A band of insurance executives in British Columbia are contributing to the war against cancer through an increasingly powerful group called Women in Insurance Cancer Crusade.

Jennie Moushos, executive vice president of AXA Pacific Insurance Co. , and Marti Messam, executive vice president of Metrix Professional Insurance Brokers Inc. , both based in Vancouver, co-chair the WICC steering committee in B.C. Their job is both to rally insurance industry professionals to support the cause through major fundraising events and to assist the industry in launching projects at a local level.

“WICC [www.wicc.ca] is an opportunity for the insurance industry to raise awareness and contribute to the fight against cancer,” Messam says, “and in doing so demonstrate that people in the property and casualty insurance business are good corporate citizens.

“Many have close friends or relatives who have been touched by cancer,” she adds. “WICC allows a group of people from various firms, who ordinarily might be competing with one other, to get together for a common cause.”

The WICC’s B.C. chapter was founded in 2002 and has subsequently contributed $320,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society’s B.C. and Yukon division. Funds have been raised through various functions, including dinners, learning lunches with prominent speakers, golf tournaments and the sale of products. Individual and corporate donations, as well as sponsorships, have also contributed to the cause.

In February 2005, the B.C. WICC presented the Canadian Cancer Society with a cheque for $50,000 to support a “WICC room” in Vancouver’s Jean C. Barber lodge for 10 years. The lodge houses cancer patients and their families who must travel to Vancouver for treatment.

Then, at the WICC’s annual luncheon this past November, the group presented $75,000 to the society to support a volunteer driver program for transporting cancer patients to and from treatment-related appointments, as well as to help with accommodation, expenses and research. The event raised an additional $21,000, which was donated to the Cancer Society for leukemia research in honour of the luncheon speaker, Sindi Hawkins, a member of B.C.’s legislative assembly.

“WICC is great opportunity for individuals to get involved in a charity,” Moushos says. “It can be much more rewarding than contributing money alone.”

Several regular WICC events take place throughout the year — including runs, golf tournaments and auctions — and they are all organized by volunteers. They are promoted through trade publications such as B.C. Broker, through a volunteer newsletter and by word of mouth.

The organization is also continually adding names to its e-mail address book and sends out regular communications. When other industry groups, such as the Credit Union Insurance Association of B.C. or the Canadian Insurance Congress, get together in the province, they often hold an event or a raffle to support the WICC. In addition, many B.C. insurance executives organize local fundraising events in their centres; the WICC’s steering committee frequently helps with the planning.

“It can be a time-consuming involvement, but we all make it a priority to find the time,” Moushos says. “It’s a lot of work to co-ordinate the fundraising efforts, but it can also be a lot of fun. There is a lot of sharing and laughter and enjoying of one other’s company. It’s very gratifying to be able to make a difference.”

The WICC was founded in Toronto in 1996 and now has three chapters in Canada — in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. It also receives support from the Atlantic provinces. Since its Canada-wide inception, the WICC has raised more than $2 million to fund cancer research through the Canadian Cancer Society.

Although the organization was launched to support breast cancer research in honour of an insurance industry executive who died from the disease, the WICC has expanded its mandate to include all forms of cancer. And although the founding members were women, it has expanded to include men in the insurance industry; there are even a couple of men on the B.C. steering committee. IE