Featured Member: Excel & Y Insurance Services Ltd.

To be in business for almost 40 years, Calgary-based Excel & Y Insurance Services Ltd. must be doing something right. Built on family values and hard work, Excel & Y grew from a one-man operation in 1983, under Jack Lungdren’s supervision, to a thriving brokerage of 60 staff members in 2023 under Robyn Young, President and CEO.

“As a family-owned and independent insurance brokerage, we’ve built long-standing relationships with our clients and also with Canada’s top insurance companies,” says Robyn.

The company’s growth is reflected in its name changes. Originally called Jack Lundgren Insurance Services, it became Lungdren and Young Insurance Ltd. in 1989 when Robyn's parents, Val and Thom, joined as partners, owning half the company.

In 2021, the company joined the Excel Insurance Group (EIG), composed of independently owned and operated Canadian insurance brokerages that share a common vision, core values and industry-specific competencies.

“We took the opportunity to modernize our name to Excel & Y to show that we’re committed as part of the EIG,” Robyn says. “Together, we share in market contracts that help us increase our stature and profitability in our own business operations. As a group, our independence is what sets us apart from our competition, in which smaller players are absorbed into a large corporation’s operations and brand. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it leaves fewer options that truly define independent brokerages, in my opinion.”

The unicorn in the herd

Robyn says that insurance brokerages basically sell the same products, but her brokerage has an edge. "Besides being independent, we’re completely family-owned and operated, and that makes us a bit of a unicorn in our model,” she says. “In the last few years, we’ve become very customer-focused. We’re also a value-based organization that, internally, our employees strive to exemplify and live by.”

Those values are integrity, authenticity (Just be you!), innovation and family. “These values mean that we’re always looking for ways to provide a better experience with the latest technology for our team, customers and other brokers. Our mandate is to have a policy review with clients every year or two to ensure their protected against the unexpected.”

Passion rewarded

Acknowledged for her service, Robyn has held esteemed positions in industry associations, such as past president of the Insurance Brokers Association of Alberta and also the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada. Robyn has earned prestigious accolades, such as her inclusion in the Insurance Business Global 100 list and Canada's Elite Women for her industry dedication, both in 2022 and 2023.

Excel & Y gains recognition again in 2024 as one of Canada's Top Insurance Employers for their innovative hybrid work model. Robyn highlights the success of their radically reduced office space and flexible work schedule, promoting a strong work culture, even amid COVID-19 challenges.

“We’re proud to receive this award, especially because part of it consisted of an employee survey, and Excel & Y ended up being chosen,” she says. “Our hybrid environment really works and it creates a good work-life balance. I’m working from Phoenix at the moment, for example, and our employees have the same opportunity to work from anywhere they want—except of course when customer-facing, then we come to the office. What’s so great about the hybrid work model is that we manage our team based entirely on metrics—how it should always have been!”

Empowering clients through coverage

Robyn acknowledges that insurance is a complicated product and it’s rare for customers to get excited about buying it.

“But the big advantage of being a brokerage is that Excel and Y simplifies the choices for consumers and we absolutely love what we do,” she says. “We’re proud to be in the job of protecting people the best we can when the worst happens. It’s a grudge product, but customers are sure happy to have it when they need it.”

For more information, visit https://www.excelandy.ca/insurance.