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IBAC to foster government relationships

New president Dale Rempel says goal is to let new MPs know IBAC focuses on the consumer's best interest.

Dale Rempel was inducted as the president of IBAC on September 24, 2011 at the Annual General Meeting in Banff, Alta.

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The Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) will focus on building relationships with all industry partners and stakeholders, including the government, regulators, insurers and the media, stated new president, Dale Rempel at the Annual General Meeting in Banff, Alta., on September 24.

Rempel suggested that brokers are successful because they are experts at fostering relationships so they must use this trait going forward. While IBAC has developed relationships with a variety of business partners, it must be even more focused this year as new MPs take office.

“There are a lot of new MPs that have been elected to parliament and our goal in the next year or two has to be to get out there and introduce ourselves to all these new MPs,” said Rempel. “Our challenge now is going to be to get to know the new MPs and let them know what we’re all about. They may not realize that a lot of the work we do is based on the consumer’s best interest.”

Another area that Rempel aims to focus on is perpetuation and succession of insurance brokers.

“There’s a lot of consolidation going on [with] insurers/banks/credit unions buying into brokers,” he said. “I want to make sure we have a strong focus in this area to try and keep brokers as independent as possible.”

IBAC, which celebrates its 90^th anniversary this year, will also ensure its educational courses are current and relevant.

“Just because we developed a course 20 years ago, we can’t rely on that course to be up-to-date,” said Rempel.

And above all else, Rempel said if IBAC and its broker members focus on what’s best for the consumer, it would continue to gain a lot of respect from its partners.

“We should be very proud of our industry, keep our focus on the best interest of the consumer and in the end our association should grow for another 90 years,” he said.

To view photos from IBAC’s 90th Annual General Meeting, click here.