Yahoo Finance Fraud, cannabis, and AI: Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier has a lot on his plate
Guy Cormier has a tough task ahead of him. As CEO he’s tasked with leading Desjardins Group though something of an evolution for the industry.
Desjardins Group has operations in three sectors: Personal and business services, wealth management and life and health insurance, and property and casual insurance.
The Quebec-based company’s property insurance arm is trying to make inroads into Ontario, where a bill to end auto insurance postal code discrimination is in play.
For example, Brampton drivers pay nearly $1,000 more than the average driver in Toronto. That’s because the average claim per vehicle is 41 per cent higher in Brampton.
Cormier told Yahoo Finance Canada there’s a real problem in Ontario.
“There are some claims out there where we think there is fraud,” says Cormier. “We are in discussion with government agencies.”
Cormier says he wants to be fair, but lowering premiums for risky clients will just mean higher premiums for everyone else.
Desjardins hasn’t connected fraud to specific areas. Cormier says the problem is deep in the system, which has many parties making claims along the way.
Careful about cannabis
Cormier has been cautious when it comes to cannabis.
“On the banking and business side we will continue to help our members and clients who want to transition their business into the cannabis industry,” says Cormier.
Big investments aren’t part of Cormier’s plan. He says Cannabis positions will not be found in Desjardins’ investment and pension funds.
Cormier points out Desjardins has been integrating therapeutic cannabis into its life and health insurance for years. He is still working with government officials to better understand the property side of legalized pot.
Embracing artificial intelligence
Although Cormier is treading carefully when it comes to pot, he’s all in on AI. It helped Desjardins be proactive during September’s tornados in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.
“We knew a storm was coming so we alerted members and clients,” says Cormier. “30 minutes later we sent another alert, we asked if people were okay. Are there any problems with your house or car? Do you want to start a claim right now?”
Additionally, Desjardins launched Ajusto car insurance about two years ago. It uses telematics to help you save on car insurance. Based on driving habits, you could get savings of up to 25 per cent on your car insurance premium. Cormier says, for the first few months, drivers were noticeably changing their behaviour for the better.
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