Claims: Preparing for the unexpected, today and tomorrow

by Etienne Berlinguet , Senior Vice President, Claims Canada, Intact Financial Corporation??

Last year, customers filed more than half a million claims with Intact. Among those, extreme weather events accounted for $1.3 billion in paid claims from Intact. These catastrophes hit Canada from coast to coast – with the cost of insured losses across all insurers nationally coming in at $3.1 billion.??

These numbers really drive home how the world is changing. Extreme weather is now part of life, and its impacts are more severe, creating more complex and more expensive claims.??

The good news: We’ve changed in response.??

We’ve been systematically investing in people and processes so that we are ready to support customers through both regular claims and the increasingly expected catastrophic events.??

Most importantly, the people handling your customers’ claims are agile, adaptable and supported:??

• We’ve hired more than 1500 people in claims across the country over the past two years, reinvented how we train them – and they’re staying.???
• These teams have local presence and can be mobilized across the country to address the high-volume flow CATs create, usually allowing our service levels to return to desired standards within a week after a CAT.??
• Our revamped triage system means customers talk to the right person within minutes – even when their claim is out of the ordinary.??

We’re also bringing more key parts of the supply chain in-house, which lets us get customers back on track faster:??

• We now have 31 Intact Service Centres for Intact auto customers across Canada, with more set to open through 2024.???
• We’re using On Side Restoration to support more and more of Intact property claims.??

Additionally, we’re focused on giving customers better line of sight on the status of their claims, with proactive communication from adjusters on complex files to ensure customers know what’s coming and what they need to do next.???

And, the Client Centre and the Intact Insurance App ensures your customers’ insurance information – including your contact information – is at their fingertips.???

As we go into the 2024 CAT season – which, in some parts of the country, has already started – we are prepared for volatility.??

As always, you are the frontline support in preparing customers for volatility, as you:??

• Help protect your customers by ensuring they have the coverage and the information they need.???
• Touch base and review their personal and commercial coverage.???
• Share wildfire, flood and other severe weather risk mitigation resources from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation with them.??

The unexpected will come – we’re ready. Let’s work together to make sure customers are, too.??

Customer Resources??

As you support customers, consider leveraging these practical resources from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation: ?

Flood?

• Three Steps to Cost-Effective Home Flood Protection?
• Key Flood-Resilience Measures for Commercial Real Estate in Canada?

Fire?

• Three Steps to a Cost-Effective FireSmart? Home??
• Three Features of a Wildfire-Ready Community?

Extreme Heat?

• Three Steps to Cost-Effective Home Heat Protection?
• Three Steps to Cost-Effective Apartment and Condo Heat Protection?

Nature?

• Three Ways to Reduce Climate Risk: Working with Nature at Home?

Exclusive to Intact Brokers?

Intact brokers, use these Pathways courses – the eLearnings are available to you 24/7 on the Intact Portal – to help you better support customers through claims, CATs and climate impacts:?

• Intact Claims Experience – Discover how Intact works with you throughout the claims process to enhance the customer experience (1-hour eLearning – take anytime!)?
• Enhanced Water Damage Package – Explore the different water coverage options available to your customers (1-hour eLearning – take anytime!)?
• Market Trends in Climate Changes – Dive into how current trends impact the commercial insurance industry and what you can do to help customers remain resilience (Next 1-hour instructor-led session on May 6)??