EVERYONE KEEPS REFERRING TO “FAMILY”

Clients who don’t even know each other keep referring to “family” when describing their relationships with Paisley-Manor Insurance, going all the way back to founder Irving Paisley working out of his basement office.

Developer Jack Kahn of Sun Valley Estates (and other businesses) in Thornhill, Ontario seems to be describing close relatives when talking about Paisley-Manor Insurance. “It’s a family relationship. We know we can deal with them and vice-versa. It’s great to know all you have to do is give them a call and you won’t have to worry about anything.  They know exactly what to do and how to accomplish it. And we know they’ll get the best possible rates for all of us. Our relationship goes beyond our business needs to also include houses and cars. And with business, they know how to work sub-dividing developments as well.”

Kahn especially remembers an accident where a car crashed through a storefront window at a shopping plaza late at night. “PMI provided us with such quick service. They got the place boarded up and safe and the claim was managed in a very proficient way. CEO Ira Kuchinsky and his team simply took care of everything.”

Ira’s management is also front-and-centre with comment from Leon Harris of Leon Harris Management in Markham, Ontario, who has been in business for 35 years and a PMI client for 30. “Ira always gets back to you. Action is always immediate.  PMI gets the information needed and moves everything forward.”  Harris describes Ira as “the centrepoint once an unfortunate event has occurred. He gathers the pieces together, referees and the like, and is quick to use available resources.”

Barry Singer, owner of Toronto-based Singer and Associates Management consultancy, is frank about his relationship with Paisley-Manor. “I wouldn’t have stayed a client for 30 years, wouldn’t be here at all, if the service wasn’t what I needed. They treat people as we all want to be treated. They are always flexible and accommodating and, if something cannot be accomplished, they say so and explain why.  At the end of the day, I could go elsewhere if all I wanted to do was save some money. Cheaper is always an available option. But, with the first claim I might make, too often I would then quickly lose the carrier.”

Singer refers to what he describes as “a very simple case. My wife lost her watch. The company paid within a week. That points out the great relationship Ira Kuchinsky and Michael Paisley have with the insurance carriers. There were no questions. The cheque arrived in four business days.”

It’s quite an experience when your insurance broker arrives with a five-figure cheque to cover immediate needs for students and supplies while a blazing fire totally engulfs your school.  That was the experience of Rabbi Jacob Hirschman, Dean of The Institute of Advanced Judaic Studies in Toronto, nearly eight years ago because of the efforts of Paisley-Manor Insurance.

Rabbi Hirschman relates “how difficult it is to deal with the agony of such an event, and often then having to deal with the difficulties associated with an insurance claim. But everyone at Paisley-Manor really got on the line for me.”

The relationship with the school spans three decades and counting, and the Rabbi applauds “how good they have taken care of us over all these years. The instant payment allowed us to purchase special clothes and supplies so we could open the next day. It’s too bad that insurance brokers seem to have such a bad reputation. That hasn’t been our experience for an instant.”

Norman Goldstein, President of Commercial Development Group in North York, is the second generation – both personally and professionally – to maintain an increasingly complex relationship with Paisley-Manor, but he stresses how Ira makes it “all seem so simple.”  Goldstein’s father started the shopping centre development company more than 40 years ago and dealt with Irving.  Now their sons and son-in-law keep it all in the family.  “Shopping centres have occurrences for various reasons, ranging from car accidents to people slipping or falling.  We simply pass the process over to Ira and take for granted they’ll accomplish all that needs to be done.  We’ve never had a problem with a claim, and everyone at the top at Paisley gets involved personally. That’s partly because of their depth of knowledge and experience, first in the insurance business and also in our business. They have to be ‘on top’ of things in a lot of different industries, where things are complex and changing daily.”