On April 9, 2024, following a meeting of the CAFII Board of Directors, CAFII held the first of its 2024 receptions. Hosted by Assurant, the event took place at the Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto. With over 70 people in attendance, the audience included regulators, member company employees and colleagues, and industry associates.
After a hockey-inspired introduction by CAFII Board Vice Chair Paul Cosgrove (President and CEO of Assurance Canada), the evening commenced with a presentation from two Deloitte partners: Melissa Carruthers and Azadeh Dehghanpour. The informative presentation explored how a number of factors, including customer needs, emerging technology, margin compression, and regulatory forces, are challenging and inspiring insurers to transform operations and business practices. As the market is increasingly subjected to industry shifts, insurers are adjusting their focus toward a more customer-centric approach. One such example of this trend is the digitalization of operations; online platforms are increasingly more cost-effective and accessible for the consumer. However, operational changes are often blocked by fragmented processes, legacy platforms, and ideological resistance to change. While these operational changes are positioned as principally improving the customer experience, they also benefit the organization by improving organizational frameworks and modes of conduct. By modernizing core systems and adopting hybrid technology approaches, insurers can achieve operational model efficiencies that strategically align with their business and consumer intent.
The Deloitte presentation is available on the CAFII website in the research section: Deloitte presentation.
After the presentation, Peter Thompson, President and CEO of National Bank Insurance, thanked the guest speakers and offered a few concluding remarks. Audience members disbursed to look at the Stanley Cup, enjoy hors d’oeuvres, and mingle.
