Cheryl Pope, Senior Surety Underwriter, Intact

Cheryl Pope has been in the insurance industry for 34 years, starting as support staff fresh out of secondary school. She got her first taste of the surety industry almost 30 years ago as underwriting assistant for contract surety with GCNA, and thanks to an unquenchable thirst for learning progressed to becoming a senior surety underwriter.

She joined Intact almost three years ago and says she loves working with brokers on a business and personal level and that every day in her role brings new, exciting challenges. “It’s such a surprise and honour to be recognized by Canadian Broker Network for doing what I love,” Cheryl says of her award.

Originally from Newfoundland, Cheryl has been based out of Nova Scotia since 1992 and has three adult daughters. When she’s not working, she loves to travel, craft and hike.

Q: What makes for a great working relationship between an underwriter and broker?

“What I feel makes a great working relationship between the underwriter and broker is being honest and respecting each other. Forming a relationship with the broker, talking through the different bonds and coming up with solutions is a big part of this job.”

Q: What’s one opportunity you think underwriters should focus more on?
“I think a good opportunity is to get back to basics when it comes to building relationships. We should remind newer underwriters to pick up the phone or have face-to-face meetings with their brokers. In an age of technology, we shouldn’t  just use email and text.”