MONTREAL — Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec’s (SAAQ) new digital platform, SAAQclic, will be operational on Feb. 20, the company’s President and CEO Denis Marsolais said Thursday morning.

At a press conference, SAAQ executives unveiled the changes brought about by the transition to modernity, specifically the ability to conduct most transactions remotely.

“It’s a major transformation that will ensure we really put the citizen first. It will allow him to carry out a large number of transactions from the comfort of his own home, ”said the leader.

According to Mr Marsolais, the main objective is to ensure customer autonomy, increase the efficiency of services and avoid the need for individuals to travel to the 142 service points in the province. For example, you can transfer a number plate from one person to another and have access to all their documents in digital form.

Karl Malenfant, vice president of digital experience at SAAQ, said that SAAQclic would guarantee “end-to-end” customer service, especially by bringing all customer information together in one place. This centralization will filter and delete 9 of the 10 billion files created over time, which will significantly reduce the load on the system.

“We want to be more preventive and proactive towards the customer. We also want to make space in terms of workload so that we can devote more time to our customers with specific needs,” he explained during the press conference, adding that employees awaited this change “with interest”.

The SAAQ also stated that the new platform, whose bill is $458 million, will make it possible to alleviate the problems related to labor shortages and “absorb” the expected growth of 2% in the next few years.

Since its inception in 1978, the company has seen an 81% growth in the number of permits and 137% in registered vehicles, while still using the same technology in its service offering. In 2021, the SAAQ recorded approximately 25 million transactions across Quebec.

Customized needs

Although the watchword of the new platform is autonomy, company leaders have stated that they want to maintain inclusive services for all network users.

“Our staff will have more time to support customers with special needs. We are very aware that some customers will inevitably have to travel,” said Jean-Philippe McKenzie, Vice President for Safe Road Access.

He assured that people with literacy difficulties, immigrants, the hard of hearing or those unfamiliar with technology will always have access to adapted services, both in person and by phone.

The transfer of data to SAAQclic will take place between January 26th and February 19th, a period during which it will be impossible to make a license or registration payment directly to the company. Customers must instead turn to online services or their financial institution’s counters, the vice president said.

The SAAQ said service outlets and call centers would remain open during the transition, but urged customers to travel only for “essential services”.

During this time, customers can still validate a driver’s license, replace a lost or stolen driver’s license, check their vehicle’s compliance, or take a practical driving test. Operation is “manual”, i.e. without technology. All traffic control activities are also maintained on the network.

“With full transparency from February 20, it is certain that customers will have to expect slightly longer delays than usual. (…) Our staff are in a learning phase during this period, so we will ask that you do not come without an appointment,” added Jean-Philippe McKenzie.

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This article was produced with financial support from the Meta Fellowships and The Canadian Press for News.