Headquarters:
Farmington Hills, MI
Year founded:
1969
Number of employees:
1,001–5,000
Phone:
248 932 9000
Email:
contact@agileuw.ca
Website:
burnsandwilcox.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/burns-&-wilcox
“A long-term commitment to remaining fiercely independent provides a fundamental competitive advantage. Because there is no outside investment […], we can measure success over decades rather than quarter-to-quarter”
Tyson Peel,
Burns & Wilcox
Tyson Peel
Regional Vice President
Justin Sadaphal
Vice President
Patricia Sheridan
Director
Leadership
Tyson Peel has 17 years of experience in the industry and currently manages seven teams with 10 direct reports and two analysts to support the team. He has deep knowledge of personal lines products, as well as environmental and inland marine experience. Peel is best known for product development, strategic planning, and underwriting. He was an IBC Underwriter of the Year finalist in 2019. He received a BSc in Biological Science from the University of Guelph in 2003.
Regional Vice President
Tyson Peel
With more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Justin Sadaphal has led several successful change management initiatives at Burns & Wilcox Canada and served in various capacities, including national operations and sales manager and director of national operations. Prior to joining the company, he worked at Northbridge Insurance for more than six years as a property and casualty underwriter, business analyst, and senior sales and distribution analyst.
Sadaphal holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from McMaster University. He obtained his Chartered Insurance Professional Designation (CIP) in 2010 and the Certified Risk Management (CRM) designation from the Global Risk Management Institute in 2011. Additionally, he became a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) in 2013 to further his understanding of operations and accounting. His accolades include the Burns & Wilcox’s Distinguished Service Award in 2015 and 2016 and the 2018 Young Guns Award from IBC.
Vice President
Justin Sadaphal
As director, commercial insurance, Patricia Sheridan leads the Toronto, Ottawa, and Western Canadian P&C teams. With 17 years of industry experience, she received the 2022 Excellence in Mentorship (IBC Women in Insurance) and 2022 and 2024 Elite Women awards from IBC. She has served on the board of Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto (YIPT) and as an Aspire committee member of ISC.
Having completed her CIP designation and RIBO license, Sheridan has grown her book to one of the largest in Canada. She is best known for her critical thinking and logical analysis skills, as well as her ability to learn quickly and thrive in a challenging environment.
Director
Patricia Sheridan
Leadership
A long-term commitment to remaining fiercely independent provides a fundamental competitive advantage. Because there is no outside investment […], we can measure success over decades rather than quarter-to-quarter
Tyson Peel,
Burns & Wilcox
Leadership
Patricia Chiodo
Associate Vice President, HR
Patricia Chiodo is responsible for ensuring alignment of HR strategies to the overall business objectives. As a member of the Canadian leadership team, Patricia leverages both her HR background and entrepreneurial mindset to advocate for employee-centric approaches to solving business challenges.
Chiodo also serves as the HR liaison to the Kaufman Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. As part of her role with the Kaufman DEI Program, she helps lead the implementation of the DEI strategy across North America, supports the seven employee resource groups within Kaufman, and acts as an advocate of DEI internally and externally.
She is an active member of the Insurance Super Club Aspire Program, a global business community committed to bridging the gender seniority gap in the (re)insurance industries. She also volunteers with WSIA (Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association) as a mentor and currently serves on their Diversity Internship Committee. Chiodo graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 2015 with a degree in Management and Organization Studies with a specialization in HR Management.
Associate Vice President, HR
Patricia Chiodo
Louise Waugh
Head of Legal
A solicitor with a background in commercial property, Louise Waugh first came into financial services 15 years ago to help split Northern Rock bank. Since then, she has led teams launching a number of new retail products, as well as overseeing the delivery and implementation of major regulatory and restructuring projects.
Head of Legal
Louise Waugh
As a leading specialty wholesale insurance broker and underwriting manager, Burns & Wilcox delivers industry-leading service and expertise in commercial and professional liability, property, environmental, marine, and personal insurance.
As a privately held, family-owned and operated organization, the company invests substantially in professional development resources and technology solutions that enable associates to thrive. Across Burns & Wilcox, its associates are committed to professionalism and harnessing the best expertise to get the job done. That client experience is consistent across the company’s 60-plus offices worldwide.
With a culture grounded in family values and built on genuine care for one another, its collective dedication to operational excellence stands at the forefront.
“A long-term commitment to remaining fiercely independent provides a fundamental competitive advantage,” says Tyson Peel, regional vice president for Canada. “Because there is no outside investment, including the absence of ownership by Wall Street or private equity, we can measure success over decades rather than quarter-to-quarter. That freedom enables us to always operate in the best interests of our associates, clients, and partners.”
Insurance Business Canada recognized Burns & Wilcox as a 5-Star MGA in its 2024 Brokers on MGAs survey.
