John Simmonds

Chairman
(416) 408-5450
simmondsj @ simmlands.com

One of the original founders of Simmlands, John currently serves as Chairman of the company.

John began his insurance career in Montreal in 1965, in conjunction with continuing his post-secondary education at Sir George Williams University.  He subsequently joined Lewis Apedaile & Hanson Insurance Brokers as a Personal Lines Supervisor, later progressing to Commercial Marketing Manager and then Commercial Accounts Executive. In 1981 John transferred to the Toronto office in order to spearhead the commercial expansion of the company.

Along with his colleague Jim Hylands, John bought the Toronto office portfolio in 1986 and created Simmlands.  They worked on various projects which included a partnership between Simmlands and the OTIP (Ontario teachers Insurance Plan).  This generated a large personal lines book of business that was subsequently sold to the teachers. The firm continued to concentrate on group plans, both personal and commercial. In 2003 Simmlands became a wholly owned subsidiary of a privately owned and operated insurance brokerage.

Currently John spends much of his time serving the golf community, the niche area in which Simmlands continues to successfully operate and offer top quality insurance solutions.