Brett Boadway, Chief Operating Officer, IBAO
Our growth themed issue comes just in time for our 2022 IBAO Convention. It’s the first time we’ve gathered in person, at large, since October 2019. It’s wonderful to be back, and we’d like to thank you for your continued support of IBAO.
We know we aren’t the only ones who feel like 2019 was a different era. The questions on the doorsteps of member brokerages now seem quite different than they were only a few years ago. Back then, IBAO was not talking about the future of work or the urgent need for recruitment. The pressures of regulation were not as obvious, and, awkwardly, the concept of DEI was not on our radar.
Growth is often synonymous with sales or a financial upswing, but for a not-for-profit trade association in a mature industry with minimal new entrants, growth looks quite different to us. Here’s a few ways IBAO is growing that complement our commitment to supporting Ontario brokers through their progressive strides:
Our Membership Is Growing
Total number of individual members in our database (both licensed and unlicensed) = 16,220, a 6% increase over 2021
Total number of RIBO licensed brokers on our roster = 13,989, a 4% increase over 2021
Total office locations: 448 Main 813 Branch = 1,261, a 1% increase over 2021
Total number of new members in 2022: 14
The List of Member Benefits Keeps Getting Longer
IBAO is pleased to announce our new partnership with e2r, which is a professional services firm offering human resources and employment law support to IBAO members. The support is provided by seasoned employment and labour lawyers as well as certified HR professionals. IBAO Members have access to complementary services.
Phase 2 of our Broker Benchmark Dashboard has been published and is available for participating broker member use immediately. In Phase 2, you will see that there’s a year-over-year comparison so that you can see how benchmarks have changed over an annual period.
Opportunities for brokers to connect with college students across Ontario is growing broader. In 2022, we have established partnerships with nine different post-secondary institutions, which allowed 93 students to write their RIBO L1 exam for free last year.
Education Resources Keep Pace with Evolving Member Needs
Our members love IBAO’s suite of free continuing education courses, which offers enough new content each year to satisfy the minimum RIBO hour requirements. In 2022, IBAO has seen a 25% growth in our content’s consumption.
The delivery of licensing programs, both L1 and L2, have both received a major overhaul. This, in combination with IBAO’s ability to facilitate the exams, is the necessary path forward to help fulfil members basic human capital needs.
Humber College and IBAO have partnered up to create a new program called the Insurance Broker: Commercial Account Manager Certificate Program. The aim of this professional certificate is to help get more skilled commercial lines professionals into the independent broker channel to help ease the current talent pressures. Watch for more on this big announcement at the our Members’ Meeting and in the trade press.