A long-term commitment to remaining fiercely independent provides Burns & Wilcox a fundamental competitive advantage championed by its leadership team, including chairman, president and CEO Alan Jay Kaufman, president Danny Kaufman, and Jodie Kaufman Davis, who leads international operations. Peel, best known for product development, strategic planning, and underwriting, was named an IBC Underwriter of the Year finalist in 2019.
Nigel Briggs
Head of Compliance and Regulatory Relations
Harriet Shaw
Head of Operations
Iain MacKinnon
Finance Director
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Nigel Briggs has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry across a range of sectors, including insurance, pensions, banking and mortgages. He is the former CEO of a mutual savings institution and, for the last nine years, has performed the roles of head of compliance and MLRO.
Head of Compliance and Regulatory Relations
Nigel Briggs
Harriet Shaw has over 30 years of experience in the regulated financial services industry, focusing on credit risk operations in both unsecured and secured products. She has held various operational roles in mortgage servicing.
Head of Operations
Harriet Shaw
Iain MacKinnon has over 17 years of experience in a wide range of senior management roles in regulated financial services, including oversight of investment treasury, tax and pensions at a major international bank. Prior to his career in banking, he was an M&A tax partner at Deloitte.
Finance Director
Iain MacKinnon
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
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Small business
“The company’s long-term view is attractive to top recruits and remains paramount to the retention of its associates, along with its deep relationships with clients and partners”
Tyson Peel,
Burns & Wilcox
“The company’s long-term view is attractive to top recruits and remains paramount to the retention of its associates, along with its deep relationships with clients and partners”
Tyson Peel,
Burns & Wilcox
In the past few years, Burns & Wilcox has been engaged in a $100-million-plus partnership with Salesforce to develop and deploy one of the industry’s most advanced technology solutions.
That Salesforce partnership includes a complete overhaul and enhancement of systems across Burns & Wilcox. This investment streamlines operations, enabling teams to work more efficiently while giving them more time to focus on larger and more complex risks. It also offers associates more opportunities to continue bringing value to their clients through data-driven resources and enhancing the business’ relationship-driven and customer service components.
The benefits have been significant: streamlined and more efficient processes, coupled with automated capabilities, have driven increased market share, enabling the organization to extend its competitive advantage even further.
The Canada team serves clients from Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, and Vancouver offices. Peers continually recognizes the cross-country associates as the industry’s best underwriters.
“We maintain our industry-leading reputation by leaning into our independence and family ownership,” remarks Peel. “With ownership of insurance organizations seemingly changing constantly given the active M&A marketplace, Burns & Wilcox can rise above. The company’s long-term view is attractive to top recruits and remains paramount to the retention of its associates, along with its deep relationships with clients and partners.”
Burns & Wilcox will continue investing in talent, technology, and professional development resources as part of its growth strategy, and it plans to pursue acquisition targets that add expertise and further build its footprint across North America and worldwide.
In the past few years, Burns & Wilcox has been engaged in a $100-million-plus partnership with Salesforce to develop and deploy one of the industry’s most advanced technology solutions.
That Salesforce partnership includes a complete overhaul and enhancement of systems across Burns & Wilcox. This investment streamlines operations, enabling teams to work more efficiently while giving them more time to focus on larger and more complex risks. It also offers associates more opportunities to continue bringing value to their clients through data-driven resources and enhancing the business’ relationship-driven and customer service components.
The benefits have been significant: streamlined and more efficient processes, coupled with automated capabilities, have driven increased market share, enabling the organization to extend its competitive advantage even further.
The Canada team serves clients from Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, and Vancouver offices. Peers continually recognizes the cross-country associates as the industry’s best underwriters.
“We maintain our industry-leading reputation by leaning into our independence and family ownership,” remarks Peel. “With ownership of insurance organizations seemingly changing constantly given the active M&A marketplace, Burns & Wilcox can rise above. The company’s long-term view is attractive to top recruits and remains paramount to the retention of its associates, along with its deep relationships with clients and partners.”
Burns & Wilcox will continue investing in talent, technology, and professional development resources as part of its growth strategy, and it plans to pursue acquisition targets that add expertise and further build its footprint across North America and worldwide.
more than $1 million in funds
over $2.3 million in combined monetary and in-kind donations through an annual World Food Derby initiative
2,320 volunteer hours to numerous deserving organizations, making a significant community impact
Alliant’s progress is set to continue, as underlined by Zimmer, who has confidence in the firm’s people to deliver continued excellence.
“We believe in our business plan, and it has proven successful. We don’t feel the need to change that. Our core business plan will continue to drive the company forward, complemented by new opportunities that may arise in the future.”
Turnaround time – claims
Turnaround time – new business
Overall
02 9261 5900
“The company’s long-term view is attractive to top recruits and remains paramount to the retention of its associates, along with its deep relationships with clients and partners”
Tyson Peel,
Burns & Wilcox