Categories
Intact

Mike to Visit Canadian Specialty Business Teams; Meet the IT Coordinator

Over the next few weeks, Mike Miller will travel across Canada to visit Intact offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto where he will meet with Intact Specialty Solutions teams. Building on the relationships that he has already started to establish during the transition phase, these visits will provide Mike with an opportunity to more deeply interact with the Intact teams, and get to know the Canadian specialty business and brokers. In the coming weeks, we’ll be sure to share how those visits go, but if you happen to see Mike in the office, be sure to wish him safe travels or welcome him, depending on which side of the border you’re on!

Meet Steven O’Hara, IT Task Force Coordinator

Having been with the organization for 12 years, Steven has been through a few integrations, including the one that brought him into the Intact family. While he actually started his career in Personal Lines Underwriting, the majority of Steven’s career has focused on Information Technology or IT as most of us know it, with a variety of roles in that department over the years. Now, he is responsible for IT Strategic Planning, which includes the IT Project Management Office, IT Planning, and Software Engineering Tools teams. When Steven heard that another integration opportunity was available, he was quick to raise his hand, “Integrations are always exciting and you learn a lot by meeting new people.”

In the past, IT has been involved in large scale integrations where they have had to merge systems. Steven shared that this integration has been different. “We’ve been much more active on a broader range of topics. Our mandate is to ensure that we’re enabling all of the other task forces in achieving their objectives.” But this doesn’t mean that the IT teams are waiting to tackle technology matters. “The cross-border aspect brings about challenges that we haven’t had to deal with previously—things like jurisdictional compliance when looking at privacy regulations and information security.” Steven was also quick to point out that while he may be the IT coordinator, none of this would have been possible without the support and hard work of a broad team of project managers, software engineers and developers on both sides of the border.

 

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The information contained in this communication may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or referenced in this communication that address activities, events or developments which we expect will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The words “will,” “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “predict” and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to our:

  • change in book value per share or return on equity;
  • business strategy;
  • financial and operating targets or plans;
  • incurred loss and loss adjustment expenses and the adequacy of our loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and related reinsurance;
  • projections of revenues, income (or loss), earnings (or loss) per share, dividends, market share or other financial forecasts;
  • expansion and growth of our business and operations;
  • proposed merger with Intact Financial Corporation (“Intact”);
  • future capital expenditures; and
  • pending legal proceedings.

These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and judgments about historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations is subject to a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors which are described in more detail beginning on page 16 of the Company’s 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including:

  • recorded loss and loss adjustment expense reserves subsequently proving to have been inadequate;
  • changes in interest rates, debt or equity markets or other market volatility that negatively impact our investment portfolio;
  • competitive forces and the cyclicality of the property and casualty insurance industry;
  • claims arising from catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, windstorms, earthquakes, floods or terrorist attacks;
  • the continued availability of capital and financing;
  • the continued availability and cost of reinsurance coverage and our ability to collect reinsurance recoverables;
  • the ability to maintain data and system security;
  • the outcome of litigation and other legal or regulatory proceedings;
  • our ability to continue meeting our debt and related service obligations or to pay dividends;
  • our ability to successfully develop new specialty businesses;
  • changes in laws or regulations, or their interpretations, which are applicable to us, our competitors, our agents or our customers;
  • actions taken by rating agencies from time to time with respect to us, such as financial strength or credit rating downgrades or placing our ratings on negative watch;
  • our ability to retain key personnel;
  • participation in guaranty funds and mandatory market mechanisms;
  • our ability to maintain effective operating procedures and manage operational risk;
  • changes to current shareholder dividend practice and regulatory restrictions on dividends;
  • credit risk exposure in certain of our business operations;
  • Bermuda law may afford less protection to shareholders;
  • our status as a subsidiary of White Mountains, including potential conflicts of interest, competition, and related-party transactions;
  • changes in tax laws or tax treaties;
  • the risk that the proposed merger with Intact may not be completed on the currently contemplated timeline or at all;
  • risks related to diverting management’s attention from our ongoing business operations and other risks related to the pendency of the proposed merger with Intact, including on our ability to retain and hire key personnel, our ability to maintain relationships with our customers, policyholders, brokers, service providers and others with whom we do business, our stock price and our business, financial condition and results of operations generally;
  • the risk that shareholder litigation in connection with the proposed merger with Intact may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; and other factors, most of which are beyond our control.

Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this communication are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the anticipated results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences. Readers should carefully review these risk factors, and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this communication speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *