Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, good afternoon. My name is William Young, I am the chairman of the board of directors of Intact Financial Corporation. On behalf of the directors, I would like to welcome you to the 2023 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders of Intact Financial Corporation. Je vous souhaite la bienvenue à l'assemblée annuelle et extraordinaire des actionnaires d'Intact Corporation Financière. C'est un privilège pour moi de présider cette assemblée et de m'adresser à nos actionnaires.
Please note that this meeting will take place in both English and French. Simultaneous translation is being provided through our webcast, we welcome questions in either language. In addition, closed captioning is available by clicking the CC button on the bottom right of the webcast player, located on the right side of your screen when you are in the English or French channel.
Should you have any technical support issues during the meeting webcast, please refer to the FAQ page at lumiglobal.com/faq. As Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, I will act as chair of this meeting as per the company's bylaws. I now call the meeting to order. I would like to draw your attention to the forward-looking statement disclaimer currently displayed on the webcast page.
Certain forward-looking statements may be made during this meeting, and actual results could differ from these statements. Joining me today are Charles Brindamour, Chief Executive Officer of the company, who will deliver his report later in the meeting, and Stephanie Lee, Group Deputy General Counsel, who will act as secretary of the meeting. My fellow directors, as well as members of the senior management- company, have also joined for today's meeting.
Patty Tsigounis and Connor Brazeau, representatives of Computershare, will act as scrutineers of the meeting. At this time, I would like the secretary of the meeting to review the procedures for voting and for asking questions.
Merci, William. Si vous avez déjà voté par procuration avant l'assemblée et que vous ne souhaitez pas modifier votre vote, vous n'avez pas besoin de voter à nouveau. Voici la procédure pour les actionnaires et les fondés de pouvoir qui assistent à l'assemblée aujourd'hui et qui ont ouvert une session en utilisant le nom d'utilisateur et le mot de passe fournis par Computershare.
If you are a shareholder or proxy holder who has not yet voted, or if you wish to change your existing vote, you may do so by clicking on the Voting button in the middle of your screen at the top of the page. Voting is now open and will remain open until all voting matters have been presented. Those attending the meeting as guests are not able to vote.
Following the closing of voting, I will announce preliminary voting results for each matter, and final voting results will be published by press release and will be available on the company's website as well as on SEDAR following the meeting. Shareholders and proxy holders attending the meeting and wishing to ask questions are encouraged to ask their question by clicking on the Messaging button in the middle of your screen at the top of the page.
Once you have finished typing out your question, please indicate whether it relates to a specific item on the meeting agenda or is of a more general nature, and then click the Send icon button at the right side of the text box. Those attending the meeting as guests are not able to ask questions. We will address questions regarding specific agenda items at the time these items are presented.
General questions will be addressed following remarks by our CEO. I will read the questions received, and questions of a similar nature may be grouped together in a single question. If your question concerns a client matter, please include your contact information, and a member of our customer service team will get in touch with you following the meeting.
Finally, if there are any questions we're not able to answer today, we will reach out to you personally after the meeting to ensure we answer your question. Nous vous remercions à l'avance de votre appui à l'égard de ces procédures.
Thank you, Stephanie. I have received satisfactory proof that the notice calling this meeting was duly sent to all shareholders of the company under the notice and access regime, the whole in conformity with the bylaws of the company and with the corporate and securities laws of Canada. We have received proxies representing more than 79% of the over 175 million common shares outstanding.
I hereby declare that notice requirements have been met, that a quorum is present, and that this meeting is properly constituted for the transaction of business. I further direct that the secretary maintains the proxies and records of attendance with the official records of this meeting. The meeting is now open.
At this time, I would like to remind everyone attending that the minutes of last year's annual meeting of shareholders, along with the meeting agenda and other documents, including the management proxy circular and annual financial statements, are available by clicking the Documents button in the middle of your screen at the top of the page, as well as under the Investors tab of the company's website. For the purpose of this meeting, I will ask Stephanie Lee, who is a shareholder, to move all proposals.
The first order of business is receipt of the company's financial statements for the year 2022. Copies of these financial statements were made available to shareholders who requested them, along with the annual meeting documentation. Copies are also available on our website and may be obtained from the secretary's office or the investor relations department of the company....
Can the secretary confirm whether any questions have been received with respect to this matter?
We've not received any questions.
Thank you. I confirm that the consolidated financial statements of Intact Financial Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2022, and the auditor's report related to these financial statements have been hereby received by this meeting. The next item of the meeting is the appointment of the auditor.
Management, the audit committee, and the board of directors of the company have recommended the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's auditors for the 2023 fiscal year and until the next annual meeting. Can the secretary confirm whether any questions have been received with respect to this matter?
No questions.
Thank you. May I have a proposal in this regard?
My name is Stephanie Lee, and I am a shareholder of the company. I would like to move that Ernst & Young LLP be appointed as auditor of the company for the year 2023 and until the next annual meeting.
Thank you. I'd like to remind all shareholders and proxy holders in attendance that voting is currently open and will remain open until the last voting matter has been presented. We will now proceed with the election of the directors of the company. 13 directors are nominated for election at this meeting.
Except for the recent appointment of Mike Katchen in July of last year, all directors proposed by management of the company were elected by shareholders at last year's annual meeting. Please also note that in accordance with the company's advance notice bylaw, it has been confirmed that no other director nominations were received by the company. Can the secretary confirm whether any questions have been received with respect to the election of the directors?
We have not received any questions on this item.
Thank you. May I have a proposal in this regard?
My name is Stephanie Lee, and I am a shareholder of the company, and I hereby propose the following persons as directors of the Board of Directors of Intact Financial Corporation as of this meeting, and to remain in that function until the next annual meeting: Charles Brindamour, Emmanuel Clarke, Janet De Silva, Michael Katchen, Stephanie Kingsmill, Jane Kinney, Robert Leary, Sylvie Paquette, Stuart Russell, Indira Samarasekera, Frederick Singer, Carolyn Wilkins, and William Young.
Thank you. Voting is currently open if you wish to do so, and will remain open until the last voting matter has been presented. The next item on the agenda is the vote on the resolution relating to the confirmation, ratification, and approval of the amended and restated Shareholders' Rights Plan, last confirmed at the Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders on May 6, 2020, and most recently approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting of February 7, 2023. Can the secretary confirm whether any questions have been received with respect to this matter?
We have not received any questions.
Thank you. May I have a proposal in this regard?
My name is Stephanie Lee, and I am a shareholder of the company. I propose that the following resolution be approved. Be it resolved, that the amended and restated Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement, dated April 19, 2017, between the company and Computershare Investor Services Inc., be and is hereby ratified, reconfirmed, and reapproved.
Any director or officer of Intact Financial Corporation is authorized to do all such acts and things and to execute and deliver all such instruments, agreements, and other documents as in such person's opinion may be necessary or desirable in connection with the foregoing, to give full effect to this resolution.
Thank you. Voting remains open if you wish to vote on any of the matters presented and will close following the presentation of the next matter. The next item on the agenda is the advisory resolution relating to the company's approach to executive compensation. The board of directors believes that shareholders should have the opportunity to fully understand the objectives, philosophy, and principles that the board of directors has used and integrated to make executive compensation decisions.
It is the board of directors' intention that this shareholder advisory vote will form an important part of the ongoing process of engagement between shareholders and the board of directors on compensation. The board of directors has recommended that shareholders approve the non-binding advisory resolution. Can the secretary confirm whether any questions have been received with respect to this matter?
No questions.
Thank you. May I have a proposal in this regard?
My name is Stephanie Lee, and I'm a shareholder. I move that the following resolution be approved. Be it resolved on a non-binding and advisory basis, and not to diminish the role and responsibilities of the board of directors, that the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in the company's management proxy circular, made available in advance of the 2023 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders.
Thank you. We will now be closing voting. I invite those shareholders and proxy holders who have not yet cast their votes but wish to do so, to complete voting now. Voting is now closed. I will now ask the secretary to report the preliminary voting results.
Thank you. I have received the preliminary scrutineer report, and the final results will be filed on SEDAR and made available on the company's website as well as via press release following this meeting. The following are the preliminary results. Ernst & Young has been appointed as auditor of the company for the year 2023 and until the next annual meeting by at least 85% of votes cast.
All directors nominated for election have been duly elected with at least 98% of votes cast and will hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed. The company's amended and restated Shareholders' Rights Plan was ratified, reconfirmed, and reapproved with at least 92% of votes cast, and the advisory resolution to accept the approach to executive compensation was approved by at least 97% of votes cast.
Thank you. We have now completed the official business of the meeting and will now hear reports from myself and the chief executive officer. This will be followed by a question and answer period. As a reminder, if you are a shareholder or a proxy holder and wish to ask a question, you can submit it by clicking the messaging button in the middle of your screen at the top of the page. Now my report. 2022 is an important year of growth and adaptation for Intact.
We made significant progress towards fully integrating the RSA business, and we continue to be in a solid financial position despite an ongoing backdrop of inflation, natural catastrophes, and volatile capital markets. Our teams have a long history of adapting to grow the business, even in challenging times, and our strategy remains focused on three main things.
First, having three out of four customers be our advocates. Second, being seen as a best employer and having engaged employees who represent the communities we serve. Third, leading the way by being seen as one of the most respected companies by our stakeholders. Our strength and success begins with our customers. If shareholders want to win, customers must win first. When we're helping people, that means we're understanding them and providing services that are well-suited to their needs.
It's when it's driven by a workforce that is talented, diverse, and inclusive, it's a recipe for success. We made meaningful progress in meeting customer needs in 2022 through continued investment in digital engagement and AI. In Canada, one out of every two customers are now engaging with us digitally, and we're making significant strides towards our goal of having 3 out of 4 customers being digitally engaged.
We're also continuing to focus on attracting, retaining, and developing high-performing employees who represent the communities we serve. Being a diverse organization where everyone can recognize themselves allows us to tap into the largest pool of skills and capabilities. It's good business, but it's also mapped directly to the core values we hold as an organization.
The board is proud to recognize that Intact was once again named a Best Employer in Canada, the United States, and North America. We were an early adopter of gender diversity, and we've far exceeded our initial 30% commitment for board representation. Right now, we have 6 women on our board of 13, and we will continue to strive for gender parity. It feels right to have that balance.
Having diverse perspectives at the board table is critical to one of the board's principal roles, to be an effective sounding board to management on strategy. The best way we can do that is by ensuring board members have different backgrounds, histories, and ways of thinking about big issues. As we approach 50% parity on the board, we're focusing now on a longer-term trajectory to be more diverse in dimensions beyond gender. Strength in the market also comes from being a recognized leader and a force for good in our industry.
We've been able to prove to ourselves and our customers over the years that being focused on helping society also enables us to provide the best service, and that enables us to win in the marketplace. There's value in really understanding the challenges that people, including our customers, are facing on a day-to-day basis.
When your purpose explicitly states that you're there to build resilience, we have an imperative to step up and focus on building resilient communities. This is more critical than ever. Last year, Intact released its global climate strategy, which is a significant step to strengthen our ongoing commitment to climate action. It takes a long-term view to 2050 across our whole value chain while maintaining a focus on nearer-term emissions reductions in our corporate operations.
We invite you to read more about how Intact manages climate change and works to build a resilient society in our social impact and ESG report. The board is proud of Intact's leadership on climate change adaptation. As climate change manifests itself into increasing incidences of extreme weather, we've stepped up to help. Our efforts have built incredible momentum in Canada. We're now going global.
