LSM Insurance Turns 25: Serving Canadians from Coast to Coast

LSM Insurance – from 1993 to today
LSM Insurance’s geographical coverage
LSM Insurance team
Our insurance partners

LSM Insurance’s first steps in 1993

The story of LSM Insurance began in 1993. Upon graduating with an MBA from the University of Windsor, and with work experience from Metropolitan Life, Lorne Marr decided to launch LSM Insurance Services Ltd. He had a prior interest in the life insurance industry thanks to his long-term friend and owner of Toronto Mutual Group, Andy Zwolinski.

The first decade of the business saw Lorne doing exactly what he had envisioned: helping thousands of Canadian families have a brighter and more secure future. LSM Insurance quickly racked up numerous awards and Lorne earned a perennial qualifier for the Million Dollar Round Table.

As the industry continued to evolve, Lorne took the company online in 2004 with www.lsminsurance.ca. Today, the website is Canada’s best resource for life insurance news and information.

Always charismatic and energetic, both Lorne and his family have appeared in numerous publications such as Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, National Post, The Toronto Sun, Investment Executive, and MoneySense, where they discuss insurance, finance, and life as fit and healthy professionals.

What is really important for Lorne is the great team he is able to work with on a daily basis. Lorne says, “I am really happy to see the growth of LSM Insurance over all these years and the great team that we were able to build. I am happy and privileged to work with each of them. Without this team, we would not be as far as we are today. Everybody has contributed to the success of LSM Insurance and I would like to thank them for everything.”

The LSM Insurance team is constantly growing. Below you will see an overview of the company’s timeline showing when each team member joined LSM Insurance.

Today LSM Insurance serves customers from coast to coast.

LSM Insurance Geographical Coverage

Through its 25 years of serving Canadians, LSM Insurance was able to extend its coverage and today it is one of the few insurance brokerages offering insurance coverage across Canada. With exception of Quebec, North West Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, LSM Insurance’s team serves Canadians from coast to coast.

