How Trisura Guarantee tries to “wow” brokers and customers
This article was originally published by Canadian Underwriter on March 28th, 2019
Read the original article here.
Author: Jason Contant
Offering consistency and going back to basics are just two of the ways Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company tries to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Basic things like responding promptly to brokers’ inquiries can make a significant difference, suggested Richard Grant, senior vice president of specialty insurance solutions with Trisura. Underwriting consistency also plays a key role. Other insurers may “write a class of business today, then in a year they are out of the business and then five years later, they’re back in the business,” Grant said in an interview Tuesday. “Trisura strives to be a consistent, stable underwriter that brokers can rely on.
“If we can make our brokers look good in their client’s eyes, that broker is going to remember Trisura, and we hope it will lead to their next piece of business being placed with us,” he said. “We encourage our underwriters to take pride in everything they do, take ownership in what they do and consistently deliver amazing service.”
This is also where one of Trisura’s values – having an entrepreneurial spirit – comes into play. To Grant, that means taking ownership, creating results and caring deeply about the overall success of the company. “We built the company from scratch by providing a step-above service and assisting our broker customers – solving their problems and helping them win business,” he said. “If our brokers are successful and we are part of that, we too will be successful.”
So, how does a smaller company like Trisura compete against some of the international behemoths and win? “We focus on wowing our brokers and their customers by providing that great service and coupling it with finding solutions for their problems with our creative underwriting expertise.”
Staff buy-in and passion is crucial. “Love what you do, and if you don’t love it, find what you do love,” Grant advised. The fortunate part of the insurance industry, he said, is that there are jobs that everyone can fall in love with – from actuarial number crunchers to front-line sales people.
“There is a job for anyone and everyone in the insurance industry. You just have to find what makes you tick and go after it.”
The “Tri” in the name Trisura came to signify the relationship and partnership between our brokers, their customers and ourselves. It reinforces that we are a relationship company. The “sura” represents the middle letter of the word insurance, so we became the guts of insurance. Our name has served us well.
When an owner delays a project just after the time of tender or defers the award of the contract and delays the commencement of the work, the contractor is bound to the terms and conditions stipulated in the Form of Tender or any other tender document(s) provided to all bidders. The tender documents typically comprise an “acceptance” period, during which the owner can review and select the bids and award the project based on its prescribed tender terms but most likely to the lowest price bid. Although most tender documents are quite one-sided and only speak to the owner’s rights and remedies in the event of a failure by a bidder, the contractor can rely on the same timelines and the stipulated period of validity of the bid to invalidate the tender agreement. Contractors need to be mindful of any overlap between the proposed period of Work and the Tender Acceptable period specified in the Contract documents.
If the root cause is that the owner requires changes in the scope of the work, the contractor must follow the provisions of the contract for changes in the work and satisfy any requirement regarding changes, to seek compensation and to amend the contract price for the cost associated with the changes. This also ensures the contractor’s entitlement to any necessary adjustments in the contract time to reflect the additional time required due to the delay imposed by the change in the work. This might also reflect additional time due to the seasonal restrictions of the new or original contract work.
Notwithstanding the nature of an owner imposed delay, in the event of a dispute between the owner and the contractor, the contractor must refer to the dispute resolution mechanism stipulated in the contract. The dispute resolution process will outline the steps which must be taken by both parties and what the contractor’s rights, remedies and obligations are under the contract. It should be noted that the contractor must continue with the work in dispute until and unless the contractor is instructed otherwise. In some contracts, it is stipulated that the dispute resolution process may only commence once the affected work, or the project as a whole, is completed.
1. Can a contractor walk away from a project if the owner delays award?
No. Most contracts include provisions on how to address changes in the work and what measures and remedies are available to the contractor. To reserve its right and ensure entitlement, the contractor is required to follow the contract provisions closely and provide the required written notices and other documentation to preserve its rights. Although some changes may result in a material change to the scope of work, contractors must honour their contracts with the owner and follow the stipulated procedures to terminate the contract effectively. Failure by the contractor to adhere to contract requirements regarding changes or delays in the work could result in default by the contractor, which may ultimately prompt a lawsuit and claim on the contractor’s performance bond.
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