In a recent announcement, the Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) revealed Amina Deiab (pictured) as its newly appointed chief executive officer, formally stepping into the role on April 22.
Despite being just two weeks into her tenure, Deiab has already started laying out her ambitious plans to lead the AIC into a new era of success.
Speaking on her new role, Deiab said she plans to focus on building collaborative relationships with the council’s stakeholders.
“Over time, regulatory agencies can start to have an inward turning focus. And it’s important for regulators to keep pace with changes in the industry,” she said. “A defining measure of success, certainly, for me, and for the organization, is working very collaboratively with our stakeholders.”
While maintaining strong partner relationships is imperative, Deiab also stressed the significance of establishing a positive culture within her own team.
“We want to build an environment where our staff are excited to come into work every day. There is no organization without our people, who are the backbone of the organization. It’s very much about taking care of our people. And of course, they take care of our business,” said Deiab.
With AIC offices in Calgary and Edmonton, Deiab hopes to bring the two teams together whenever possible, through celebrating staff success and organizing team-building initiatives.
Deiab has also set her sights on refreshing the council’s operations.
“I think an opportunity for the AIC and for the insurance regulatory sector is modernization, it’s taking business practices and applying them into the regulatory environment,” she said.
“That includes thinking about how we expand our education, both for consumers as well as for licensees.”
Part of the CEO’s plan for consumer education involves digital outreach.
For the first time in AIC’s history, Deiab revealed the council will launch a communications campaign focused on consumer protection. The campaign will include a social media rollout set to complement its newly refreshed website, which is scheduled to launch in July.
“It’s a beautiful website. I’m really excited about it. It makes it easier for both our licensees and consumers to find information in a timely way,” she said.
Seeking to transition the AIC into a more outcome- and risk-based regulatory body, Deiab emphasized the pivotal role of data analytics in her long-term strategy.
“As a regulator, we have a lot of data. It’s about being able to leverage that data over time to form the basis of risk-based regulation,” she said. “What that means is looking across all our regulatory activities, and asking the question, do we have the right resources, at the right time, in the right place?”
Acknowledging the AIC’s 30-year legacy, Deiab noted that shifting towards data automation will be a significant change and she remains determined to propel the council into its next phase of development.
“Change management takes time and it’s not just about the data and the analytics and our systems, it’s about how can we work together in a different way,” she said.
