About Us | Why Sandra Hughes is proud to be an ALIGNED Advocate
We’re different. That is to say, our exclusive focus on business insurance sets us apart. Certainly, being different is just one of the many reasons why Canadian insurance professionals decide to join the ALIGNED team.
Above all, we’re always proud to welcome new members to our team and share their story. Most importantly, our About Us features are just one example of our commitment to connecting with our community. In the same vein, many of us are sharing useful business insurance content on social media every day.
Sandra Hughes recently joined our growing team. Sandra is an Advocate and reports to SVP & Team Leader Darcy Franko-Felice. She works closely with ALIGNED colleagues across Canada.
Sandra is proud to be part of the ALIGNED Insurance team. In her own words, here’s what Sandra has to say about ALIGNED.
Q. Why did you join ALIGNED?
Sandra: My background is small business clientele and I really enjoy working with small and mid-size business professionals. ALIGNED’s business philosophy of always putting clients first fits well with the values I believe in.
Q. How did you first hear about ALIGNED?
Sandra: I heard about ALIGNED Insurance from a former colleague of mine. She had met Andrew Clark in the past and was hearing some great things about the company. After that, I decided to check out ALIGNED’s website. When I saw the opportunity to become an Advocate with ALIGNED come up, I immediately decided to apply.
Q. In your opinion, what sets ALIGNED Insurance apart?
Sandra: It really makes a difference to know that the ALIGNED team across Canada also has ownership in the business. The fact that all members of the team are owners is very unique within the insurance industry.
Q. Why did you choose an insurance career?
Sandra: Like many who work in this industry, insurance wasn’t my first choice for a career. About 20 years ago, I ran into an old high school friend who worked in the industry. They suggested that I apply to work as a file clerk in their commercial department. After working as a file clerk and getting to know the business, I decided to obtain my RIBO license and become a commercial broker. The rest is history.
Q. In your career to date, what are you most proud of?
Sandra: Delivering great customer service and relationship building are two areas I’ve really focused on throughout my career. Over the years, I’ve developed great relationships with many of the clients who I’ve worked with. When I left my previous position, it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to the many clients I had the pleasure of developing strong relationships with over a number of years.
Q. Tell us about your most recent professional designations.
Sandra: In 2010, I obtained my CIP, which is the Chartered Insurance Professional designation and prior to that I received my CAIB, the Canadian Accredited Insurance broker designation.
Q. In your opinion, what’s the single most important service an insurance broker delivers to a client?
Sandra: In my opinion, there are several fundamentals that an insurance broker should always deliver to clients. First and foremost, they should simplify the experience – they know insurance and the client knows their business – so communication is really important. People want to work with honest, knowledgeable and trusted insurance advisors. Delivering a truly seamless experience to clients is ultimately what every insurance broker should strive for.
Q. Which of ALIGNED’s 18 points of differentiation do you find the most personally meaningful and why?
Sandra: I find all of these points to be very important as well as meaningful. However, the one point that really resonates with me is the focus on work/life balance – specifically capped workloads. Having a manageable amount of work ultimately means that we are each able to provide excellent customer service. Clients are the most important part of our business, so having the time to work with them to help them with their insurance needs is absolutely essential!
Being different is a point of pride for every ALIGNED insurance broker and Advocate. And it’s because our founder, President & CEO Andrew Clark wants to deliver different kind insurance broker experience to Canadian business.
Since day one, we’ve taken pride in 18 things that we do differently for our clients. Ultimately, what gives us the most pride in delivering the best solutions and more value to every Canadian business that we support.
Have you met these ALIGNED team members?
What Tyler Mitchell believes is the single most important service insurance brokers deliver…
“I believe there are two components that are synergistic in business – knowledge and relationships. Our customers come to us for professional insurance advice. At ALIGNED, each one of our team members has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the commercial insurance industry. Collectively, we work to ensure that each insurance program is tailored to the specific needs of each client’s business.
Strong relationships are essential to us – that’s why we work as your advocate and care so deeply about helping to ensure that you are satisfied with our customer service.”
Tyler Mitchell, Advocate, ALIGNED Insurance
What Robyn Selmes believes to be the single most important service insurance brokers deliver…
“Buying insurance is never anyone’s favourite purchase, especially as there are so many expenses already for businesses. The most important part of being an insurance broker is to help make the entire “insurance experience” as seamless and simple as possible.
This can mean helping someone determine the right coverages or finding the best insurance companies to meet their specific needs. And, at the end of the day, it also means being there and helping people through any claims or concerns if and when they arise.”
Robyn Selmes, Advocate, ALIGNED Insurance
Social responsibility is yet another way we deliver a different employee and client experience
Our Give Generously campaign connects our clients directly with our social responsibility work. Each year, a portion of ALIGNED Insurance profits is donated to a registered Canadian charity that is selected by our clients. Learn more about our Social Responsibility program.
In addition, we support two annual volunteering days for every employee. We are proud that ALIGNED Insurance team members partner with the organizations that they are passionate about helping.
In short | Are you interested in joining the ALIGNED team?
Each and every day, our team members across Canada are proud to provide a different kind of insurance experience to each and every ALIGNED client.
We are actively looking for entrepreneurial and growth-focused people. If you’re interested in joining our rapidly growing team, we’d love to hear from you!
We invite you to learn more about why Andrew Clark, our President and CEO, decided to found ALIGNED and our leadership.
To sum up | ALIGNED is our passion as business insurance brokers
We’re aligned with each other as colleagues, with the best insurance companies in Canada and, most importantly, our clients. This is why why being as good as one’s word is so important to all of us at ALIGNED.
And while there are 18 things that we do differently for our clients, what gives us the most pride is how we get better solutions and more value ALIGNED for each and every business we support.
That is to say, it’s a privilege to handle our clients’ insurance needs across Canada. Above all, helping others consistently, frequently and generously is vitally important to each one of us.
