Insurance Business Review: Specials Magazine

In Canada’s insurance landscape, few advisors specialize exclusively in group benefit programs. Most work within the broader domains of life, disability, or retirement planning, only occasionally venturing into the group benefits space. This do-it-all mindset creates a knowledge gap. As such, brokers who do not specialize, do not have time to learn everything they need to properly advise the client on plan design or plan management. The result is they do not have the information and skills needed to keep their clients away from benefit plan related financial and legal risk. Naviguide, founded by Jay Nadler, was built to close that gap. At Naviguide, group benefits are the entire focus. Nadler, who’s first career was as a certified teacher, has infused education into every part of the company’s approach. “Every step we take with our clients begins with teaching them how benefit plans work,” Nadler says. “When they understand the rules, options, and obligations, they make better decisions and avoid unnecessary risks.” This educational foundation allows Naviguide to tailor every plan to the specific priorities and culture of each client organization. The firm’s process starts by listening. Nadler and his associate, Ryan Corpuz, both seasoned advisors, take the time to learn how their clients’ businesses operate and what their teams value most. From there, Naviguide designs sustainable benefit programs using its access to every major insurer in Canada, exclusive and cost-reduced options, totalling over 100 suppliers. Their aim is long-term partnerships & value for their clients. While many advisors chase lower fees by switching insurers every few years, Nadler’s team focuses on stability, ensuring clients stay with fair, transparent insurers that deliver value over time. They have learned it often costs more over time to move insurers while trying to chase savings, rather than remaining with one, fair priced, insurer. Education, however, is only one side of Naviguide’s value. The company is also known for its hands-on, deeply personal service. Business owners often struggle with benefit administration simply because they have no one to guide them. Many of Naviguide’s clients come from experiences where renewals arrived without discussion, service calls went unanswered, and the responsibility of managing plans fell entirely on their shoulders. Naviguide eliminates that frustration by becoming an arm of their clients’ management team to solve problems and act as intermediary between clients and insurers.

In commercial insurance, saying “no” is often easier than saying “yes.” Standard underwriting systems rely on checklists and algorithms, and unusual or high-risk requests are quickly flagged as “outside the box.” Brokers are left to tell clients that the coverage they need simply cannot be done. That is where PMR Insurance Services Ltd. steps in, specializing in finding solutions for complex, unconventional, and high-risk commercial insurance needs that others have declined. Led by president and founding partner Nona McCreedy, FCIP, CRM, PMR has built its reputation on risks that others refuse. “I really like when somebody says it can’t be done, because everything can be done. You just have to think about it and find a way,” she says. Early in her career, McCreedy encountered a helicopter labeled as a “prototype,” which made other insurers hesitant. She arranged for it to be shipped safely to Canada, where it underwent cold weather testing, and then transported it to Texas for hot weather trials. By treating it as valuable equipment, properly wrapped, documented, and insured, she ensured it was covered throughout the process. This practical, detail-oriented approach continues to guide her work at PMR today; a facet that runs through PMR’s entire portfolio. On the property side, the firm handles everything from contractors’ equipment in the oil patch to forestry machinery deep in the woods. On the cargo side, it has covered shipments ranging from tequila liqueur escorted out of Mexico to nuclear isotopes bound for northern mines. On the liability side, PMR can place primary, excess, or umbrella lines, assembling coverage in the tens of millions when needed. The common thread is an insistence on understanding the details rather than relying on canned assumptions. Inside the office, PMR operates in a way that reflects this philosophy. Each morning McCreedy sits down with her staff to go over the quotes on their desks. They talk through the files, draw pictures, and swap questions. It is a process designed not just to find answers but to build knowledge. For younger underwriters, it is an education in how to balance curiosity with precision, asking enough to understand a risk without overwhelming a broker with needless queries..