NextGen Risk: Team Profile | Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT)

Dora Novak (Advisor)

I work at Acera insurance and regional director for personal insurance. I’ve been in insurance since 2011. I moved to Canada in 2008. My background is marketing and communications, and I just started as a receptionist. Somebody finally hired me. I was happy for that, and I’ve worked in the brokerage world since then.

I came to Acera 10 years ago. I’ve always worked in ops and client experience areas. I became an ambassador with the Insurance Institute in 2016. I think this is my 10th year anniversary.

I just wanted to bring this really funny product that nobody wants to buy, nobody wants to use, nobody even wants to talk about, to people. Again, my background is communication, so it really interested me that you can solve the impossible.

I just started working with students. I used to be a teacher, so I actually missed the high school. I just realized I can have some really exciting conversations when I tell people about this [insurance] work. I want to make sure, as I bring people to the industry, that I stay close to the new generation.

Morgan Thomas

I’m in my third year of the BBA at SAIT. My major is in Financial Services. I’m the president of the SAIT Finance Society, which is how we know each other. My interest in insurance really came from the insurance class we take in our second year and kind of exploring all the different paths within insurance.

I think because I’m a naturally more cautious person, it really draws me in that there’s so many different kinds of insurance. If you’re worried about something, you can insure it.

And then there’s also a part of it where you can get some life insurance and policies that are like investment accounts, which is very interesting because it bridges [my] two [interests in finance and insurance]. It’s very relatable to my interests.

I’m very excited to put all of our knowledge to a test in a very short timeframe. I like that we get to go into a room and put our heads down, go through the case, and come up with a final presentation. I’m looking forward to that.

Noah Aldridge

I am in the Financial, Technology and Innovation major at SAIT. I came from British Columbia to Calgary to take said major.

I don’t have much insurance experience. But similar to Spencer, I was enlisted [to the competition] through being in the SAIT Finance Society. I love learning about new things, and I like the risk side of things when it comes to insurance. So, it should be interesting to learn about a new a new area of finance.  

I think in general, speaking about the whole P&C industry, everyone will need coverage at the end of the day. So I think learning about each individual’s needs and finding like a suitable policy for them is definitely of interest, because it applies to everyone.

Spencer Perron

I’m a second-year financial student at SAIT and I’m also the VP Finance for the SAIT Finance Society.

The reason I’m here in this competition is because, earlier in October, I went to this networking event called insurance Career Connections in downtown Calgary, and I got the chance to meet Carolyn Seward, who’s with the Insurance Institute of Canada. A few weeks later, she reached out to me, asking if we wanted to participate in this.

In our program, we do have a little bit of coverage in insurance and risk management, so we thought it was great opportunity to get our foot in the door and try out the insurance competition.

What attracted me to insurance is that I just like being in something I’m uncomfortable with, because we don’t cover a lot of insurance. So, we’re really pushing ourselves. Trying something new definitely interested me, and I bet the rest of my group could say the same.

Unavailable for an interview: Kevin Friesen