A.P. Reid Insurance finishes 2019 with the Top Canadian Insurance Brokerage award and announces its third Cross-Canada acquisition of the year
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia based Storm Insurance Group (Storm), which includes A.P. Reid Insurance, has been named Brokerage of the Year (10 Staff or More) in the 4th annual Insurance Business Canada (IBC) Awards. At the same time, A.P. Reid is announcing its third brokerage acquisition of the year outside of Atlantic Canada – this time in Montreal, QC.
Brokerage of the year award:
The Storm Insurance Group was among hundreds of insurance business nominated across Canada for the prestigious Insurance Business Canada Awards that took place on November 28th in downtown Toronto, and was recognized as a finalist in three categories: Insurance Industry Employer of Choice, Insurance Industry Digital Innovator of the Year and Insurance Brokerage of the Year.
Storm was the only Atlantic Canadian Based Operation out 13 finalists when they were awarded the Brokerage of the Year Award. This recognition was awarded to the group following a year in which it significantly expanded is business across Canada, nearly tripling in size.
Since its inception in 2016, the IBC awards have become a showcase of excellence in Canadian insurance business, recognizing the top organizations and individuals for their outstanding achievements and best practices over the past year.
“It is an honour to be recognized with this award, especially after the exciting 2019 we’ve had. I dedicated this award to my mom, Aileen Reid, who founded A.P. Reid Insurance almost 40 years ago and provided us with our vision and dream of what we could be” says A.P. Reid and Storm CEO, Jamie Reid. “Today, this award belongs to our employees across Canada in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta”.
Quebec Connection:
A.P. Reid also announced its third major insurance brokerage acquisition outside of Atlantic Canada, which closed early in November.
Following the acquisitions of Wardell Insurance of Burlington, Ontario and Sheppard Insurance of Edmonton, Alberta earlier this year, A.P. Reid has completed the purchase of Axxium Assurance Inc. of Montreal, Quebec – their first direct entry into the Quebec market.
“This acquisition completes a major step in our national expansion, making us one of the few independent insurance brokerages with significant operations in all regions of Canada” says Mr. Reid.
Timothy Branson, Vice President Eastern Region, will lead the Quebec business working closely with former Axxium owner, Sebastien Vaval.
“We are proud to join A.P. Reid and the Storm Insurance Group after ten years in business. This will allow Axxium to explore new opportunities for growth. We now have more tools, greater capabilities and a broader range of services for our customers” says Mr. Vaval.
About A.P. Reid and The Storm Insurance Group:
Established by Aileen Reid in 1980 as A.P. Reid Insurance Limited, and still proudly headquartered in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Storm is now an employee owned, diversified, National insurance distributor with regional offices in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Storm was Ranked the #2 Canadian Brokerage in the 2019 IBC Top 10 Brokerages annual report, and named Insurance Brokerage of the Year for 2019.
The Storm Insurance Group includes retail insurance brokerages A.P. Reid Insurance, Sheppard Insurance, and Axxium Assurance; insurance wholesaler Agile Underwriting Solutions; Canada’s first and only 100% online insurance provider ZipSure.ca; and insurance manager to large employers, associations and alumni groups MyGroup Auto and Home Insurance.