Following his appointment as chair of the         RCCAQ's technology committee, we met with Jean Philippe Martineau, president of Groupe Ostiguy & Gendron, and asked him about his views on upcoming initiatives aimed at supporting brokers in their digital transition. Our discussion focused on four far-reaching questions.

The technology committee is now entering its second phase. How do you see the upcoming initiatives?

I'm very pleased to have been a part of the technology committee since it was formed. Now that it is a standing committee, I'm looking forward to beginning phase 2 of our work as chairman.

I could mention the mission we set for ourselves but at this point, I actually see the committee as necessarily having a concrete and tangible impact on the insurance brokerage industry. Within the financial sector, the insurance industry has been relatively slow to embrace the digital transition. That means that the technology committee needs to speed up the innovation process. To do that, we need to rally influential industry stakeholders around a series of common projects.

In the near future, we will be sharing information on various high-potential long-term projects the committee members have agreed on, along with concrete priorities that we will be focusing on in the immediate short term.

The technology committee entered into a new collaboration agreement with the firm Sphere AI. Can you tell us a little more about that?

The committee recently began working with the Quebec-based firm Sphere AI, whose mission is to guide companies in their digital transformation from an artificial intelligence perspective. And that's exactly how we'll be working with them. Their consultants can shed light on AI-related opportunities for brokerage firms. AI has been a key issue for a number of years. The innovation possibilities are numerous but, for many owners, the waters are hard to navigate.

Sphere AI's consultants will be helping us put together a number of straightforward practical strategies that could be adopted by a large number of brokerage firms and that could facilitate their technological transition. Sphere AI's professionals will also be helping us launch various larger-scale high-tech projects that will showcase the collective strength of the RCCAQ's members.

You were recently appointed chair of the technology committee. What's the biggest asset you bring to that role?

My strength doesn't lie in having a specific area of technological expertise. Actually, I have a keen interest in management and entrepreneurship. The way I see it, if brokerage firms want to grow and become more efficient, they absolutely have to address their technology issues. The entrepreneur in me is not won over by short-term profits, at least not exclusively. I'm focused on investments that will bring long-term growth and profitability. I'm into change, even though it's always difficult to call into question your current approach. For me, the biggest obstacle to innovation isn't the cost of technology; it's the sense of inertia that comes from being a little too comfortable and complacent.

We're all accountable when it comes to the future of our industry. The brokerage network can't let other actors impose their digital solutions. We can't remain passive in the face of new technologies. The insurance broker community has to take action with a view to putting its own innovative solutions in place.

In your view, how will the current crisis impact the committee's work?

The crisis shouldn't have a major impact on the committee's work. The digital transition was on the table even before the Covid-19 crisis. It should be noted that the discussions concerning online insurance sales threw that issue into sharper relief. Now it's an urgent matter. My concern is to keep prioritizing this issue and to keep on supporting brokerage firms so that everyone is able to carry out this transition.

One of the pandemic's positive effects will be to speed up the implementation of technological solutions in our industry, but we certainly can't stop there. Most of the technologies adopted in response to the crisis have been aimed at addressing internal operating issues. During the crisis, very few new solutions have emerged that are designed to improve the client experience.

Most importantly, we can never forget that the lockdown has changed people's consumption habits. The crisis dismantled any remaining psychological barriers to online shopping or online service delivery. In fact, during lockdown, consumers probably evolved more rapidly than businesses did. While companies were shifting to remote working on a massive scale, consumers were forging a brand-new identity. They will be even more demanding with us in the future, so we want to be ready, willing and able to meet that demand.