The Ontario Broker - April 2019 - 7

HARD MARKET?
COME TOGETHER
BY KIMBERLEY SILVA, TERRITORY 7 DIRECTOR, IBAO

O

nce upon a time my
involvement with the
IBAO was limited to
attending events and
flipping through the odd
Ontario Broker magazine. I also attended
local events hosted by the Insurance
Brokers Association of Waterloo Region
when my schedule permitted. I'd never
volunteered within the industry in any
organized way.
Fast forward to 2019 when I joined
IBAO's Board of Directors representing
the Waterloo/Kitchener region and
surrounding area, meeting brokers from
every part of the province to discuss
important issues and opportunities to help
drive the channel forward.
2019-the year of my *cough* third hard
market. Several months into my term and
several months into various hard marketrelated actions by insurance companies,
we face both change and familiarity. With
insurer actions now driven by technology
platforms, data and algorithms, the human
side of their interaction is quite often a
shrug of the shoulders, broad brushing
brokers and customers as equal despite
history, relationships, the like. While this
may seem the new norm, for those of us
who've seen it before, we know current
conditions are temporary, and that as a
collective we must balance when to adapt
and when to push back.
When I first thought about joining IBAO's
Board of Directors, I was hesitant to get
involved. Between my full-time job as
a broker and managing a large team, I
wasn't confident I'd have time to meet
the responsibilities of the position. It

WWW.IBAO.ORG

took convincing from my Past President
colleagues Chris Floyd and Michael
Brattman and outgoing IBAO Director
Jason DiReto-all very reassuring that
joining the Board would be a valuable
experience, unlike any other.
The day I walked across the stage to
formerly accept the role at IBAO's
Convention last October was the same day
cannabis was legalized across Canada. At
the time there were a lot of questions on
the various impacts it might have on our
industry, some of which remain today.

TO THOSE NEW
TO THE CHANNEL
OR THOSE
WHO HAVEN'T
DEALT WITH A
HARD MARKET
FIRST-HAND,
OUR UPCOMING
YOUNG BROKERS
CONFERENCE
WILL PROVIDE
THE TOOLS
TO SUCCEED
IN TODAY'S
ENVIRONMENT.

Despite this uncertainty, we know the
opportunity is in our communication with
clients. It's the same opportunity the hard
market presents-growing our businesses
by helping displaced customers of the
direct channel with education, guidance
and experience.
To those new to the channel or those
who haven't dealt with a hard market
first-hand, our upcoming Young Brokers
Conference will provide the tools to
succeed in today's environment. Between
keynotes on persuasion and promoting
your value proposition, hearing from top
Personal & Commercial Lines brokers and
Executive Panels on navigating the hard
market, attendees will gain the knowledge
and hands-on learning they need to be
confident and successful.
In these very early stages on the Board,
I'm happy to say my colleagues were
right. Between tackling the changes
and challenges our industry faces and
contributing to valuable initiatives like the
Young Brokers Conference, the experience
is already more than I'd hoped for. I feel

7

a sense of comradery and opportunity
representing brokers in my territory.
For anyone like me who has thought
about getting involved, whether with the
IBAO or at the Affiliate level, do it! I'd
also encourage you to connect and keep
us informed of the issues you currently
face-IBAO remains an excellent resource
to you and your teams, and the collective
voice it represents will continue advocating
with company partners for the betterment
of our channel.

APRIL 2019
http://WWW.IBAO.ORG
The Ontario Broker - April 2019

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