A big name in Manitoba’s independent brokerage community, Peter Leipsic, is making a return to the scene as a senior partner at a new brokerage called Dimensions Insurance Management Inc.

He was executive vice president at Horizon Insurance (the province’s largest independent brokerage at the time) when HUB International Ltd. acquired Horizon in 2012. In fact, the Leipsic family name goes all the way back to 1905, when Peter Leipsic’s grandfather founded the independent insurance brokerage business along with his brother-in-law.

The impetus for Dimensions Insurance, launched earlier this year, is to fill a perceived gap in Manitoba’s commercial insurance market between the large multi-national firms and the small independent agencies, Leipsic noted in a LinkedIn post announcing the new brokerage.

Canadian Underwriter caught up with Leipsic and Stefano Amato, managing partner at Dimensions, in an interview Wednesday about their new initiative at Dimensions.

What sets Dimensions apart from other commercial insurance brokerages?

High-touch access to the firm’s senior partners is one thing. But the way in which the brokerage partners use their contacts and networking skills to help drive business to their clients makes Dimensions truly unique among its competitors, say Leipsic and Amato.

“With every client that we have, it is more of a family relationship,” says Leipsic. “How we can make them grow? So, for example, if we have a client who owns several service stations, and we have another client who wants to sell a service station, we fix them up. Or, in another example, a client has real estate buildings and he needs management, we fix them up.

“When clients realize that you are driving business to them, and you are not just showing up six weeks out of the [insurance] renewal [period] and dropping another bill in their lap, you can show them that ‘These guys can make my business grow.’”

It’s all about creating business opportunities for the clients through the old-fashioned way of networking and developing personal business relationships, says Amato.

“We are more than just the average insurance broker. We have a way of networking. We create opportunities for our clients. By creating opportunities for other people, the phone rings on its own. I really believe that. I also believe in giving back to the community.”

Amato says the approach works in part because Winnipeg’s size is smaller than other Canadian cities. The smaller size highlights the importance of forging strong business relationships within the community.

“In Winnipeg, it’s much different than it is in Toronto, Vancouver, or other larger areas like that,” says Amato. “While Winnipeg has become bigger, we’re 800,000 and change, there is just two degrees of separation from everyone or less. And between Peter and myself, we are well-connected in the community. Additionally the Leipsic and Amato names in Winnipeg come with an impeccable reputation and trustworthiness.”

reprinted from the Canadian Underwriter