In recognition of our strong governance, purpose, and values, I'm really pleased to share that Intact was recognized once again as one of Canada's most respected companies in The Globe and Mail's 2022 Board Games rankings. Another priority for us is communication between shareholders and the board and management. Last year, I participated in stakeholder engagement and met with shareholders who represented approximately 34% of our investor base.
Intact also held its first in-person investor day since 2019, where we shared with investors our strategy and ambitions for the markets in which we operate. Stakeholder interest in our ESG performance is high. Because we are a purpose-driven company, ESG is already largely embedded into our strategy, so it's useful for us to hear from shareholders on what their expectations are to inform our thinking.
The board is moving quickly, the world is moving quickly on these issues, and society's expectation of the business response to ESG is evolving rapidly. Over the past year, I've met with at least 10 of our principal shareholders, and about half our discussions are focused on Intact's position on ESG topics, including climate change and DEI. As the board looks to the future, overseeing the implementation of our strategy will be a priority, and we will also focus on the succession of senior management team members.
Happily, the bench strength at Intact is deep, with seven successors available to step into each of the top 250 positions. I want to sincerely thank all the members of the board for their expertise and unwavering dedication in guiding Intact through a year of economic and sociopolitical challenges.
I'm also pleased to welcome our newest board member, Michael Katchen, who was appointed last July. As co-founder and CEO of Wealthsimple, Mike is a rising star in tech innovation, and I know the board will benefit immensely from his expertise. 2022 also marked my first year as chair of the board of directors. I must say, it's been a privilege to lead this highly committed group of individuals.
I want to thank Charles Brindamour and his executive team, who have done an extraordinary job of growing Intact into the leading company that it is today. Charles was honored as Canada's Outstanding CEO of 2022 by Caldwell and Bennett Jones. This is a tremendous and well-deserved honor, given his consistent track record of outperforming in the industry and providing value to shareholders.
I have great confidence that Charles and his team will continue to outperform while serving the interests of all our stakeholders. In conclusion, I would like to thank all Intact employees, customers, brokers, and shareholders for their continued loyalty and support. I am confident that together we will continue to both help and win in the years ahead. Thank you. I will now invite Charles Brindamour to deliver his remarks.
Thanks, William. Good afternoon, thank you for joining us today. Intact's purpose is to help people, businesses, and society prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times. Over the last three years, we've redefined resilience by withstanding adversity, helping our customers and society, while massively growing our business.
That adversity included a pandemic, a war, and stubbornly high inflation. Further, we've continued to observe the increasing destruction of natural disasters. The last few weeks alone, with floods in Quebec, ice storm and wildfires in Alberta, continue to be a reminder of the importance of fighting climate change. While we've navigated well in that context, it's the impact on people and communities that galvanized the Intact team.
Together, with 29,000 people strong, we've built an organization with an incredible spirit, one that's transforming a strong Canadian champion into an international force. Our roadmap is very much centered on areas where our strengths can be put to work to win and help society at the same time. It's our strong financial foundation and outperformance mindset that provides us with the ability to do just that.
Our long-term track record speaks for itself. We've generated 14% total shareholder return on average per year over the past decade, outperforming the S&P/TSX 60 by 600 basis points. In 2022, we've generated a 21% total return for our shareholders when the S&P/TSX 60 was down 6% on the same basis. The success for us really starts with the customer.
70% of customers here in Canada who had a transaction with us last year would be willing to recommend us to friends and family. Our goal, though, is to have three out of four customers as advocates, and I think it's within sight. If we want to provide a customer experience that's second to none, we need to make sure that our employees are engaged and representative of the communities we serve, as William mentioned, and we're making good progress.
