The document discusses how the shift to remote work during the pandemic has increased cybersecurity risks, as home networks are less secure than office networks. It summarizes a new eLearning course from CSIO on cybersecurity best practices for remote workers. The course provides tips to secure devices, routers, and home networks, and advice for employers. The document also discusses how the pandemic accelerated digital transformation at insurance companies and how CSIO is helping brokers with digital topics and skills through their eLearning program.

1. By Stephanie Wei
Manager, Industry Relations
& Education, CSIO
As the global workforce
continues to accelerate the shift
to remote work, cyberattacks
have skyrocketed. Criminals
increasingly target workers on
home networks, knowing secu-
rity gaps can be exploited when
people are not working on their
secure office networks.
IBM’s June 2020 Work From Home study
found that 93% of employees newly working
from home were confident in their compa-
nies’ ability to secure data while they work
remotely. However, more than 50% of re-
spondents were using their personal laptops
for business, without receiving new security
tools or policies that reflected remote work.
Security awareness
CSIO’s latest eLearning course, Staying
Safe While Working From Home: Security
Awareness for Remote Workers, reviews recent
research on cyberthreats and outlines best
practices that home office workers should
follow to protect themselves from attack. Led
by a senior security expert with cybersecurity
firm GoSecure, the course provides practical
tips on how insurance professionals can take
simple steps to decrease vulnerabilities on
their routers, devices and home networks,
as well as actionable advice for employers to
help engage staff in security awareness.
This new course on cybersecurity and
remote work is CSIO’s third in its security
awareness series, joining Ransomware: What
Brokers Need to Know, led by Bill Malik, VP,
Infrastructure Strategies with Trend Micro;
and Cybersecurity Essentials presented by
security experts with IT Weapons, a division
of Konica Minolta.
Digital transformation
The CSIO eLearning program helps
B.C. brokers in their digital transformation
through courses on digital topics.
According to Maria Novelia, associate
marketing broker with J.T. Insurance (Ser-
vices) Canada in Vancouver, CSIO eLearning
courses offer diverse, interesting, and relevant
topics. “As a new broker, the online courses
offer valuable insight from the subject matter
experts,” says Novelia.
These courses are designed for insur-
ance brokers and led by insurance industry
leaders and experts in their field. The 15
CSIO courses cover technology topics such
as insurance innovation, marketing and
cybersecurity, and can be taken on virtually
any device. Over 1,200 CSIO members have
already started their learning journey.
Adopting the new normal
CSIO brought together seasoned brokers
engage in a frank conversation on the
challenges and successes of 2020, including
how they’ve led and engaged remote teams
through these turbulent times. The Setting
the Stage for 2021: Adopting the New Normal
course is the latest in CSIO’s Spotlight on In-
dustry Leaders series, featuring: Tom Hickey,
president of Wedgwood Insurance and COO
of The Magnes Group; Gina McFetridge,
president of Archway Insurance; and Tracy
Medeiros, SVP of claims and operations
with Gallagher Canada. These broker leaders
discuss technology adoption, the difficult
commercial market, and planning for 2021.
For Archway and Wedgwood, the many
digital tools they had in place became
Digital
transformation
and security for
the year ahead
38 BC BROKER February 2021 | IBABC.org

2. pants in 2020. Broker members who take six
or more eLearning courses are recognized as
CSIO Digital Brokers, denoting their com-
mitment to continuous learning, digital best
practices and insurance innovation.
CSIO congratulates the 65 CSIO Digital
Brokers, including two from B.C. For the
full list, visit CSIO.com/CSIO-Digital-Bro-
kers.
Maria Novelia, one of the first IBABC
members to qualify as a CSIO Digital
Broker, says “The CSIO Digital Broker
certification provides an incentive to deepen
my understanding of the insurance industry.
I would highly encourage everyone to start
learning now!”
CSIO courses and webinars are a free ben-
efit of IBABC membership. To learn more
about CSIO courses or to start learning, go
to CSIO.com/eLearning.
BC Broker has added digital-only content to
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Calendar 2021
essential during the pandemic: usage took off
during 2020, including eSignatures and eDe-
livery of policy documents and eSlips. For
Wedgwood, a saving grace was the January
2020 ‘Snowmadggedon” event in New-
foundland that led to a state of emergency.
Suddenly locked out of the office for a week,
the brokerage began stress testing its technol-
ogy. By March, they were in good shape to
weather the coming pandemic measures.
According to Tracey Medeiros, Gallagher
Canada’s priority during the pandemic has
been its people. As a highly digital compa-
ny, technology was not an issue for its 300
offices; the main challenge came in main-
taining the human connection. “How do
you build, sustain and engage in the culture
when everyone is at home? You really have to
become more intuitive and find a different
way to engage your staff. It’s a completely
different experience now.”
The Spotlight on Industry Leaders series of
courses feature industry-leading professionals
sharing insights through virtual fireside chats
and panel discussions. They offer popular
content to IBABC members in a convenient,
on-demand format.
Another recent Spotlight course is Pivoting
a Digital Roadmap in the New Normal,
presented by John Elliott, CIO and SVP at
RSA Canada, and a director on CSIO’s board
of directors. His talk focuses on how COVID
accelerated RSA’s paperless strategy, including:
ensuring seamless customers interactions,
supporting employees in working remotely, as
well as supporting brokers with digital tools.
According to Elliott, “Insurers’ digital
agendas need to accommodate new market
conditions, consumer behaviours, and part-
ner opportunities and expectations with the
focus on being prepared for the future rather
than trying to predict it.”
CSIO Digital Brokers
The CSIO webinars and eLearning
program have been embraced by insurance
professionals, with more than 4,000 partici-
In B.C., the Insurance Council
of B.C. does not provide pre-
approval for CSIO courses but
IBABC members may submit them
as part of your annual licence filing
process for potential approval.
Participants are provided with
a certificate of completion that
can be used for this purpose.
Insurers’ digital agendas need to accommodate new
market conditions, consumer behaviours, and partner
opportunities and expectations with the focus on being
prepared for the future rather than trying to predict it.
BC BROKER 39
IBABC.org | February 2021