Ginny Bannerman, MBA, CIP

VP Finance West, Intact Insurance Company, Calgary, AB

If you ask anyone who has had the privilege of working with Ginny Bannerman, they will tell you she is a natural leader. She motivates and guides those around her and has a strong desire to see them succeed. Her vast knowledge and experience have made her a sought-after adviser and she has repeatedly proven her ability to lead difficult negotiations to resolution. “What I admire and appreciate about Ginny,” writes a supporter, “is that she is true to herself no matter what the work or life issue is, and she will always act with honesty and integrity.”

For Ginny, insurance is a family business; Ginny’s grandfather and father ran a local broker office in Calgary. She learned at an early age the importance of relationships in business and inherited a heartfelt passion for the industry.

Ginny ran her family’s business from 1987 until 1998, and during that time, expanded it into a multiline brokerage with accounts both locally and internationally. After selling the brokerage, she worked for the new owner, but later decided to pursue more schooling and new opportunities, including earning her MBA degree in 2002.

Since the early 90s, Ginny has been heavily involved as an advocate for the industry. She has served as president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC), the Insurance Institute of Southern Alberta, and the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta (IBAA), where she became the first president to hold two consecutive terms.

She has served on the National Education Committee of the Insurance Institute and was the IBAA representative on the committee rewriting the Alberta Insurance Act. She has worked for the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) and did important work to reform Alberta’s automobile insurance policies on behalf of both the IBAA and IBC, overseeing a province-wide effort. In 2007, Ginny assumed the position of Executive Officer at the IBAA, and in 2008, became CEO.

Ginny joined Intact Insurance in 2010 in the position of Vice-President, Personal Insurance, Western division, moving to Vice-President, Finance in 2011. In her current role, she manages three essential areas of the organization, including Corporate Services, Financial Analysis and the Centres of Excellence (Business Excellence, Transformation, Practices & Process), which support nearly 2,000 employees, 3,000 broker points of sale and over 1 million customers.

Ginny’s impressive career is marked with multiple successes. In 1986, she was named Insurance Woman of the Year in Calgary, and in 2003, was awarded Jean-Charles d’Auteuil Award for outstanding work on behalf of independent insurance brokers throughout Canada. In 2012, institutional investors presented Intact’s financial analysis team with the award for the Highest Confidence in Reporting amongst Canadian Financial institutions.

Ginny has a gift for quickly earning staff loyalty and is often described as “a pleasure to work with.” She has gained respect from her colleagues for her ability to get people to work towards a common goal. Speaking about her time at the IBAA, a supporter says: “She worked hard at getting committee members to work together, commit to being open minded to change and to focus on the future of the insurance community.”

Ginny has spoken at Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade (WICC) fund-raising events, and this past year, was recognized for her continued support of the cause with an award presented by WICC chair, Donna Brown.

It gives the CIP Society immense pleasure to recognize Ginny Bannerman as an Established Leader in 2013.