2024 Underwriters of the Year | Pam Southern, Senior Personal Lines Underwriter, Portage Mutual Insurance

With an underwriting career spanning 20 years, Pam Southern has a passion for continuous learning and nurturing broker relationships.

Southern started in the industry as an underwriting associate with Gore Mutual Insurance Company in 2004. She steadily advanced her career to underwriter and finally senior underwriter in personal lines with Portage Mutual Insurance.

Her commitment to learning and professional development has seen her earning her insurance administration diploma in 2004 and the following designations: CIP in 2007, CRM in 2011, and FCIP in 2016.

Outside of work, Southern enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending quality time with friends and family. She is a mother to three children and two cats.

She is honoured and grateful to be recognized by AIM Insurance, a broker member of the Canadian Broker Network, Canada’s largest network of independent brokers. “I’m so flattered that, when they think of the qualities they look for in an underwriter, they thought of me.”

Q: What makes a great underwriter-broker working relationship?
“Communication between broker and underwriter is essential. My brokers know they can call or email me with any questions, or even just to run a risk by me to see what my thoughts are about it, and I will respond as quickly as I can.”

Q: Why did you become an underwriter, and what do you love most about your role?
“When I was taking the college course in underwriting, I realized this role resonated most with my skills and personality. That really solidified my decision to become an underwriter. What I love most about my role is that you learn something new almost every day. Even though the submissions are similar in type — whether it’s home or auto, or other personal lines — each risk is different.”

Q: What’s the biggest challenge for underwriters in P&C currently, and one thing they can do to overcome it?
“One of the biggest challenges for underwriters in personal lines is the all-comers rule. Traditionally, placing insurance was not based on price but on the best fit for the client — and best fit did not always mean the lowest price.”

Q: What’s one opportunity you think underwriters should focus more on in today’s marketplace?
“Underwriters should focus on developing relationships with their brokers, really get to know them. Our industry is built on strong broker relationships. Nurturing these relationships is what will enable underwriters to succeed and brokers to provide their clients with the best possible insurance coverage.”

Q: Given the current talent shortage, what would you say to encourage people to join the industry?
“There’s always something to learn in this industry. So many different positions, many different companies. There is unlimited potential.”

Q: How do you see technology, including AI, impacting the role of underwriters in the coming years?
“Fewer policies will be touched by an underwriter and more by an automated process. I can see the benefits of technology, helping speed up the process, but I can also see the disadvantages when you lose the human element.”

The Canadian Broker Network Underwriter of the Year awards is a flagship program that CBN has been running on behalf of its members since 2017. The program is exclusive to CBN in partnership with Canadian Underwriter magazine. The categories allow for each of our member firms, at their option, to select one commercial lines underwriter winner as well as one personal lines underwriter winner from a primary market. The program evolved in 2021 to also allow for one commercial lines underwriter from an MGA in addition to the other two categories. The criteria includes underwriting excellence and risk knowledge; prompt and effective responsiveness back to CBN members; writing business that satisfies clients’ needs while creating a win-win for the broker and the insurer; a positive, helpful attitude; and investing time to develop trusting relationships with brokers.

Full list of 2024 Underwriters of the Year Award