LSM Insurance Team

Joined in		Background
1993	Lorne Marr Founder and Director Of New Business Development	Lorne Marr decided to embark on a new challenge and launched lsminsurance.ca. It has been a very exciting journey and the company, along with its website became one of the leading sources of life, health, disability, and critical illness related insurance and advice for Canadians.
2005	Elisabeth Prosper Office Manager	Born in Haiti and obtaining a masters degree in economics at the University of Aix-En Provence, tri-lingual Elisabeth Prosper enjoys her role at LSM Insurance as the extremely organized and dedicated office manager.
2006	Jack Bendahan Insurance Consultant	Jack Bendahan was the first broker who joined LSM Insurance in 2006 to help with the great influx of online life insurance inquiries. Using first-hand experience, Jack helps others plan for the unexpected. Insurance is his life-long passion.
2008	Aman Kapur Insurance Consultant	Aman Kapur speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Russian and has worked on four continents. He is a good friend of Lorne’s from when they both worked at Clarica, and is a natural fit with LSM Insurance.
2008	Tamara Humphries Insurance Consultant	Tamara Humphries is BPHE, MBA and CFP certified. In addition to advising, she mentors new advisors in the industry.
2008	William Shung Insurance Consultant	Born in Johannesburg, South Africa and with plenty of experience as a life insurance and long-term care advisor, William also holds Elder Planning Counselor and Fraternal Insurance Counselor designations. He is instrumental in addressing the insurable needs of aging clients.
2009	Lorne Zimmerman Marketing Consultant	He started in the life insurance industry in the early 1990s and has stayed in the field in differing capacities for over 25 years. He joined LSM Insurance in 2009 on a part-time basis and started full-time in 2016. He truly enjoys helping connect consumers with highly qualified independent brokers. He has always enjoyed athletics and still participates in tennis, softball, table tennis, and basketball while trying to get on the dance floor when possible (not all at the same time of course)!
2009	Mark Potter Insurance Consultant	Mark knows that peace of mind comes from great and trustworthy financial advice. He’s a regular guest speaker on Rogers’ Planmar Financial Forum and he writes a newsletter for those looking to maximize their investment knowledge.
2010	Bill Harvey Insurance Consultant	Bill brings three decades of experience to LSM Insurance, including time as a branch manager for a major financial services brand. His leadership experience with advisors and ability to help clients from all walks of life reach their financial goals sets him apart in the industry.
2010	Andrew Burdi Insurance Consultant	Andrew followed in his father’s path by going into personal insurance, and this was after he graduated at the top of his Business Studies program at Seneca College. Today, he brings more than 14 years of professional experience to the critical illness insurance sector, along with expert advice and specialized knowledge.
2011	Chad Larmond Insurance Consultant	Business owners and professionals are in good hands when they talk to Chad about how to protect their hard-earned income when faced with injury, sickness, and death. Specializing in long-term care insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness insurance, Chad is a specialist in these areas for group and individual coverage.
2012	Peter Paul Office Administration and Broker Support	Peter was born and raised in Toronto. He started at LSM in January 2013 and currently helps out with mail and admin duties. He has many, many interests including covering high-profile events for his website since 2001. In 2015, he covered a charity event in partnership with LSM Insurance and Youth Without Shelter. In 2009, he interviewed the Chief Coroner of Los Angeles after Michael Jackson died and the frigid arrival of the Olympic Torch in Toronto as accredited media. More recently, he interviewed CBC Chief Peter Mansbridge just before his retirement in 2016.
2012	Noor Kapur Insurance Consultant	Born in India and well travelled in Central Asia and Russia, Noor brings a unique understanding of international culture to everything she does. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Delhi and spent several years teaching English.
2013	Mike Castanga Insurance Consultant	Insurance ConsultantMike was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario and began his career in insurance in 2014. With a degree in Education and Marketing, Mike is committed to making sure that his clients receive the proper education and advice on protecting their assets and ability to earn income. Mike specializes in working with business owners and professionals with protecting their businesses, their families, and their employees. Mikes areas of expertise include personal life, critical illness and disability insurance, as well as employee benefits plans. In his spare time, Mike enjoys playing soccer, golfing, and spending time with family and friends. He also spends time volunteering as a youth soccer coach.
2014	Jerome Walsh Insurance Consultant	Jerome has been in the life insurance business since 1985. He has worked in several capacities as a manager and advisor and has a vast amount of experience. Jerome makes sure each client understands the different products available to them so it is possible to select the right product for the need and situation at the right time. He enjoys the outdoors and spending time with friends.
2014	Eric Watchorn Insurance Consultant	As a family man, Eric is focused on long-term wealth creations solutions that will work for a variety of market conditions. He ensured his clients understand and are comfortable with their personal and professional risks.
2014	Jason Lalonde Insurance Consultant	Jason Lalonde has been in the financial industry since 2001. He and his wife, Christiane, along with their son Carter and daughter Sienna reside in Virgil. Jason is bilingual, speaking fluently in both French and English and has served as the Vice President of the Ontario chapter of the National Association of Fraternal Insurance Counselors (NAFIC). Jason is dedicated to helping members and their families during difficult times. Jason is a lifetime member (10+ qualifying years) of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table, the premier association of financial professionals, only the top 2-3% of life insurance professionals in the world qualify for membership in MDRT.
2014	Paul Lalonde Insurance Consultant	Paul is an experienced and knowledgeable financial planner who has been successfully helping clients since 2001. He is fluently bilingual in French and English. He takes great personal satisfaction in being able to design personalized financial strategies to meet the needs of individual families. Paul has continuously qualified as a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table and is now a lifetime member (10+ years of qualifying). It is the premier association of financial professionals as only the top 2-3% of financial professionals in the world qualify for membership Paul loves to travel, hockey, watching film and theatre, reading and spending time with his family as well as donating his time to worthwhile causes. His ultimate aim is to build a strong lasting relationship to help you achieve your financial goals.
