This article was produced in partnership with Intact Insurance.
Louis Gagnon, CEO, Canadian Operations, Intact Financial Corporation, shares his optimistic outlook for 2024 with Insurance Business.
Thriving in insurance – or any business – demands knowing how to rise to the challenge of the unexpected. For Louis Gagnon (pictured), regardless of its headwinds and tailwinds, 2024 is going to be a year of opportunity and tremendous growth, for both brokers and insurers.
“In 2024, we will continue to meet volatility with a sustained commitment to being there for customers, in good times and in bad, while achieving profitable growth,” said Gagnon, CEO, Canadian Operations of Intact Financial Corporation. “This is our explicit goal for next year, both for ourselves and for the broker channel: to work together to raise our game while keeping customer needs top of mind.”
He stressed that as a company, Intact thinks in terms of decades, not quarters.
“We are here to support brokers and customers through all market cycles. This long-term horizon has never been more important, as the increased cost of living makes life more challenging for many customers,” he told Insurance Business.
“As an industry and as a company, we exist because life is unpredictable. Our job is to mitigate the consequences of that unpredictability.
“As a disciplined company, we plan for volatility. We know the unexpected will happen.
“We’re ready. That’s the nature of our business: to mitigate the risks we can predict and to be ready to respond to the unexpected.”
To thrive in 2024, brokers and insurers must work together to meet the challenges posed by climate change, cyber risk and our industry’s need to recruit, develop and retain top talent, said Gagnon.
“Climate change is an existential threat, for our industry and for society,” he told Insurance Business. “You keep on hearing this from Intact leaders – we need to reinforce this again and again. Extreme weather events have increased by a factor of four in the last 30 years. This isn’t just a statistic – too many Canadians have experienced this first-hand.
“We need to accelerate our efforts to help shape customer behaviours and the market to mitigate and adapt to the perils that climate change brings.
“We also need to continue to collaborate with governments and industry associations, using our expertise to influence policies that help accelerate climate action, such as collaborating on the Government of Canada’s Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation.”
Cyber is another deep trend the industry must address.
“Improving cyber posture in the industry is a key priority for us for 2024,” Gagnon said. “As the sophistication and frequency of cyber attacks increase, brokers and insurers must evaluate vulnerabilities and be prepared to deal with breaches.”
Talent – attracting, training and keeping the right people – is the third key challenge. But, as Gagnon sees it, it’s also a solution.
“Investing in talent is how we win,” he said. “We continue to invest in our people in-house, so that they deliver the second-to-none service brokers and customers expect of us. Just as importantly, expect to see continued emphasis from us on supporting broker success with professional development programs.
“We’ve seen tremendous broker uptake on Pathways, the education program exclusive to Intact brokers we released in mid-2023. Watch for more investment from us in broker education in 2024.”
Intact’s continued focus on broker education is part of its overall 2024 action plan to fuel profitable growth by supporting the success of the broker channel.
“We’ve had an exciting year in both personal lines and commercial lines in 2023,” Gagnon said. “We’ve got everything in place to truly raise our game in 2024.”
Brokers can expect a strengthening of Intact’s already strong value proposition across all business lines.
“The short version of our strategy: We want that business,” said Gagnon.
“We’re a market that stays open and works with you through all cycles. We evaluate each risk on its own merits, combining our data with broker insight into the customer’s history.”
The broker channel at Intact begins 2024 with new leadership and a move towards greater national harmonization.
With the retirement of Debbie Coull-Cicchini, executive vice president, Intact Insurance, West, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, Anne Fortin steps into the role of president, Intact Insurance, bringing together the company’s Quebec, West, Ontario and Atlantic divisions under her leadership.
“Her vast operations background, commitment to creating a positive customer and employee experience and expertise in marketing and communications make her uniquely suited to lead Intact Insurance as we continue to enhance products and services for brokers and customers,” said Gagnon.
Fortin joined Intact in 2011 as deputy senior vice president of marketing, Direct Distribution. Her most recent role was executive vice president, Direct Distribution and chief marketing and communications officer.
Given the solid foundation of growth Intact Insurance has built and the experience of its new president, Gagnon is optimistic about 2024, and the growth opportunities it presents for the broker channel.
“In a volatile environment, the customer-broker relationship is critical – the customer needs the advocacy of a broker,” he said. “And the broker needs an insurer who’s enthusiastically committed to our shared profitable growth.
“Together, we can make 2024 a year of customer-driven, profitable and sustainable growth by building broker-insurer partnerships that keep the customers’ needs in the forefront – and are strong enough to ride out any headwinds.”
Intact Insurance is Canada’s largest home, auto and business insurance company, the choice of more than four million consumers. Its coast-to-coast presence and its strong relationship with insurance brokers mean the company can provide the outstanding service, comfort and continuity customers deserve. Intact Insurance is a member company of Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC), the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America.
