Group insurance leader reveals sales and retention strategies

Charles St-Laurent joined the industry in 2006 as a service representative at Medavie Blue Cross and became the insurer’s regional vice president of business development, Quebec on March 1. He let Insurance Portal in on his approach, along with his business development and retention strategies.

In December 2021, St-Laurent’s predecessor Pierre Marion announced that he would retire in 2022. Renowned in the industry, Marion has been with Medavie Blue Cross for over 33 years. He is working part-time as a senior business development consultant and group insurance advisor at the insurer until he retires later this year.

Prior to replacing Pierre Marion, Charles St-Laurent was a corporate account executive and a group insurance advisor. He told Insurance Portal that he stumbled into group insurance by accident. St-Laurent began his career in the industry with by joining Medavie Blue Cross while still a student. “I paid health and dental claims, and I liked it. So I stayed.”

Charles St-Laurent considers Pierre Marion a mentor. He also admires Marion’s ability to explain products and concepts in simple terms. In addition, Marion also eased St-Laurent into his role as the VP’s successor. “Luckily for me, Pierre worked with me from day one during this transition period,” St-Laurent says.

Collaboration and innovation

Charles St-Laurent defines his work style as collaborative, both internally and with brokers and group insurance clients. He describes himself as a listener. “I will continue to work collaboratively to provide better solutions and be even more innovative,” he says.

Medavie Blue Cross announced on July 7 that it is the first insurer in Canada to cover the cost of Text Therapy for mental health services. Offered through a partner, Focus Mental Wellness, this service lets people consult a therapist via text message, without having to make an appointment. It is available to both group plan members and individual insurance clients.

“This offering is in addition to our Connected Care service, which already includes access to telemedicine (with Maple), Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, virtual physiotherapy, personalized medicine, a diabetes care program, and on-demand mindfulness training and guided meditations,” St-Laurent points out.

Medavie Blue Cross also offers pharmacogenetic testing, “on a voluntary basis,” he says. He gives the example of a mental health disability issue: “These services can help physicians choose the medication that will have the best effect based on the patient’s DNA. If clients have already taken two or three drugs that didn’t have the desired effect, we offer the service. We do not receive the test results: They remain confidential between patients, their pharmacists and their physicians.”

Selling online

“We will continue the digital shift we initiated before the pandemic,” St-Laurent adds. Claims processing on a mobile platform is one example. Claims are now reimbursed without human intervention. “We have eliminated all the delays in claims processing,” he says. Medavie is also considering expanding reimbursements to other allied health services.

“Real Time Adjudication has been in place for two years now. In 2021, 12 per cent of claims, excluding dental and drug, were processed this way. We are at 17 per cent in 2022, as of early June.”

Medavie also plans to expand the offering of group insurance products that advisors can sell via the Internet. “Advisors will be able to sell pre-structured products online. We are currently developing a platform to submit group insurance quotes or sales requests online. We have already launched it in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. We are working on an offer that should be available to brokers by the end of the year,” he explains.

Sales withstand shortage  

In response to the labour shortage, Medavie has implemented measures to improve employee retention and attract new talent. For example, St. Laurent says the insurer has been hiring preemptively, to ensure that someone is in place in case an employee leaves. “We’re making every effort to ensure that the labour shortage doesn’t impact the quality of our service,” he adds.

Charles St-Laurent adds that listening to employees is more important than ever. “We have to take their pulse. Insurance products don’t typically fly off the shelves. It takes skill to sell them. You have to support employees and retain them, especially in an environment where qualified workers are hard to find,” he explains.

The keys to selling and retaining 

Soon after Charles St-Laurent was promoted, Medavie reported record retention and growth. “In my second year, I qualified for the President’s Council because I exceeded my goals by 200 per cent,” St-Laurent says. He considers himself lucky to have had the opportunity to develop a network from scratch with consulting firms starting in 2016.

He nurtures his relationships with clients, brokers and consultants by responding to their requests constructively. The answer is not always yes, but it is not necessarily no, St. Laurent says. “We want to build relationships through collaboration. We’re looking for common ground. This approach is strongly driven by our being a non-profit corporation. Without having to answer to shareholders, we can take a longer-term view in our business.”

In group insurance, sales are made every day, Charles St-Laurent continues. “What you do today, you have to deliver tomorrow. That’s the most important factor: You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep. You have to do what you say and say what you’ll do. When choosing a supplier, advisors put their reputation on the line, in a sense. If we don’t deliver, it damages the relationship. That may seem like a basic factor, but it’s not always done in the industry,” he points out.