Executive Outlook 2022: Valérie Lavoie, Desjardins General Insurance Group

Valérie Lavoie, President and CEO, Desjardins General Insurance Group

When the pandemic started, we were very reactive in our response. Being flexible and staying close to our members, clients and employees became more crucial than ever.

We must keep challenging ourselves to be more proactive and continue to evolve the ways we serve our customers. Part of that will be through digital transformation. Today, 80% of Desjardins employees are working from home and digital tools for real-time collaboration have helped us with productivity and efficiency.

Another example is how we handle photo-based estimates. Before the pandemic, we had to encourage our clients to take advantage of this time-saving service. People are more open to it now and we have a 34% adoption rate, up from 15% before the pandemic.

Whether it’s claims, underwriting, or even how we segment our business, the increasing prevalence of AI will continue to allow us to innovate and grow and will have an important role in our day-to-day operations in 2022 and beyond.

We need to continue to be there for our members and clients. We must keep monitoring and capturing their needs and see how we can offer personalized solutions. That’s why UBI and programs like Ajusto will continue to play a crucial role in our business. The products and services we offer are also evolving and we must constantly think of ways to better protect and serve our members and clients for these changing times.

Finally, climate change continues to put pressure on our industry as we see increasing numbers of disasters and severe weather events. Desjardins recently committed to net-zero emissions by 2040 and has signed UNEP FI’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance. We are also changing how we operate by promoting paperless service, developing prevention tools such as Alert and Radar, improving the way we rebuild homes with resilient materials and integrating ESG into all our business decisions.

See all the 2022 Outlooks here.