In response to various questions regarding technology and commercial insurance issues, here is an interview conducted with L’Unique’s Chief Operating Officer, Yves Gagnon.
Q. L’Unique is part of a major financial group in Quebec, Beneva. Could this position provide L’Unique with additional leverage to support its network of brokers?
A. Over time, the diversification of Beneva’s business sectors will continue to guarantee our financial stability, which will also allow us to make the major investments required to modernize our mission systems (policies, compensation, etc.).
To this end, we selected Guidewire InsuranceSuite to stay on the cutting-edge of technology. The synergies generated by the union will also allow us to save money and become more efficient. Since we can now access larger databases, we can further refine our pricing models to remain competitive and profitable.
Q. In commercial insurance, you have already mentioned your interest in developing medium-scale niche markets and increasing your capacity in market segments in which you have the expertise. Can you expand on this?
A. It is currently very difficult for us to meet the high demands of our commercial insurance brokers. We would like to provide quotes for a larger proportion of the claims we receive. Our goal is therefore to broaden our business by expanding the current acceptance criteria in the segments we are already familiar with.
In order to stay relevant among our brokers and provide them with a sustainable offer, we need to enter new segments carefully so we don’t need to backtrack. We already cover a wide range of risks in commercial insurance. Over the last three years, we have had an average annual growth of nearly 30%. That’s huge. And it proves just how much our brokers appreciate us.
Q. In the context of the transversal work currently being carried out in brokerage to launch innovative technological projects (e.g. RCCAQ, IBAC, CSIO), how is L’Unique involved?
A. We are planning to start consultations soon with RCCAQ and our brokers to help us with our options. Two major areas of development will be available during the next two years.
The first is connectivity. For us, connectivity means rendering communication between L’Unique brokers simpler, quicker and more efficient. For example, the exchange of electronic data in real time, the exchange in deferred time such as EDI (including eDocs) or the underwriting autonomy of brokers in our systems.
Also, with regard to EDI, in personal-lines, we are continuously working on improving flexibility and reducing duplicate entries. However, in commercial insurance, EDI is not well developed. It will therefore be important for our brokers to prioritize EDI starting this year.
For real-time data exchanges, for example, to allow the broker to query the BMS about an insured's loss file or the payment schedule without having to enter our system...all this type of work still needs to be done. We believe it has become a priority for our brokers. We are also closely monitoring the DXCA project led by IBAC (connecting BMSs to insurers’ systems using shared APIs). The realities for brokers in Quebec and the rest of Canada are different and we have to evaluate if the project is as promising in Quebec as it is in Ontario.
The second component is digital. The priority is to allow brokers to offer digital services based on the needs of the insureds (quotes, notice of loss, consulting documents, etc.). The solutions may vary. Since service to the insureds goes through the brokers, we believe that digital services should primarily be offered by the brokers via their BMS. On the other hand, with regard to claims settlement, it would be less costly to make them available to the insureds through L’Unique's systems. These questions will be addressed during our consultations and we will then be able to develop a digital vision over three to five years to guide our projects.
