“I am fascinated with the insurance business. No two days are ever the same. I’ve been in the business for over 40 years, and I’m still learning something new every day!”

Meet Joanne, one of our Senior Commercial Insurance Brokers at our Cloverdale location; Joanne was born and raised in Victoria (as were her parents and one grandparent!) and started her career in the spring of 1977 working for Prudential Assurance Company (now Aviva).

“I began my career at the Pru in Calgary learning the insurance business. I was fascinated with the business and realized this was what I was interested in. No two days were ever the same. I was always learning something new. After one cold winter In Calgary I realized I needed to head home. I moved back to Victoria in September of 1979 and started as a Commercial Underwriting Clerk V at a B.C. based insurance company. My role eventually evolved to Senior Commercial Underwriter and I then started working at Harbord Insurance as a Senior Commercial Broker in 2013. “

“I really like being part of the Harbord team; I enjoy helping clients and providing good service; I always try my best to provide the best customer service I can by returning phone calls promptly and providing answers to all our client’s questions.”

“One of my most memorable experiences since working in insurance was during the 1996 snowstorms. I walked into work since there were no cars on the roads. I started the day not knowing the extent of the devastation in the city. As the claims started to be reported, our lunchroom became the “command center” for the claims adjusters. Adjusters came from all of our offices across BC to deal with this catastrophic event. The underwriters became claims assistants. The claims ranged from collapsed greenhouses, porches, and decks being ripped off homes to homes being damaged from the weight of snow on the roofs, causing the walls to buckle; it was an incredible experience to be part of a team working through such a disaster.”

“I look forward to many more years at Harbord.”