Stéphane Rochon, CEO of Humania Assurance, has announced that it is revamping the corporate structure of group insurance business. Nicolas Moskiou, newly appointed vice president, group insurance and customer experience, will be in charge of modernizing group insurance. He had been working as vice president, operations since joining the insurer in December 2019.
Rochon says he has expanded Moskiou’s responsibilities “with a view to constantly placing our customers and members at the heart of our decision making and to offer a responsive experience to them and to our independent advisors.” Moskiou says that the restructuring will make the insurer and its partners more agile, efficient and quicker at all stages of the process, from plan sales to claims. “This change demonstrates our intention to invest our efforts in group, in terms of both optimizing our internal processes and enhancing our global offering and technological applications,” he says.
Among other changes, Mélina Gauthier, National Sales Director, Group Insurance, will now report to Moskiou. She will coordinate intermediary and advisor relations. Sophie Lefebvre, Director of Group Insurance Administration, will continue to report to Moskiou, and will oversee services for plan sponsors and insured. Chief actuary Alina Dudau will continue to oversee underwriting and pricing.
Separation to foster unity
“We had a role of vice president sales and marketing that encompassed group and individual. We recently decided to separate the two areas,” Moskiou says. Now with Lussier Dale Parizeau, Kim Oliphant had held the sales and marketing position at Humania until June 2020. Stéphane Rochon recently told Insurance Portal that he had not replaced her yet.
What’s more, the “sales” part of the group vice-presidency is now known as “value chain,” explains Moskiou, who will be responsible for this area. “Before, we had sales, underwriting, actuarial, claims and administration teams, among others. My goal is to unite all these teams into one team that will cover the stages from the sale of a group plan to claim filing. We want to develop unity, a sense of belonging to group insurance.”
The new vice president, group insurance and customer experience adds that the term “customer experience” is often used as a synonym for “customer service.” At Humania, the term will now refer to all group insurance operations, not just sales, Moskiou says. “We are emphasizing the mission of being customer-centric from start to finish. This includes the claims experience.” He points out that claims analysts talk to insured daily.
Claims generate referrals
Nicolas Moskiou joined Humania in December 2019, after leaving his position of chief actuary and leader in AI at National Bank Insurance, a National Bank of Canada subsidiary. In this position, he was involved in an online life insurance sales initiative in 2018 with the digital platform Breathe Life. The Concordia University graduate and Fellow of the Society of Actuaries has held several other key actuarial roles, including head actuary at Québec Blue Cross and senior actuary at AXA.
In managing the insurer’s day-to-day operations, Moskiou plans to apply the lessons learned at National Bank Insurance. “I’ve seen for years that the actuary is usually at the forefront of an insurance company. Everything traditionally revolves around them. Regarding the transformation of insurance operations at National Bank, I’ve noticed that it’s more about operations being at the centre of an insurance company.”
He gives the example of the claims department. “Increasingly, we are noticing that insured who with perfect claims experience will automatically recommend their insurer.” Claims analysts are pivotal here. “Their role is not just to take notes and decide between accepting or rejecting a claim. Analysts support and guide clients through difficult times,” the actuary explains. He also emphasizes the importance of administrative services and customer service in cultivating a quality customer experience.
Speed of development
Another memorable aspect of his digital distribution experience with National Bank Insurance is the speed of development, a quality he finds at Humania. “With the bank and the Breathe Life platform, it took four months from product development to platform development.” Nicolas Moskiou mentions that the development of an insurance product traditionally took between 9 and 18 months in the industry, with 9 months being considered fast. “At Humania, product development takes about three to four months.”
In his new role with the group value chain, Moskiou will focus on modernizing Humania’s internal tools, and offering comprehensive tools and services to policyholders, plan holders and firms, including third-party payers and administrators (TPAs).
