Exciting new developments in the PMU Ontario offices

MaryKate Townsend, CAIB, Principal Broker, Sr. Underwriter & Manager for Pacific Marine Underwriters Ltd. (PMU) Ontario & Manitoba. When MaryKate is not volunteering, working or attending boating events, she enjoys spending time with her family and close friends, and enjoys a round of golf, playing softball and gardening.

Volunteer with the London Insurance Brokers Association

To many, she is known as MK. But many brokers also know her as the President of the 350 member London Insurance Brokers Association (LIBA). In 2017, MaryKate had the privilege of representing LIBA when board members were recognized for their hard work and dedication, by winning Affiliate of The Year at the IBAO Convention held in Ottawa, ON. “One of the main reasons we won”, says MaryKate, “is our mandate to engage in the community. We host many events for our membership and we are working towards our philanthropic goals to give back to our local community. We have a wonderful partnership with our members who are very supportive of our endeavours.”

MaryKate began her career in Insurance as an agent with a Mutual Insurance company, before taking the leap into the broker channel. MaryKate joined the Pacific Marine team In January 2014. “I am honored to be a strategic partner with many brokers throughout Ontario and Manitoba through PMU.

The Pacific Marine Underwriters family

Some may not know, PMU is a family run business and is part of a large insurance brokerage group based in British Columbia with PMU offices in Burnaby BC, London ON and Laval PQ. The group has been in business for over 35 years and being brokers themselves understand the challenges faced by their PMU broker partners. “With so many years of experience, the entire executive team provides a great infrastructure for all the staff. I truly feel like part of the family,” reports MK. We have seen tremendous growth with our very successful Small Boat Express Insurance product and we want to thank YOU, the brokers, for helping us achieve this success.

A few more recent accomplishments worth mentioning:

MaryKate has provided in-house marine training to over 100 brokers across Ontario and Manitoba in the past 6 months. If you wish to refresh your marine insurance knowledge with a training seminar, call MaryKate she’ll gladly present an “Introduction to Marine Insurance” seminar, in your office, offering one technical RIBO credit.
With overseeing Ontario & Manitoba operations, MaryKate has developed a strong, skilled team of experienced underwriters, dedicated to work directly and exclusively with Ontario and Manitoba brokers. In addition, PMU has an entire support team in the BC head office.
The consumer site allows us to provide a resource for consumers and a funnel to drive business right to your door. We have a number of strategies in place to continue adding marketing support to PMU broker partners.
The new BrokerConnect Portal includes a state-of-the-art digital e-commerce platform designed for easy navigation, instant broker branded quote sheets, real time policy
We rebranded Pacific Marine in late 2017 – Our new appearance is reflective of our growing, vibrant company and the value of quick quoting, responsive service and an insurance product you can sell with confidence to your valued client interactions, immediate issue of express policies and automatic Express renewals, ready for pickup and payment.
We opened an office in London, ON back in 2016 , followed by the opening of a Laval, PQ location in 2017.
Earlier in we 2017 migrated our broker management system to Applied Epic, allowing easier integration for policy issuance and renewals with our new portal.

As always, our goal is to continue providing a solid insurance product with the best customer service. We wish to thank you all for your loyalty over the years. Our team is passionate about helping you grow. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to MaryKate directly.