This week, a revamped Insurance Journal will be distributed in the industry. It is shaped by the views our customers expressed in our survey early this year. No fewer than 4,350 of you told us what you need to develop your careers.

Our mission

Serge TherrienSince its inception, Insurance Journal Publishing Group has been striving to provide insurance industry professionals with strategic information to help them develop and increase their sales and business growth. To this end, we provide three types of services: print magazines, industry events and digital tools. This mission will not change, it will accelerate!

Thousands of you even offered to pursue the conversation in surveys, focus groups and telephone interviews. The efforts have begun and will intensify. Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed!

Society is evolving, and so is your Journal!

We are implementing this transformation in response to the digital revolution that is changing both society and work methods. Consumption habits have evolved, and our methods must keep pace.

Our approach is inspired by and centred on your needs.

The opinions you shared in our survey have identified a gap that has gradually emerged in the industry: “marketing research and analysis of societal issues that impact insurance” have practically vanished. They faded over the years with the transformation of industry structures, along with the near disappearance of career sales forces. Thousands of insurance advisors have become self-employed workers. In property and casualty insurance, the consolidation of players has increased, producing similar effects.

In this environment, a long-term vision based on Canadians’ insurance needs has dwindled. Pressure from financial markets on stock prices has also focused company’s attention on “next quarter” results, inducing tunnel vision.

These remarks were shared by all of those surveyed, from all parts of the industry, including insurance agents, financial advisors, property & casualty brokers, and managers and executives with life & health and property & casualty insurance companies.

This current situation is making it difficult for thousands of independent advisors to develop solutions and long-term action plans to help their customers.

We have decided to fill this gap! Our articles and coverage will serve as a professional resource to help you in your mission to ensure that Canadians have the insurance protection they need to protect their family, their wealth and their dreams.

I invite industry institutions, which wish to help provide advisors with the tools they need to drive their business growth, to join us as we enhance our content.

Three objectives are guiding us:

  • to enrich our information to let you better anticipate the future and respond to your insurance customers’ needs more effectively;
  • to meet your needs on a personalized basis, in line with your tastes and preferences;
  • to offer you new, value-added services inspired by your own requests.

In addition to our fundamental activity – journalism – we will continue to provide services and online services to help you grow your business.

We will intensify our digital presence by adding new tools, transform the role of our print magazines and create new customized services.

Our print magazines will remain an essential part of our offering. Our digital information and print services will complement each other. As a result, our print and online contents will no longer be the same.

As you requested, five main sectors will become the pillars of our actions.

  • Society: to help you better understand the complexity of issues and enable you to serve your clients more effectively.
  • Health: to track changing trends to help you to better serve Canadians. For instance, our Special Report on Cancer in Canada highlights the new insurance landscape for survivors of this disease. This report will certainly be of help in providing your clients with the latest information on this important subject.
  • Economy: to stay on top of economic trends to better anticipate the future and better advise your clients.
  • Life and health insurance industry: to fill you in on all the news about industry developments to power your growth.
  • Entrepreneurship: to support you, as industry professionals, in developing your sales and your business.
From a product approach to a portal approach

Another major change to come: a one-stop shop to develop and support the growth of industry professionals!

Our nine products and services will soon be integrated into a unique portal where you can take advantage of our offering at your own pace and based on your own needs! More services are in the works…

The entire Insurance Journal Publishing Group team is passionately working toward this goal!

Talk to you again soon,

Serge Therrien

President and publisher
Insurance Journal
Journal de l’assurance