We were voted a Kincentric Best Employer in 2022 for the seventh time in Canada and the fourth time in the U.S. We also aspire to be one of the most respected companies where we operate. We do that by outperforming our competitors day in and day out, with close to 750 basis points ROE advantage in the last five years.
as well as growing our operating earnings by close to 16% annually over the same period. Respect where we operate also, and more importantly, requires using our strengths to build resilient communities. Now, how we go about achieving that success is deeply connected to how we see the world evolving. We think that having a good understanding of how the deep trends are shaping society, really impact our customers, employees, and our communities, and is therefore fundamental to helping and winning at the same time.
Let me highlight five trends we're focused on. Commençons par l'économie. On surveille de très près l'inflation et l'incertitude entourant les taux d'intérêt à court et à long terme. Cette incertitude alimente la volatilité des marchés financiers et a aussi contribué à la crise bancaire aux États-Unis. Évidemment, ça affecte aussi le coût de la vie et la capacité d'emprunter des gens.
Même si la vigueur du marché du travail est positive pour la croissance réelle des salaires, elle alimente aussi l'inflation. Les politiques monétaires et leur pression sur le marché du logement, combinées à la volatilité des marchés financiers, vont vraisemblablement entraîner une faible croissance cette année. Dans ce contexte, on est prudent dans nos façons de gérer nos investissements.
On garde un coussin de CAD 2.8 billion en capital. On ajuste notre tarification en fonction de l'inflation et la gestion des risques est très importante, car on réduit les risques associés à nos opérations. Deuxièmement, et plus important de mon point de vue, c'est la vitesse à laquelle les attentes des consommateurs changent. Les clients veulent de la simplicité, de la transparence et surtout, avec la baisse du pouvoir d'achat, un bon rapport qualité-prix.
Pour faire d'un plus grand nombre de clients nos porte-parole, comme je le disais plus tôt, on ajuste notre offre, on renforce nos marques, on étend nos capacités de distribution et on mise sur notre offre numérique. Troisièmement, la technologie continue de changer la donne. La démocratisation des données est en plein mouvement. La quantité de données explose. Au cours des 3 prochaines années, l'ensemble des données existantes à l'échelle mondiale va probablement tripler.
L'intelligence artificielle générative est certainement un bon exemple de changement. Ce qu'on observe, par contre, n'est pas surprenant. La vitesse à laquelle les choses évoluent est certainement étonnante. Intact a investi très tôt dans l'intelligence artificielle. On a mis aussi en place des principes de gouvernance solides au niveau des données et des processus d'examen éthique. Le tiers de notre avantage concurrentiel repose sur l'utilisation des données et de l'apprentissage machine.
Nous voulons être la meilleure firme d'intelligence artificielle en assurance au monde. Quatrièmement, toujours sur le plan technologique, un autre sous-produit de l'explosion des données, c'est la cybersécurité. Ça représente à la fois une grande menace, mais aussi, pour nous, une grande occasion d'affaires.
Les attaques par rançongiciel ont triplé dans les deux dernières années et ont augmenté de moitié dans la dernière année. C'est un grand bassin de risque où nous pouvons jouer un rôle important pour aider les entreprises dans les marchés où nous sommes présents. Le cinquième enjeu, et plus important de mon point de vue, sont les changements climatiques. C'est la tendance dominante des 100 prochaines années.
Même si c'est impératif de passer au zéro émission nette, c'est encore plus urgent de nous adapter aux changements climatiques. Par exemple, les événements météo extrêmes au Canada se sont multipliés par cinq au cours des 30 dernières années.
La majorité des dommages causés sont irréversibles et il faudra du temps pour sentir les effets positifs d'une réduction des émissions. Ce qui veut dire que les phénomènes météo extrêmes, comme ceux qu'on a vus récemment, s'aggraveront dans les dix prochaines années. How are we using our competitive advantages to turn these deep trends into growth opportunities? Let me elaborate on those by highlighting the progress we've made in 23.
Let's start with Canada, where we continue to focus on expanding our leadership position. Far this year, we're deepening our relationships with customers by doubling down on the customer experience, both digitally and in person. An example, in the past few months, is we've launched a new feature in our mobile apps to encourage eco-friendly driving habits. These features have increased active engagement with customers by nearly 50%.
