Annual Meeting November 9, 2001
By Darren Hamilton
As many of you know, RIBO celebrated a very important milestone last month. October 1, 2001 marked RIBO’s 20th year of operation as self-regulatory organization – an accomplishment that forces us all to reflect upon the past and note how far we’ve come, how much we’ve accomplished.
The creation of RIBO in the fall of 1981 marked the culmination of years of planning and work to enhance the professional recognition of property and casualty insurance brokers in Ontario.
Despite the vast number of changes that have taken place within our industry in the past two decades, RIBO continues to follow the basic guiding principles adopted by our founding fathers – serve the interests of the public, while regulating the profession.
Speaking of our founding fathers, we are lucky enough to have with us today RIBO’s first President Don Lambie. Without the hard work and dedication of Don Lambie and his fellow founding members, RIBO would not exist as it does today - a model of excellence in consumer protection across Canada. On behalf of my fellow brokers, RIBO council and staff members I’d like to thank Don for his continued commitment to the consumer and general insurance brokers.
Ensuring the protection of the public is still crucial to the continuing success of the broker profession. We strive for the highest standards in order to protect the consumer. It is only by adhering to the highest standards that we continue to maintain widespread public confidence.
The majority of Council and staff’s time is spent reviewing current regulations and discussing issues relevant to brokers. In this time of technological and financial change it’s becomes increasingly clear brokers will have to alter many of the ways we do business in order to stay competitive. As a regulatory body, we need to stay on top of these changes and find new methods of monitoring brokers if we are to keep up with our responsibility of protecting the public and regulating the profession.
This time last year our membership elected Joanne Brown, Toots Everley and Art Langley. These three individuals have extensive industry experience and diversity that has already proven to be an enormous asset to us all.
In February RIBO’s executive committee met with Dina Palozzi and her staff from the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) to discuss the issues affecting the regulatory environment and to explore ways of improving the regulation of financial intermediaries. Dina Palozzi left her position as CEO/Superintendent for FSCO in June and Philip Howell was appointed as acting CEO/Superintendent. Our discussions will continue with Mr. Howell. At this point, our talks are in the preliminary stages.
Council and senior staff met late last winter for our annual strategic planning session to review current regulations and discuss the state of the industry. Our objectives during these discussions has always been to protect the consumer while maintaining a regulatory environment that is not so restricted as to unduly interfere with the establishment of a level playing field for insurance intermediaries. RIBO must be flexible enough to respond quickly to changes in our environment, while maintaining our mandate of consumer protection.
As far as financial matters are concerned, I am happy to report that RIBO was once again able to offer all brokers a discount on renewal fees for early payment. This is due in large part to the fact that our operations continue to run efficiently and we did not experience any unusual regulatory situations that could not be handled quickly and cost-effectively.
On the subject of continuing education, we continue to see an increase in the number of courses offered across the province and the number of providers who have interesting courses to offer. It is important that brokers continue to provide RIBO with comments and critical feed back for our efforts to maintain quality control.
Another Qualification and Registration development is the finalization of a national broker skills profile, completed under the auspices of the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO). This will now serve as the basis for harmonized qualification and licensing standards on a national scale and make it easier for brokers to carry on business in other provinces.
On the communications front, RIBO staff work continuously to address current issues and make sure that our membership is informed of any changes within our industry. Our quarterly Bulletin is used as a tool for communicating changes. This year we have published a few new articles that use real case examples of problems our investigators have encountered during their investigations. By illustrating these cases, we hope to prevent other brokers from making the same mistakes.
The Complaints and Investigation Department recently appointed a new staff member. Filomena Scampoli, replaced Winston Koo as a Financial Investigator. A large part of Filomena’s responsibilities will be conducting broker spot checks and broker reviews. Our objective when examining a brokerage’s activities is to determine whether or not they follow the general guidelines as set by the RIB Act and Regulations. Our goal is to visit every member office in the Province at least once every four to five years with the exception of new brokerages, which we visit during their first year of existence.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to attend industry functions and events across Ontario. By meeting and speaking with brokers face-to-face, it’s become increasingly obvious that the majority of our members are heavily affected by the changes that are taking place within our industry and are nervous about the changes to come. Our members are looking for direction and strong leadership. This is where RIBO must play a leading role.
So, what is RIBO’s role in helping brokers meet the challenges that lie ahead? Regardless of what the future may hold, RIBO Council will continue to review upcoming issues, meet with our strategic partners on these issues and keep members informed through the Bulletin, Website and special mailings.
In conclusion, I’d like you to know that we could not have accomplished what we have, this year and in past years, without the total commitment and dedication of our staff under the strong leadership of General Manager Jeff Bear and my fellow Council members. This group of professionals provides quality service to our members and the public.
Thank you again for this opportunity to serve as your President.
