Merit Insurance Brokers Celebrates 40 Successful Years
Merit Insurance Brokers is turning 40 today!
We have spent the last 4 decades helping clients reduce risk and manage insurance costs and we have taken pride in providing professional knowledge, outstanding expertise all with a personal touch- we call it the Merit Difference.
Our roots started with Sovereign General, which operated its national distribution system as a direct writer located in the Willowdale area of Toronto, where our founding partners Ron Berry, Tom Kipping, Jack Hunter, and Ed Brash met in the 1970s. Merit Insurance Brokers was officially launched on July 21, 1981, with Ron as our President, and who remains in this role today. Our Vice President Maria (Scally) Berry was with Merit when it was founded but became a Managing Partner in 1985 and Office Manager in 1990.
From 1981 to 1989
Our company continued to expand via the individual production of the 4 initial founders, with each of them owning their book of business. We hav
e added new Managing Partners and Equity Partners to the ownership team in the 4 decades that followed.
From 1990 to 1999
In September 1990, however, the combination of increasing competition and decreasing rates of commission in the general insurance sector proved was hurting the brokerage and the partners agreed that an adjustment in thinking was required to survive a changing marketplace. This evolved to a change in reshaping the way Merit did business in the early 1990s. Along with a resolve to strengthen our competitive position, we accelerated our growth through the acquisition of 3 small brokerages during these years.
From 2000 to 2009
In 1999 Merit established our second location in Flamborough and was fortunate to have Glen Smith join the team. Glen is a seasoned farm and livestock insurance specialist, with a broad agricultural background. With this specialized talent, he was appointed our Farm and Livestock Specialist.
In 2002 Paul Dahlin joined Merit Insurance as Managing Partner. He has since retired at the end of last year, 2020.
From 2010 – 2019
Dean Morrissey joined Merit in 2010 with an extensive background in Commercial/business insurance. Dean is currently the Vice-President of Commercial Insurance and has been successfully growing the commercial side of our business.
Chief Operating Officer in 2010 and a Managing Partner. Carolyn
Merit Insurance Brokers and Cockburn & Sons Insurance merged in 2019 and Ian Cockburn joined our team as a Managing Partner.
2020 and Forward
Merit Insurance has flourished from our humble beginnings. Today, we have 2 locations and more than 10,000 clients in more than 40 domestic and international insurance markets. The Waterdown office continues to grow as they now have 17 fully licensed insurance brokers ready to service our clients’ evolving insurance needs.
The Merit approach has allowed our brokerage to thrive in the past 4 decades. Our collaborative vision remains one of providing professional expertise with one-on-one personalized service to our clients. Merit’s extensive relationships with insurance companies allow our brokers to supply a wide range of insurance products and services to meet all types of personal and commercial insurance needs. While we celebrate our successes over the last 40 years in the business today, we also are looking forward to the future where we can continue to provide the Merit Difference.
