Most of Intact’s auto claims handled remotely

By Hubert Roy, published on Aug. 13, 2020, 9:15 a.m.

Claims INTACT Losses ON SIDE RESTORATION Technology Vehicle

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Intact Financial Corporation has seized the opportunity of the COVID-19 pandemic to harness its artificial intelligence capacities.

The insurer confirmed that over 60% of its auto insurance claims were processed remotely in Q2 2020. Damage was estimated based on pictures taken by clients.

“That number was in the teens entering the crisis, so a big progression,” Senior Vice-president, Claims, Patrick Barbeau, commented during a conference call with financial analysts to disclose the insurer’s second quarter results for 2020.

Barbeau adds that AI allows the insurer to accelerate the next steps to offer clients a more straight through processing and accelerated process. With his sights firmly set on home insurance, he gave the example of a restoration company that Intact owns: On Side Restoration.

“With On Side, we confirm coverage based on videos that are taken by clients and On Side staff from remote. And instead of taking us two, three days on average to be able to confirm to the clients the coverage, we do that within three to four business hours,” he explains.

Intact CEO Charles Brindamour is also convinced that the digital shift will accelerate. “I think that the changes we’re seeing on the digital front and the stepped‐up that we’ve seen in Q1 in our mind will be a new plateau to grow from. We’re not going backward from there. And our value prop from a digital point of view will improve over time because, as I’ve mentioned, we’ve doubled down on our investment there.”