Following on the success of the RSA acquisition and integration, we see much further consolidation opportunities in the marketplace over the next 5 to 10 years. Our goal is to ensure 1 in 3 Canadians. In the U.K. and Ireland, we're focused on building a strong, sustainable, and profitable business.... In March, we announced our exit from the U.K.
Personal Lines motor business. This represents an important step in optimizing our footprint around home and pet, and our commercial and specialty lines business. This speeds up our progress towards achieving sustainable low nineties operating combined ratio across the U.K. and Ireland by the end of next year, a full year ahead of schedule. We're also making substantial progress in building a global specialty lines insurer.
With our global platform, we can now service customers all over the world, offering services and handling claims locally in more than 150 countries and territories. We've increased our sandbox in the past five years by tenfold. Marine, for instance, has been established as our first truly global franchise, and we've identified cyber and renewable energy as two emerging and important specialty underwriting segments.
With a solid growth plan in place, we've raised our ambitions in global specialty lines to reach CAD 10 billion in annual premium by the end of the decade, while further deepening our outperformance in this sector to operate at a sustainable sub 90% operating combined ratio. A key part of the roadmap is about transforming our competitive advantages.
As I mentioned earlier, our use of data and AI for pricing and risk selection, our deep claims expertise and strong supply chain, and then our capital and investment management expertise is what sets us apart. We continue to invest heavily to strengthen our performance in these areas. It's really about doubling down on what we're good at. In data and AI, we're supported by more than 500 specialists in our team in our Data Lab.
This team is focused on improving risk selection and making our operations as efficient as possible, while creating outstanding interactions with customers. This is not just talk. We've delivered nearly 300 AI models in production to date. We can now better predict losses and customer behavior, and we'll be leveraging this expertise to a greater extent in our commercial and specialty lines operation over the next three years.
Our strong supply chain networks helped us better manage our supply chain, dislocation and inflation, and minimize disruption for our customers last year. We've expanded our capacity by opening up 13 new Intact Service Centre across the country, with two new partner-operated centers in Q1. Onsite, our property restoration business is continuing to grow across Canada while testing climate-friendly techniques to address property damage.
With extreme weather on the rise, demand will only continue to increase. Our aim is to double Onsite over the next few years. On capital and investment management, our scope and opportunity set continues to grow. Our diverse geography, strong balance sheet, and capital position underpin our ability to optimize asset allocation decisions, capture opportunities, and manage headwinds. With continued market volatility and little GDP growth, our team is continuing to navigate this investment environment conservatively.
In the first quarter, this group also led efforts to strengthen Intact's balance sheet by completing a six and a half billion pound UK pension buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation. This largely eliminates exposure to pension risk in the UK and significantly improves our capital efficiency. Finally, our game plan is powered by our people and the importance to invest in them. They're at the heart of our ability to deliver on our purpose.
Being a best employer, a destination for top talent, and enabling our people to thrive are the key areas of our focus. ... for Intact, a collective résilient is capable of resisting to changement climatique, oui, et de prospérer économiquement. Nous tenons à ce que notre vision de la résilience concorde avec les attentes de la société.
On a sondé l'opinion publique et constaté que plus de 7 personnes sur 10 au Canada pensent que les assureurs doivent s'impliquer davantage dans le développement des collectivités résilientes, surtout quand il est question de résilience climatique et économique. On s'est fixé un objectif clair et mesurable d'amener 3 de nos parties prenantes sur 4 à nous reconnaître comme un chef de file contribuant au développement des collectivités résilientes.
On a créé un baromètre pour en mesurer le progrès. En 2022, on a demandé à 6 groupes de nous dire ce qu'ils pensent de notre performance. Les clients, les employés, les courtiers, les investisseurs, les gouvernements et les ONG, les associations de l'industrie. Nos premiers résultats nous indiquent qu'on est sur la bonne voie.
