Advisor Talk: Warren Campbell at the PPI Signature Forum

In October 2026, I had the privilege of participating in the PPI* Signature Forum in Vancouver, one of the premier gatherings of top insurance advisers from across the country. Alongside my colleague Dan Schindle and moderator Gary Barker of PPI, I took part in the Advisor Talk session, a peer-driven conversation designed to share with the audience our personal experience on succession of an insurance practice.

Dan and I go back nearly 30 years, having first met when I was an employee of PPI. Over the decades, as I transitioned into an advisor, we collaborated on client files lending our unique talents to help our mutual clients through their insurance journey.

Earlier this year we transitioned our relationship through a merger of Dan’s practice (DLS Insurance), bringing Dan’s clients of 50 years and his 2 staff members under the Cove Continuity Advisors umbrella.

This was neither a quick nor an easy process, with our discussions going back at least 5 years. Our talk with the audience outlined the challenges to insurance practice succession with the patience required, the challenge of finding financing when most lenders do not understand insurance books, and the importance of cultural alignment when bringing two teams together. The message we kept coming back to was simple. Date before you get married. Taking the time to collaborate before committing saves everyone a great deal of difficulty down the road.

The session was well received, and we were grateful for the number of advisors who came up to us afterwards to continue the conversation. It was a genuine honor to share the stage with some of the best in the business and to represent Cove at an event of this calibre.

*About PPI: PPI is a major national insurance marketing organization in Canada. Founded in 1978 and operating as a subsidiary of iA Financial Group, it serves as a managing general agent (MGA) that provides actuarial, tax, marketing, and technology support to independent financial advisors across the country.