- Words by Tess van Straaten Photography by Don Denton

When Laura Bolster started working at an insurance office in her hometown at just 19 years old, she never expected it would lead to a successful, decades-long career in the insurance industry91裸聊视频攍et alone an opportunity to lead one of Vancouver Island91裸聊视频檚 top firms.

91裸聊视频淚 was right out of high school in Powell River and I had no post-secondary education,91裸聊视频� says Laura, the partner, president and COO of . 91裸聊视频淚 worked there for a couple of years and then I decided to come to the big city of Victoria. Megson FitzPatrick hired me and I got all the education I needed here. But if someone had said, 91裸聊视频榶ou91裸聊视频檙e going to be here when you91裸聊视频檙e 53, and you91裸聊视频檒l be president and a shareholder,91裸聊视频� I wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have believed them. It91裸聊视频檚 crazy to reflect sometimes!91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 really such an inspiring story,91裸聊视频� adds Luke Mills, Megson FitzPatrick partner, risk advisor and commercial account executive. 91裸聊视频淚 think for the team to see you walking around every day, as a shining example of what you can achieve, it91裸聊视频檚 just amazing.91裸聊视频�

Luke also never planned on a career in the insurance industry, despite working for his mother91裸聊视频檚 insurance brokerage in Toronto.

91裸聊视频淚 worked there for a little bit in the early 91裸聊视频�90s and didn91裸聊视频檛 think insurance was for me,91裸聊视频� the 52-year-old father of two explains. 91裸聊视频淚 was casting around, trying to decide what to do, and I kind of ran off to the Caribbean, to Dominica, and opened a restaurant. And against all odds, it actually worked.91裸聊视频�

But after five years, Luke says, he and his wife needed a change and moved back to Canada.

91裸聊视频淓veryone thought we would go back to Toronto, but we hopped in the car and drove to Victoria.91裸聊视频�

Luke91裸聊视频檚 mother had met David FitzPatrick, one of the founders of Megson FitzPatrick, and was impressed. Luke was also impressed when he met David, but the company didn91裸聊视频檛 have any openings.

91裸聊视频淚 just got such a good vibe and David was very generous with his time, so I got licensed. I had some other job offers elsewhere but, ultimately, I waited,91裸聊视频� Luke explains. 91裸聊视频淭his was where I wanted to work and it91裸聊视频檚 been one of the best decisions I91裸聊视频檝e ever made.91裸聊视频�

Culture has been a big part of that, and Luke and Laura say working for a growing and evolving company has also kept things interesting.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 been lots of change, so I think that91裸聊视频檚 what91裸聊视频檚 kind of kept it exciting for me,91裸聊视频� says Laura, who took over as president just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

91裸聊视频淲e had to completely change how we conducted business, and she91裸聊视频檚 led us through what91裸聊视频檚 probably the most dynamic growth the company91裸聊视频檚 ever seen91裸聊视频攚hich is quite something,91裸聊视频� Luke adds. 91裸聊视频淭he steady hand that Laura had, and her extensive knowledge, really made a difference.91裸聊视频�

Sending everyone home and pivoting to remote work in the early days of the pandemic also opened up new opportunities for the company, and has helped with staff retention and recruitment.

91裸聊视频淚t really just opened up our eyes to what is doable, and we91裸聊视频檝e taken a lot of the good that came out of COVID-19 and put it into our day-to-day business practices,91裸聊视频� Laura explains. 91裸聊视频淏efore, when someone asked to work from home, I said, 91裸聊视频楴o. We91裸聊视频檙e a retail organization, we91裸聊视频檙e open to the public, and you have to come in every day.91裸聊视频� And now it91裸聊视频檚 just completely different.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲e just didn91裸聊视频檛 conceive of the fact that you can do your job elsewhere, and if someone left the community, we had to part ways,91裸聊视频� Luke says. 91裸聊视频淣ow, we have employees across Canada in PEI, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. We91裸聊视频檝e been able to attract new, experienced people who want that flexibility; we91裸聊视频檝e been able to keep people who moved away, and we91裸聊视频檝e actually had a lot of people come back who had left us before COVID-19.91裸聊视频�

Fostering a strong culture while teams were fragmented was one of the biggest challenges of the pandemic period. And now, with about 45 of Megson FitzPatrick91裸聊视频檚 100-plus employees either permanently remote or working in a hybrid model, finding ways to keep people connected is one of Laura91裸聊视频檚 top priorities.

91裸聊视频淔or me, culture is everything,91裸聊视频� Laura says. 91裸聊视频淏uilding a hardworking and fun culture keeps people engaged and makes people happier. It makes us all want to perform and do well every day.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淥ur industry, like [many industries], is going through a very challenging labour market and what sets you apart91裸聊视频攊f people are being compensated appropriately91裸聊视频攊s culture,91裸聊视频� Luke adds. 91裸聊视频淲e learned from our founders, who had an open-door policy, and we want people to know that they91裸聊视频檙e heard and that their feedback is important.91裸聊视频�

Megson FitzPatrick also has an employee share-ownership program and close to 30 team members, including Luke and Laura, are now shareholders.

91裸聊视频淎s our founders were retiring a few years ago, this was a big goal for us in our succession plan. So we partnered with Rogers Insurance out of Calgary as they had a complete share-ownership program in place,91裸聊视频� Luke explains.

Last fall, Rogers merged with CapriCMW, forming a new company called Acera Insurance, and Megson FitzPatrick is now part of this.

91裸聊视频淐apriCMW was also an employee-owned Canadian company, so that was really exciting for us as we91裸聊视频檙e still heavily into being an independent,91裸聊视频� Laura says. 91裸聊视频淭he plan is to do some co-branding (Megson and Acera) because those in our group of companies have strong local brands,91裸聊视频� Laura says. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e been on Vancouver Island for 50-plus years, so we want to be really cognizant of the brand recognition.91裸聊视频�

The merger also helps Megson FitzPatrick diversify outside of the BC South Coast, where the earthquake risk is high.

91裸聊视频淭hey say every year we don91裸聊视频檛 have an earthquake, we91裸聊视频檙e probably closer to one and it91裸聊视频檚 not just Victoria and the Lower Mainland that are exposed, but Seattle all the way down to Portland, so the risk becomes enormous,91裸聊视频� Luke explains. 91裸聊视频淎ctuaries are saying the financial exposure to potentially a single event is incredible, so they have to go buy insurance91裸聊视频攚hich is called reinsurance91裸聊视频攁nd what we91裸聊视频檙e experiencing now is that the reinsurance market has really pulled back because they91裸聊视频檙e worried they91裸聊视频檙e overexposed.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 just one of the challenges insurance companies are facing. But after more than 30 years in the industry, Laura has learned that change is the only constant.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been a great ride and Megson FitzPatrick is a great organization,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 super grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me over the years.91裸聊视频�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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