Three years after its IPO as a newly independent Canadian company, ING Canada Inc. is rebranding itself as Intact Financial Corp., the company announced at its annual general meeting in Toronto on Wednesday.

Shareholders at the meeting voted in favour of adopting the new name, which sums up the company’s customer-driven strategy, according to president and CEO Charles Brindamour.

“The new name says it all,” he said at the meeting. “Our promise to our customers is really to help them get back on track, while providing them with a fair, easy and respectful experience along the way.”

The company has already begun its rebranding process, which Brindamour describes as a “gigantic initiative,” and intends to complete the process by the end of next week. Intact will soon launch a major national multimedia marketing campaign.

“Our transformation holds significant promise for the future,” Brindamour said.

The change comes after a challenging year for the company, in which it was hit simultaneously by hefty investment losses related to the market downturn, and a surge in claims in its home insurance business.

In the first quarter ended March 31, the company incurred net losses on invested assets of $135.3 million.

The home insurance business sustained a loss of $26.9 million thanks to higher claims related to major storms in Central Canada, and the rapid snowmelt.

Overall, the company incurred a net loss of $36.3 million in the first quarter, down from a profit of $23 million in the same quarter last year.

Going forward, Intact will be generally well positioned to withstand further economic turmoil since the property and casualty insurance industry, which is based on non-discretionary sales, is typically sheltered from economic downturns, Brindamour said.

“Historically, the profitability of the industry has not been overly correlated with economic fluctuations,” he said, but he warned that the industry’s top line performance would likely be impacted by continuing economic turmoil.

Throughout the rest of the year, Intact expects insurance premiums to rise across the industry.

A key area of focus for the company this year will be the personal auto insurance industry in Ontario. With rising claim costs set to continue to boost auto insurance premiums in Ontario, Brindamour said he is concerned about the state of the industry. The province’s personal auto insurance industry represents roughly 25% of Canada’s total P&C industry, he said.

“Drivers in Ontario are already paying the highest premiums in Canada to insure their vehicles,” Brindamour said. He added that continued hikes in claim costs will result in higher premiums for Ontario drivers, which could hamper affordability of insurance in the province.

“Controlling the cost of protection is critical,” he said. In the wake of the economic downturn, Brindamour said it is more important than ever for the industry and the government to address this issue in Ontario.

Another area of focus for Intact this year will be addressing the impact of changing weather patterns on its home insurance business. The company’s results have been severely affected by the growing number of storms in Canada, Brindamour said.

The company is developing a robust action plan to address this issue, which will include aspects such as better segmentation of risks, and a review of product design to ensure it meets customer expectations.

IE