2015	Maya Jukes Marketing Consultant	Maya joined LSM Insurance in November 2015 as a marketing consultant. Maya’s interests include charity work. She has been a regular contributor to the LSM Insurance Youth Without Shelter Summer BBQ. Maya also enjoys music and like so many other LSM Insurance team members is a huge Jays fan. “Go Jays!”
2015	Vera Bilimoria Insurance Consultant	Vera has been working in the Financial Services Industry since 1995, mainly as an independent insurance broker with access to all major Canadian insurance carriers. As a member of the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada, she is part of a unified group of financial services professionals who adhere to a code of ethics and adopt principles that protect consumer interests. She enjoys spending time with her family, and is involved in sports and classical piano. She studies natural nutrition and healing, about which she is very passionate.
2015	Allan Jambrosic Insurance Consultant	Allan specializes in insurance for the difficult-to-insure, along with life, critical illness, and disability cases. He has more than two decades of industry experience and enjoys helping families with policies to protect themselves and their assets.
2016	Stephanie Haviv Marketing Consultant	Stephanie was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. She joined LSM in 2016. Every day she is constantly learning more and more about the insurance industry as she continues to extend her role in the company. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing tennis, swimming, reading, dancing and travelling.
2016	Tamara Tanney Social Media Manager	Tamara, a social media manager, does the social media marketing, lead generation, infographics, images, video editing and more. Her specialities are videography and post-production. She enjoys giving LSM an outstanding social media presence. She also runs a blog dedicated to helping those in the marketing field or interested in the field by provided tips, insights, and helpful tools. In her spare time, she enjoys weightlifting, boxing, and networking.
2016	Mina Narveaz Marketing Consultant	Mina was born and raised in the Toronto area. She prides herself on being able to offer her extensive knowledge of the insurance industry and its products to LSM’s clients and brokers alike. Her work experience spans across a broad variety of industries including legal, insurance, human resources, marketing, business development, and client relations. She is also bilingual (English and Arabic). In her spare time, Mina enjoys activities involving fundraising, travelling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
2016	Maryse Perron Marketing Consultant	Maryse joined LSM Insurance in 2016. Maryse is fluent in both English and French. She has a background in finance and has worked in the healthcare sector. She is avid reader and enjoys the opera.
2016	Sam Springer Insurance Consultant	Samuel has 17+ years of industry experience. He specializes in equipping families, business owners, and surrogates by “cultivating financial vitality” through life insurance solutions. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, music, and is passionately involved in volunteer community work.
2017	Rob Muir Insurance Consultant	Rob has over 20 years of life insurance experience. He joined the LSM Insurance team in 2017 and he has been a welcome addition. He specializes in life insurance solutions for families and business owners.
2017	Lloyd Keating Insurance Consultant	Lloyd started in the financial services industry in 1984, and his specialty is working within the family market. He loves meeting with families in their home environment and assisting them with their life insurance and retirement planning goals. His spare time is spent with his eight grandchildren. He is also an avid golfer, camper, and fisherman and enjoys entertaining family and friends at home.
2017	Philip Setter Insurance Consultant	Philip is an insurance and investment professional that brings a fresh and innovative approach to both the family and corporate market. His area of expertise includes corporate tax strategies, corporate structure, and net worth maximization. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with family and friends and is an avid hiking and outdoor enthusiast.
2017	Richard Parkinson Insurance Consultant	After a distinguished career in telecommunications, Richard began his life insurance career in 2003, initially with London Life, and ultimately as an independent broker, contracted with 23 companies, and licensed in 7 provinces. He is known locally as Mr. Spreadsheet for the many innovative Excel spreadsheets he has created, and to which he attributes many insights into the many plans available, not commonly known in the industry. Personally, he was born and raised in BC, and currently resides in Langley BC, a suburb of Vancouver, with is wife of 49 years, father of three, with two 13 year old grandsons. His main interests are in maths and science, which are surprisingly useful in helping grandsons with their homework, and problem solving.
2017	Ben Therrien Insurance Consultant	Ben has worked with thin Automobile, Insurance, Investment and Telecommunication industries. His designations include: CFA Chartered Financial Analyst, MBA Master in Business Administration, CIM Canadian Investment Manager, and FMA Financial Management Advisor. Ben is fluent in French and English and his hobbies include spending time with his family and doing homework with his 3 children.
2018	Phyllis Hofseth Insurance Consultant	In 2012, Phyllis began her Life Insurance career guiding families to purchase mortgage life insurance that would secure their home and financial future. Phyllis believes in a holistic approach, listening to and understanding her clients needs and then informing them on the various insurance products available to them. Thus, she empowers her clients to choose the best insurance coverage and solutions based on their financial goals. Critical Illness insurance is near and dear to Phyllis’ heart, as she is a cancer survivor for over 26 years. She feels everyone should have Critical Illness insurance.
2018	Malcolm Setter Insurance Consultant	Malcolm is an insurance and investment professional that focuses his attention on the family and hard-to-insure market. He enjoys working with individuals or families who are looking at insurance for the first time or haven’t met with an advisor in a while and just need a good review. In his free time, he spends quality time with family and friends and is an avid entrepreneur who loves to teach others about business and financial education.

The above Insurance Consultants are independent Brokers and NOT an employee of LSM insurance or representing LSM Insurance.

LSM Insurance Team

In order to provide a true market comparison, LSM Insurance always aspires to increase the number of insurance providers it works with. A high number of insurance partners guarantees that LSM Insurance will provide truly competitive rates, offering its customers the best rates and coverage. Today LSM Insurance works with nearly 20 life insurance providers in Canada.