- Words by Tess van Straaten Photography by Don Denton
When Laura Bolster started working at an insurance office in her hometown at just 19 years old, she never expected it would lead to a successful, decades-long career in the insurance industry乌鸦传媒攍et alone an opportunity to lead one of Vancouver Island乌鸦传媒檚 top firms.
乌鸦传媒淚 was right out of high school in Powell River and I had no post-secondary education,乌鸦传媒� says Laura, the partner, president and COO of . 乌鸦传媒淚 worked there for a couple of years and then I decided to come to the big city of Victoria. Megson FitzPatrick hired me and I got all the education I needed here. But if someone had said, 乌鸦传媒榶ou乌鸦传媒檙e going to be here when you乌鸦传媒檙e 53, and you乌鸦传媒檒l be president and a shareholder,乌鸦传媒� I wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have believed them. It乌鸦传媒檚 crazy to reflect sometimes!乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 really such an inspiring story,乌鸦传媒� adds Luke Mills, Megson FitzPatrick partner, risk advisor and commercial account executive. 乌鸦传媒淚 think for the team to see you walking around every day, as a shining example of what you can achieve, it乌鸦传媒檚 just amazing.乌鸦传媒�
Luke also never planned on a career in the insurance industry, despite working for his mother乌鸦传媒檚 insurance brokerage in Toronto.
乌鸦传媒淚 worked there for a little bit in the early 乌鸦传媒�90s and didn乌鸦传媒檛 think insurance was for me,乌鸦传媒� the 52-year-old father of two explains. 乌鸦传媒淚 was casting around, trying to decide what to do, and I kind of ran off to the Caribbean, to Dominica, and opened a restaurant. And against all odds, it actually worked.乌鸦传媒�
But after five years, Luke says, he and his wife needed a change and moved back to Canada.
乌鸦传媒淓veryone thought we would go back to Toronto, but we hopped in the car and drove to Victoria.乌鸦传媒�
Luke乌鸦传媒檚 mother had met David FitzPatrick, one of the founders of Megson FitzPatrick, and was impressed. Luke was also impressed when he met David, but the company didn乌鸦传媒檛 have any openings.
乌鸦传媒淚 just got such a good vibe and David was very generous with his time, so I got licensed. I had some other job offers elsewhere but, ultimately, I waited,乌鸦传媒� Luke explains. 乌鸦传媒淭his was where I wanted to work and it乌鸦传媒檚 been one of the best decisions I乌鸦传媒檝e ever made.乌鸦传媒�
Culture has been a big part of that, and Luke and Laura say working for a growing and evolving company has also kept things interesting.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 been lots of change, so I think that乌鸦传媒檚 what乌鸦传媒檚 kind of kept it exciting for me,乌鸦传媒� says Laura, who took over as president just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
乌鸦传媒淲e had to completely change how we conducted business, and she乌鸦传媒檚 led us through what乌鸦传媒檚 probably the most dynamic growth the company乌鸦传媒檚 ever seen乌鸦传媒攚hich is quite something,乌鸦传媒� Luke adds. 乌鸦传媒淭he steady hand that Laura had, and her extensive knowledge, really made a difference.乌鸦传媒�
Sending everyone home and pivoting to remote work in the early days of the pandemic also opened up new opportunities for the company, and has helped with staff retention and recruitment.
乌鸦传媒淚t really just opened up our eyes to what is doable, and we乌鸦传媒檝e taken a lot of the good that came out of COVID-19 and put it into our day-to-day business practices,乌鸦传媒� Laura explains. 乌鸦传媒淏efore, when someone asked to work from home, I said, 乌鸦传媒楴o. We乌鸦传媒檙e a retail organization, we乌鸦传媒檙e open to the public, and you have to come in every day.乌鸦传媒� And now it乌鸦传媒檚 just completely different.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淲e just didn乌鸦传媒檛 conceive of the fact that you can do your job elsewhere, and if someone left the community, we had to part ways,乌鸦传媒� Luke says. 乌鸦传媒淣ow, we have employees across Canada in PEI, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. We乌鸦传媒檝e been able to attract new, experienced people who want that flexibility; we乌鸦传媒檝e been able to keep people who moved away, and we乌鸦传媒檝e actually had a lot of people come back who had left us before COVID-19.乌鸦传媒�
Fostering a strong culture while teams were fragmented was one of the biggest challenges of the pandemic period. And now, with about 45 of Megson FitzPatrick乌鸦传媒檚 100-plus employees either permanently remote or working in a hybrid model, finding ways to keep people connected is one of Laura乌鸦传媒檚 top priorities.
乌鸦传媒淔or me, culture is everything,乌鸦传媒� Laura says. 乌鸦传媒淏uilding a hardworking and fun culture keeps people engaged and makes people happier. It makes us all want to perform and do well every day.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淥ur industry, like [many industries], is going through a very challenging labour market and what sets you apart乌鸦传媒攊f people are being compensated appropriately乌鸦传媒攊s culture,乌鸦传媒� Luke adds. 乌鸦传媒淲e learned from our founders, who had an open-door policy, and we want people to know that they乌鸦传媒檙e heard and that their feedback is important.乌鸦传媒�
Megson FitzPatrick also has an employee share-ownership program and close to 30 team members, including Luke and Laura, are now shareholders.
乌鸦传媒淎s our founders were retiring a few years ago, this was a big goal for us in our succession plan. So we partnered with Rogers Insurance out of Calgary as they had a complete share-ownership program in place,乌鸦传媒� Luke explains.
Last fall, Rogers merged with CapriCMW, forming a new company called Acera Insurance, and Megson FitzPatrick is now part of this.
乌鸦传媒淐apriCMW was also an employee-owned Canadian company, so that was really exciting for us as we乌鸦传媒檙e still heavily into being an independent,乌鸦传媒� Laura says. 乌鸦传媒淭he plan is to do some co-branding (Megson and Acera) because those in our group of companies have strong local brands,乌鸦传媒� Laura says. 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e been on Vancouver Island for 50-plus years, so we want to be really cognizant of the brand recognition.乌鸦传媒�
The merger also helps Megson FitzPatrick diversify outside of the BC South Coast, where the earthquake risk is high.
乌鸦传媒淭hey say every year we don乌鸦传媒檛 have an earthquake, we乌鸦传媒檙e probably closer to one and it乌鸦传媒檚 not just Victoria and the Lower Mainland that are exposed, but Seattle all the way down to Portland, so the risk becomes enormous,乌鸦传媒� Luke explains. 乌鸦传媒淎ctuaries are saying the financial exposure to potentially a single event is incredible, so they have to go buy insurance乌鸦传媒攚hich is called reinsurance乌鸦传媒攁nd what we乌鸦传媒檙e experiencing now is that the reinsurance market has really pulled back because they乌鸦传媒檙e worried they乌鸦传媒檙e overexposed.乌鸦传媒�
It乌鸦传媒檚 just one of the challenges insurance companies are facing. But after more than 30 years in the industry, Laura has learned that change is the only constant.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 been a great ride and Megson FitzPatrick is a great organization,乌鸦传媒� she says. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 super grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me over the years.乌鸦传媒�
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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