QUEBEC CITY, Jan. 18, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Université
Laval and Intact Financial
Corporation (IFC) are establishing two new chairs to advance
research in the fields of artificial intelligence and actuarial
science: The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
(NSERC)/Intact Financial Corporation Industrial Research Chair in
Machine Learning for Insurance; and, the Educational Leadership
Chair (ELC) in Big Data Analysis for Actuarial Science –
Intact.
The two chairs are supported by a $2
million contribution from Intact Financial Corporation. Some
30 students from Université Laval's Faculty of Science and Engineering
will participate in the research.
Consumers' expectations are changing rapidly. Software and data
are transforming the way we interact, gather and share information,
and how we live. IFC is leading through this change by developing
partnerships with academic and research institutions, accelerating
its core competencies; and adapting its product offerings.
"At Intact, we are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to
design relevant products and services for customers and we aspire
to be the best insurance AI shop in the world. That is why we are
building unique partnerships with leading institutions like
Université Laval," said
Charles Brindamour, Chief Executive
Officer of Intact Financial Corporation. "Our collaboration with
Université Laval is aimed at
building a leading talent pipeline of actuaries and data
scientists, developing cutting-edge products and positioning
Quebec and Canada at the forefront of AI and machine
learning.''
Université Laval rector Sophie
D'Amours emphasizes the importance of research and education in the
rapidly emerging field of artificial intelligence, explaining that
"advances in research and training will strengthen Canada's position as a world leader in
artificial intelligence, while expanding the scope of our expertise
in machine learning and big data. Such advances will speed up the
adoption of machine learning methods in the insurance industry and
foster the development of applications in many other sectors, such
as medical diagnostics."
The new ELC will train future actuaries in the digital,
computing, and statistical methods they need to make the most of
big data in the insurance industry.
"The ELC will help improve big data capabilities among actuaries
and insurance firms," said chairholder Marie-Pier Côté, an adjunct
professor at the Faculty of Science and Engineering. "This new
paradigm of big data creates unprecedented possibilities for
insurance companies, including better segmentation of customer
profiles; greater accuracy in estimating the real cost of products,
resulting in improved pricing; closer tracking of customer
satisfaction, and more," she said.
Backed by the NSERC, the second chair will focus on
interpretable machine learning. Including IFC's contribution and
government funding, the research program expects to receive up to
$6.5 million.
"The research chair will work with Intact to develop new
technology tools to tackle the big data revolution and gain a more
granular understanding of customer needs," explained chairholder
François Laviolette, the founding director of Université
Laval's big data research centre,
CRDM.
"NSERC's Research Partnerships support collaborations that allow
new scientific evidence to be applied to a broad range of new
applications. This project could lead to the creation of new
services and to the enhancement of existing services, which will
directly affect the overall insurance experience of many Canadians.
It will also provide the next generation of innovators with
invaluable practical experience and a skill set that will be in
high demand in Canadian services industries," mentioned Dr.
Marc Fortin, Vice-President,
Research Partnerships, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada.
About Université Laval
Driven by innovation and the
pursuit of excellence, Université Laval is one of Canada's leading research universities,
ranking 8th with $356 million in
research funding last year. It has 3,730 professors, lecturers and
other academic and research staff who share their knowledge with
over 43,000 students, 25% of whom are enrolled in graduate studies.
The oldest francophone university in North America, Université Laval has so far trained more than 300,000
people who each contribute in their own way to the advancement of
society. www.ulaval.ca
About Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial
Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and
casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty
insurance in North America, with
close to $10 billion in total annual
premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than five million personal, business,
public sector and institutional clients through offices in
Canada and the U.S. In
Canada, Intact distributes
insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network
of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and
directly to consumers through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon
Insurance Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty
insurance products through independent agencies, brokers,
wholesalers and managing general agencies.
SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation