Editor’s Note: The Insurance Institute of Canada today announced the winners of its annual leadership awards. Below, CU caught up with the winner of the Institute’s Established Leader Award, Rohit Trivedi of Allianz Commercial.
Please watch for our forthcoming interview with the winner of the Institute’s Emerging Leader Award: Emily Gray, Claims Manager, Peace Hills Insurance, due to be published at the same time next week.
Established Leader Award
Rohit Trivedi, Executive General Adjuster (Liability), Allianz Commercial
Cross-training is the key to success, says Rohit Trivedi, one of the winners of this year’s Insurance Institute of Canada (IIC) National Leadership Awards. He received the association’s Established Leader award.
Trivedi, executive general adjuster of liability at Allianz Commercial, tells CU that over his 40-plus year career, he’s “been fortunate to be fully cross-trained in underwriting, marketing, loss control, reinsurance and claims.” He’s spent a full 30 of those years in claims, handling complex settlements in commercial liability, excess umbrella, environmental, professional liability, media, and cyber.
His insurance industry journey began in Nairobi, Kenya, where Trivedi was raised, when the CEO of New India Insurance Company recruited him as a Marine underwriting trainee directly out of high school.
Upon immigrating to Canada, he joined RSA in St. John, NB. There, a mentor “gave me a roadmap to succeed in the industry by transferring me to various departments.” After that, he spent time at GAN Canada in the reinsurance unit.
“I thought I knew insurance, until I went into reinsurance,” he says. “I learned how all the departments and business units interconnect with each other, and especially with reinsurance. It was a great experience…handling the claims where there is reinsurance exposure and where the risk is ceded out.”
All that cross-training segued into an opportunity to build two claims departments from scratch at insurance companies in Toronto. “I managed to have a reputation in the industry as a trusted leader and expert in the claims area, frequently participating in panels and conferences, which further strengthened my networking with brokers and industry players,” Trivedi says.
Branching out into consulting led to Allianz asking him to join its claims team in 2024 to mentor staff members handling the firm’s complex claims, assist underwriters with wordings, and represent the branch with the company’s global claims team at twice-yearly meetings that examined lessons from global claims and loss experiences.
In coming years, he says claims operations will likely change as companies adopt generative artificial intelligence (AI) to help with some of the lower-hanging fruit and make the claims experience more efficient for clients. Once the P&C insurance industry works through the process of fully harnessing AI, he speculates “there will be a cooling off period before the next quantum leap.”
He notes those advancements will be important for an industry facing growing frequency and severity of NatCat events, which have strained adjusting and claims teams across Canada.
In the face of climate change, he tells CU, the claims process has to become more agile and needs swift, resourced deployments to provide the claims service.
“We have teamed up with independent adjusting contractors, both national and regional, so that when…we’re seeing a number of claims coming in, we can tap into those resources,” Trivedi says. “And those independent adjusters are also ramping up their IT systems. They’re using AI, they’re using drones to quickly assess damages, and the reporting process has become more seamless.”
Trivedi stresses he’s humbled by IIC’s award. He attributes his recognition to the leadership he’s shown, successes with business units where he’s worked, contributions to the professional community, and willingness to give expert advice on advisory committees.
Additionally, he’s volunteered as a coach for minor sports league teams and was recognized by the Ontario Volleyball Association for establishing and leading two elite volleyball clubs in the Niagara and Hamilton regions. He’s also volunteered with various insurance industry organizations, and as a committee member for the Starlight Foundation.
