Kathleen Ann Rake was appointed RCCAQ chair on November 23, having served on the Board since 2011. She is fully apprised of all issues involving the insurance industry. No doubt her professional background and passion for the brokerage sector will allow her to take up her duties with flying colours!
“It is with a great sense of enthusiasm that I am undertaking my mandate as RCCAQ chair,” said Ann. “A good deal has been accomplished by my predecessors over the past few years with a view to positioning our profession and defending brokers’ interests. I will be proudly continuing their work and will do everything in my power to move the RCCAQ forward.”
Insurance brokers: father to daughter
Insurance brokers certainly run in the Rake family. Ann’s father, Allen, founded Rake Assurances Transport back in 1986. After completing a college program in business administration and obtaining a marketing certificate, Ann was granted her broker permit and went to work for the family firm in 1990. Highly sociable by nature, she always had an affinity for her father’s profession. “I’m someone who loves human contact. The way I saw it, the broker profession was a way for me to use my people skills.”
Appointed president in 2005, Ann gave the family firm fresh momentum as Rake Assurances Transport went on to become one of the most respected firms specializing in transportation insurance. This wave of success drew a good deal of attention, so much so that in 2013, the firm merged with Univesta.
Currently serving as vice-president in charge of business development at Univesta/Rake Insurance, Ann will also be taking on the challenge of leading the RCCAQ and bringing it into the future.
Ann is taking over from Patrick Bouchard, whose achievements she is quick to recognize. “In addition to showing more solidarity, the RCCAQ is more effective and more determined than ever before to defend its members’ interests. That’s largely thanks to Patrick’s leadership!”
Ann Rake is the seventh woman to serve as RCCAQ chair. In this regard, she was preceded by Catherine Mainguy and Louise Mathieu (Ms. Mathieu had invited Ann to join the board back in 2011). “Throughout my career, Catherine and Louise have been a great inspiration for me,” said Ann. “They have big hearts and lots of spirit and have never been afraid of breaking the glass ceiling.” She would also like to see more female RCCAQ board members: “Around half of insurance brokers are women. So it’s essential for women to serve on the RCCAQ’s board. That’s definitely an issue I’ll be spending some time on.”
Strengthening the RCCAQ
Having actively served as an RCCAQ board member since 2011, Ann has worked hard to develop the brokerage sector. In her view, the decision to refocus on the RCCAQ’s primary role as a professional association is one of the most important strategic moves in recent years for the organization’s future. “We’ve taken a more political stance and moved more into lobbying and representation activities,” she explained. “Our success will depend on our ability to protect and build on what we have achieved for our members.”
Ann would also like to convince more brokerage firms to join the RCCAQ, thus providing the organization with more impact in terms of its professional defence and advancement strategies. Seeing how determined she is, it’s a good bet that this desire will become a reality!
Strategic continuity
One of the new chair’s first tasks will be to oversee the strategic planning designed to define the RCCAQ’s priorities for 2017-2020. Although this process has not yet begun, it is clear that monitoring the implementation of the new Bill 188 will be a top priority. The board will have to be vigilant in order to ensure that the RCCAQ’s members are well defended while seizing opportunities that the new legislation is sure to create.
Among other priorities that the RCCAQ will be tackling, provincial tax harmonization and business transfers between family members figure prominently. At the federal level, lobbying efforts for a review of the Bank Act in 2019 will be kicking off in the near future.
Ann also has other goals. Growing competition in the brokerage sector and consumers’ ever-higher expectations are key issues. Competition by direct insurers in the commercial lines is an increasing threat to brokers. Up-stream work will be required to ensure that the loss of market share, which has primarily affected the personal lines, does not also impact the commercial lines.
“The experience client, the theme of our recent convention, is the key to ensuring the maintenance and growth of brokers’ market share,” said Ann. “I think the message delivered by the various participants was quite clear. We don’t have any choice in the matter. We simply have to adapt our business practices,” she emphasized.
Unifying vision
Ann has acquired extensive expertise throughout her professional career. The fact that she has worked for two firms with different business models gives her insight into the issues facing various types of firms represented by the RCCAQ. Her involvement with the IBAC, for which she served as a board member for two years, gives her a cross-Canada perspective that is sure to come in handy.
Ann will be beginning her term in office with a commitment to developing a clear and unifying forward-looking vision for all RCCAQ members.
