Paul Garvey

Our long time co-worker and friend Paul Garvey passed away last week at the age of 46. Paul had left our company 3-years ago to work at Zurich Insurance. I attended his funeral yesterday with an over flowing crowd of family and friends.

Paul was a manager at my company for many years. I worked in the same department as Paul but never worked directly for him. Paul had quite a profound effect on the people at Zurich over a short period of time. He also brought many of the people he worked with at my company with him to Zurich.

Paul had a keen eye for talented people. He recruited very good people and they developed an unwavering loyalty to him. He took a chance on young talent and started the careers of many young adjusters. He was also a great teacher both in the field and the classroom. A great sense of humour and desire to create a fun place to work resulted in an intense loyalty to him. It is not  a surprise people wanted to go with him when he left our company.

After the initial shock of Paul's death early last week I received many emails from lawyers and claims people that worked with him from across Canada. It is clear that his death hit people hard. Our company is based in the US and Paul frequently travelled to our Head Office. Ironically due to the turnover of personnel in Canada, of which he contributed to I might add, Paul was best remembered by our American coworkers. I received emails and phone calls from our American staff that showed a heartfelt and deep sense of loss. Paul had made a real connection with them. I even received copies of team photos with Paul.

If I ever got to know Paul it was when we travelled together in Western Canada or to our US Head Office. I have never met anyone with a greater connection to their family. It was clear that his wife Bonnie was his best friend. He rarely went out after work as he headed straight for home. For this reason it was when we travelled together that I really got to know him. I once saw him grab the microphone in a group of senior claims leaders from across North America, Ireland and the UK. The guy was a gifted speaker, he would have the room in his hands. Sometimes it is tough to impress the Americans but Paul was like a TV talk show host.

Paul's greatest contribution from a work standpoint was creating a work environment that attracted top talent. He mentored people and fostered a sense of loyalty while emphasising that while work was important it should not be the focus of your priorities in life. Paul's greatest legacy will be his family but he also touched the lives countless young people in the insurance claims industry. It must be very satisfying to choose, teach and mentor young people in the business and then watch them succeed. He did that numerous times.

All of us that knew him received the comforting statement from Paul "I've got your back" on numerous occasions. With Paul he really meant it. He will be greatly missed in our industry both in Canada and the US.