The claims adjusting firm Authentik, based in Boisbriand in Quebec’s Laurentians region, is now part of the CRU Group (Catastrophe Response Unit). Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, CRU operates its Canadian head office out of Toronto.
The transaction was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28. In an interview with Insurance Portal, Authentik’s two leaders, Jonathan Fradet and Suzie Godmer, sought to offer reassurance.
“Our employees were briefed yesterday, everyone is staying on and they’re excited to take on this new challenge,” says Godmer, vice-president of the firm and Fradet’s business partner since 2017.
The firm is keeping its name and brand, but will now operate as a CRU Group company. It joins an organization with national ambitions.
Authentik was founded in 1976 and operated for many years under the name Gouin, Perreault, Cloutier et Associés. Jonathan Fradet joined the firm in 2008 and became a partner in 2012. He has served as president since 2017. Authentik employs adjusters in the Montreal, Quebec City, and Outaouais regions and is equipped to handle assignments across the province.
“This merging of two great companies enables both to better serve their respective clients,” says David Repinski, CEO of CRU Group, regarding the acquisition of the Quebec-based firm.
CRU Group is a member of the global adjusting network Context International. Through its Maltman International division, it also provides specialized third-party administration (TPA) services.
Shared values
“We weren’t for sale, we weren’t necessarily at that point. We still feel there’s a lot we can accomplish,” says Fradet.
The two Quebec executives have also been given the mandate to grow the firm’s business in New Brunswick and other Atlantic provinces.
Several major national players had approached Authentik’s leadership in recent years. “Even before talking money, we had a checklist of criteria to go through. It was a long checklist if we were going to have a conversation,” he adds.
Talks with the interested buyer began at the end of last spring. “We didn’t want to get swallowed up by a big national firm just to be pushed aside later. That was never our goal,” he says.
Fradet repeatedly emphasized the importance of shared values between the two firms. “It’s also a family-owned company, founded in 2004. We met the founder, Gary Winston, along with CEO David Repinski. We quickly got a sense of what kind of company it was. Our values were aligned. That made us want to keep listening,” he says.
The acquisition allows Authentik to continue pursuing its growth ambitions by opening doors to new accounts that are harder to access. “It was about finding the right partner, and one came along. We’re joining forces. Their business model is really focused on catastrophe management. Ours is more on everyday claims—the day-to-day business. Combining our respective strengths lets us build something bigger,” says Fradet.
Godmer notes that the firm has strong local expertise in the Quebec market and is capable of handling assignments for any insurer. The deal will allow Authentik to speak with national insurers seeking partnerships with providers who can serve them coast to coast.
“Our mandate is to grow in Eastern Canada. We’ll be working with colleagues in Western Canada and Ontario to serve other markets that were previously out of reach,” she says, referring in particular to insurer syndicates based in London.
Recruitment
Fradet points to large-scale claims, such as wildfires in Western Canada, as opportunities for Quebec-based adjusters to diversify and expand their skill sets. “Our people will have the chance to travel across the country if needed, especially when things are slower here. From a training and development standpoint, it’s very appealing,” he says.
Working conditions in the profession are demanding, with irregular hours and very busy periods. “If I want to have staff ready to respond to catastrophes, I need to guarantee them year-round work. That’s where the smaller day-to-day assignments come in—they’re important,” Fradet adds.
The biggest challenge in claims adjusting today is recruiting and training talent. “We need to raise awareness of the profession if we want to build a pipeline. In the past, insurers trained adjusters, and over time those veterans would launch their own independent firms. That model doesn’t exist anymore,” says Fradet.
Today, several investigators or adjusters may work on a single claim without having a full overview of the file, each one focused on a specific task within their area of expertise.
“At Authentik, most of our 25-person team is made up of adjusters between 25 and 35 years old, with 6 to 8 years of experience. We’ve invested heavily in training and mentoring because we understand that to ensure the company’s longevity, we need to develop our own experts. It’s getting harder and harder to recruit from competitors,” he says.
Skill sets
According to Godmer, CRU Group has national ambitions but not necessarily to become the largest firm in the country. “The quality of our adjusters matters more than the number. We focus on training and mentoring. We want to become the go-to for service to clients and policyholders,” she says.
Fradet sees strong growth potential in the Atlantic provinces. “It’s a vast territory with a smaller population base. Even for smaller assignments, it’s not always easy to find adjusters. The demand is there, even outside of catastrophic events,” he says.
“We’ll grow the market in our own way. We take the time to find the right people and then train them. What matters most is the quality of the person—technical skills can be learned. But people with strong soft skills, they’re harder to find. When we do find them, we make sure to train them well,” he adds.
By fostering a collegial atmosphere and maintaining a family-oriented corporate culture, the team can grow, he says. That same spirit of collaboration is present in the group that the firm is now part of. Over the past few months of conversations with CRU Group’s senior leadership, Fradet says his initial enthusiasm hasn’t waned.
“The feeling I had at the beginning is still there,” says Fradet. “Time will tell, but since we share the same interests and values, it’s now up to us to keep doing the work, and we’re confident it will be a success.”
“We’ve spoken to our top clients, and the feedback has been very positive,” Godmer adds.
