Selling cyber insurance in 2018

PANEL

Patrick Bourk, Principal – National Cyber Practice Leader, HUB International

Patrick is the National Cyber Practice Leader for HUB International Canada. As an insurance coverage expert, he provides technical expertise in the analysis, placement and negotiation of various management risk insurance coverages including professional liability, crime and directors’ & officers’ liability insurance but with an emphasis on cyber liability insurance. In addition to negotiating terms and placing coverage, Patrick’s cyber liability insurance practice also includes advising clients on how best to align breach response planning with insurance and risk mitigation solutions. Patrick also provides claims expertise and assists clients by managing and advocating on their behalf.

Melinda Parker Thompson, Underwriting specialist, Cyber & Technology, The Sovereign General Insurance Company

Melinda is currently the senior underwriter of Tech & Cyber at Sovereign General working with SME and Risk Managed companies to assess their technology and cyber exposures and provide insurance solutions with tailored cyber policies. She has been a specialist underwriter for over 12 years with fidelity and public D&O insurance and taking on Cyber as a specialty when it was introduced in Canada.  Melinda has worked with international and local brokers over this time and has heard the many objections of their clients, both Risk Managed and SME, to buying cyber insurance. To solve this she has collaborated with brokers with client meetings and has created educational content and seminars to explain the evolving cyber threat environment and how an insurance policy can respond to these threats to the benefit of both Risk Managed clients and SMEs. Melinda has a commerce degree with a focus on information management and happily spends her time reading technology blogs and newsletters to keep up with the ever changing cyber environment.  

R. Lee Akazaki, C.S., Partner, Gilbertson Davis LLP

R. Lee Akazaki, C.S. is a partner with the firm of Gilbertson Davis LLP. He acts as trial and appellate counsel in a wide range of civil litigation matters, including commercial civil litigation and arbitration, insurance law, professional responsibility and legal ethics, privacy and personal information, cyber law, personal injury, property damage, coverage disputes, and property title defence.   Litigation prevention and compliance counsel to a national insurance services network.  Fluently bilingual and pleads in both English and French.  

Gilbertson Davis LLP Practices Insurance Litigation & Commercial Litigation and Business Law. Founded in 1982, they maintain a client-centered practice providing representation directed to the resolution of disputes involving commercial & insurance litigation and business law.

Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation, since 2000. Called to the Bar in 1990, B.A. (Hons.) and J.D. from the University of Toronto.  2018 Co-Recipient, Joel Kuchar Award for Professionalism and Civility, Ontario Bar Association. 

MODERATOR

Kyle Gray, FCIP, CRM, Director of Underwriting, Ridge Canada  

Kyle is an established presence in the Canadian specialty insurance community.  His passion is driving meaningful long-term relationships through broker education, responsiveness, and process improvement. 

Kyle joined Ridge Canada in 2017 and is responsible for leading underwriting strategy, product development, and broker relations.  Since starting his career, he has been an underwriter at major Canadian and International insurance companies focused on governance products including Directors & Officers, Errors & Omissions, and Cyber insurance.   

Kyle holds his Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and is a Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP) and an accredited Canadian Risk Manager (CRM).