlist of 2014

DEBBIE THOMPSON
Director, business development
Beyond Insurance Brokers Inc.
Whitby, Ont.

WHY HOT? A LEADER FOR ONTARIO BROKERS

I had one big thing that falls in the area of good to great (Jim Collins would call it my Hedge Hog!). It was being able to deliver a message as president of IBAO to the members throughout our province about the importance of our brand. That it is not just a symbol, but that it should be an experience and how powerful our brand can be if we could get all brokers rowing in the same direction at the same time.

What products or upsells are drawing client interest?

At Beyond Insurance, we have been concentrating on providing risk management advice not just to commercial customers but to our personal lines customers as well, helping them control or reduce their cost of risk; to see the value in the insurance they are buying, and how it can work for them when they need it the most.

What needs to be changed in the insurance industry?

Not sure if this is change, but may be more about awareness. The consumer is getting better at understanding the value of insurance, but we still have a lot of work to do in educating the consumer about the abuse that goes on in our industry.

Every time I turn on the radio or watch a commercial on TV, there are more and more ads about how you can get or who you need to call to get what you ‘deserve’ if you are injured in an accident. I remember a time when we used to only see these ads on U.S. networks, now it’s filtered over to this side of the border.