Cinquante-quatre pour cent des parties résilientes ou des parties prenantes, pardon, nous considèrent comme un chef de file contribuant au développement des collectivités résilientes. 90% croient qu'Intact a la responsabilité d'aider les collectivités à bâtir leur résilience. On va étendre la portée du baromètre en 2023 pour inclure nos opérations aux États-Unis, au Royaume-Uni et dans l'Union européenne.
While helping communities adapt to climate change is where we want to lead, seizing the opportunity to help and win in the climate transition is an important part of our game plan. Our climate strategy has five big intentions: commit, adapt, shape, enable, and collaborate. Let me provide you a quick update on how we're performing. First of all, we've committed to being net zero by 2050 and cutting in half our operations emissions by 2030.
Last year alone, we've achieved a 23% reduction in our operations emissions from our 2019 baseline. Second, we're doubling down on adaptation. In the first quarter of 2023, we've announced, for instance, a new partnership in the UK with The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust to help communities downstream protect against flooding. We're also helping to shape customer behaviors with the recent launch of eco-driving and fuel efficiency features in our Usage-Based Insurance apps.
Fourth, in our role as risk managers, we aim to do our part to enable the transformation of industries that are key to the transition and support new one. About half of our energy portfolios is in renewables, we see opportunity to continue to grow this business. The fifth element of our climate game plan is to collaborate with governments and industry to speed up climate action, and that is ongoing.
On that note, we've seen excellent progress on the part of the federal government with the launch of the National Adaptation Strategy and the Emissions Reduction Plan right here in Canada. We think, though, now, with a really good game plan at the national level, we need to turn commitments into action. Certainly, the recent federal budget supports, in my view, important next steps.
While a funding gap remains on climate adaptation and therefore resilience, I want to congratulate the government on the CAD 21 billion in tax credits to drive investment in low-carbon technology. While we applaud the climate transition initiatives in the federal budget, the proposed removal of the dividend received deduction, or DRD, is a concern. Intact already faces a tax imbalance in Canada, right here at home, compared to non-resident competitors.
Most Canadian equity investments, held by property and casualty insurers like Intact, are routine, simple, unhedged, and for our own account. The loss of income from the DRD essentially raises our effective tax rate by close to two points. This could have a knock-on effect on premiums and where insurers invest their money. While we're sensitive to the need for additional revenue, we encourage the government to consult widely on this proposed change to make sure that it supports market champions and is good for the economy overall.
In concluding, I want to reiterate our focus on transforming a strong Canadian champion into an international force. Our track record demonstrates our ability to outperform and grow while managing in difficult times. Our competitive advantage, I think, is stronger today than it was a decade ago.
This strength really fuels our ability to take a help-and-win approach in everything we do. I want to thank our shareholders for backing us for more than a decade. Rest assured, we do not take your support for granted. I also want to congratulate William on his first year as chair of the board, a very good one, in my view. Certainly, if we look at the TSR, and the entire board for your continued guidance and oversight.
I want to thank our employees for their commitment to living our values, delivering second-to-none service to our customers and brokers, and demonstrating their generosity in the communities where they live and work, day in and day out. Thank you.
Thank you, Charles. We will now address any general questions that have been submitted. As a reminder, shareholders and proxy holders wishing to ask questions are encouraged to pose their question by clicking the messaging button in the middle of your screen at the top of the page. The secretary of the meeting will read the questions received. Questions of a similar nature will be grouped together in a single question.
If your question concerns a client matter, please include your contact information, and a member of our customer service team will get in touch with you following the meeting. If there are any questions, we are not able to answer today, we will reach out to you personally after the meeting to ensure we answer your question. Can the secretary confirm whether we have any questions?
We have not received any questions, William.
Thank you. We have now completed our agenda for this meeting. I declare the meeting closed. Thank you for attending. Have a great day.