Manitoba's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 46
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MANITOBA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Red River Mutual celebrates a culture of caring
A
recent thank-you
letter confirmed that
Brent Barker had
made the right choice
when he joined Red
River Mutual as an insurance
claims adjuster three years ago.
The letter came from a client who
had filed a typical claim. “They
were underinsured, and we helped
take care of them,” Barker recalls.
But he was unprepared for the
effusive thanks offered by the
client.
“It was a glowing report about
how we had helped them through
a bad time. It felt great to be
working in an environment where
you get to help people like that.”
For more than 20 years, Barker
worked as an independent claims
adjuster — a freelancer who
investigates insurance claims
for companies across Manitoba
and beyond. He made the switch
to Red River Mutual, becoming
a full-time employee with the
company, to find more stability in
his life. “Working independently
for billable hours was a grind,” he
admits. “Moving to Red River gave
me the opportunity to work 9 to 5,
to have benefits and start living a
more scheduled life.”
But there was something else
that his new employer offered that
reduced stress even more: a work
culture focused on helping clients
and fellow employees. “The
philosophy at Red River is to find
a way to pay a claim and not try to
nickel and dime our clients,” says
Barker. “They really try to move
claims forward, which makes it
feel less adversarial and reduces
stress. We’re trying to help, and
that feels good.”
From humble roots in Altona,
Man., Red River Mutual has
grown to be one of Canada’s
largest policyholder-owned
insurance companies, currently
serving over 80,000 policyholders
across Western Canada. Founded
in 1875, the company is celebrating
150 years in business this year.
Brenda Gibson is Red River
Mutual’s president and CEO, a
role she took on a year and a half
ago after 18 years with another
insurer. She says working for a
mutual insurance organization,
where policyholders are owners
of the company, is an eye-opening
experience for many.
Our business is grounded
in the community, and it’s
about community members
coming together to help
each other.
— Brenda Gibson
President and CEO
Red River Mutual Insurance Company offers its employees paid community days to volunteer for local
charitable initiatives.
“At a mutual organization we
have the opportunity to focus on
what’s good for our customers, our
partners and employees, and to
make sound, long-term financial
decisions,” she says. “Our business
is grounded in the community,
and it’s about community members coming together to help each
other.”
Gibson says that same spirit of
community permeates the workplace at Red River Mutual. “It’s the
nature of the insurance business
that you are there for people in a
time of need. That makes us feel
proud about the work that we
do, to know that we are helping
Canadians and Manitobans.”
The company offers strong
benefits and a hybrid work environment that allows employees
to choose what works for them,
says Gibson. Recently, Red River
