Full report - SGI Canada

President’s message
In the insurance industry, storms happen. It’s a fact of life; a part of doing business. You plan for
it as well as you can and hope things are never as bad as you anticipate.
But in 2010, not only did we see the bad, it happened more than once and in more than one
location. Fortunately, sound financial management and dedicated employees helped us
weather the storms, manage the workload and, in the end, make a profit. Not bad for a year of
near-record storm claims – $61.5 million in total.
Over the past year, I learned how great our team really is. Their response to the storms, on the
front lines as well as in everyday operations, was impressive. In a year of such disaster, it made
me very proud to be associated with the organization.
Looking back, April 2010 probably should have been a warning to us that weather was going
to be a significant challenge. A massive windstorm – responsible for overturning semi-trailers
on highways – damaged some of the exterior of our head office building in Regina, prompting
an evacuation of employees and disrupting business operations. Fortunately, in the end,
everything was fine, but it foreshadowed the challenges we’d face.
In my opinion, SGI CANADA faced those challenges superbly. We answered all calls to action
quickly and showed in no uncertain terms we’re here for customers and brokers.
We heard praise from customers about the speed and quality of our response to the storms.
Our team of “storm chasers” – those adjusters who often give up their summers and time with
family to help with an influx of claims – spent more hours than usual on the road so they could
be on the scene within days, and in some cases hours, after disaster struck. That’s what a good
insurance company should do for its customers – anticipate their needs and act upon them.
Not only are we here for customers, we’re here for each other.
When our adjusters answered the call and rushed off to respond to disaster, the employees
who remained behind continued to deliver fast, friendly service to customers and brokers,
despite an increased workload. If these dedicated, sometimes underappreciated, employees
didn’t step up the way they did, our entire response mechanism would have broken down.
Of course, almost everything we do is also supported by our broker network. It was these
independent business owners and their staff who organized things at the local level, made first
contact with customers and helped deliver the message that SGI CANADA is here for them. I
cannot thank our broker network enough for a job well done.
If dealing with wild weather and our financial health weren’t enough, the Corporation was at a crossroad
in 2010. We had completed, or were in the process of completing, most of the objectives as set out in the
strategic plan I inherited in 2009, meaning it was time to consider the future direction of the company and
develop a new corporate plan.
However, a successful corporate plan can’t be developed by the president alone. In fact, we took
the approach of involving all stakeholders in the process, especially employees. It was important for
employees to be involved in setting the direction of the Corporation; to make it their corporate plan. We
solicited their input and advice and incorporated their thoughts with those of the management team, as
well as the input we received from our Board of Directors and other stakeholders.
What we ended up with was an all-encompassing corporate plan that looked to our future, while building
on past accomplishments and present strengths. The plan’s foundation is a new vision statement that
essentially says we want customers, staff, brokers and shareholders to know we’ll strive to benefit them in
everything we do, and we’ll make them proud to work for, or do business with, us.
Our plan focuses on efficiency and innovation, as well as leveraging technology and information. To do
that, we’re developing a business intelligence system that will help us get more out of the information we
already collect from brokers and customers, and allow us to take a more sophisticated approach to our
business. We also understand the need to keep building on the successes we’ve had with eServices for
our brokers and to continue to develop our SGI CANADA broker portal, as well as the electronic interface
within the broker management systems.
As this new plan becomes a reality over the next few years, it will help ensure we’re well equipped to handle
your needs well into the future – no matter what the weather might bring.
We’re here for you.
Sincerely,
Andrew R. Cartmell
Our response to the storms from a customer and broker service perspective is just one side
of the coin. Despite the near-record number of storm claims in 2010 and compared to a nearly
storm-free 2009, SGI CANADA still made a profit of $48.4 million. This was in part due to
continued, sound financial management – including our reinsurance program – that helped
mitigate the impact of storm claims. The 2010 profit was also due to better than expected
investment returns.
Continued spread of risk out of province was once again an important factor in our financial
health. Out-of-province growth was strong in most markets and proof that the provisions
related to our business in the Saskatchewan First investment policy are working as intended
and supporting our success. The results are encouraging, especially in Ontario where we
saw 53% growth with net premiums written of $45.2 million, and Alberta where there was 24%
growth with net premiums written of $31.2 million.
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