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
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