Many life and health insurance organizations were in the process of modernizing and digitizing when COVID-19 unexpectedly hit. These companies recalibrated quickly to overcome serious challenges posed by the pandemic – a feat that should be recognized, according to Greg Pollock (pictured), president and CEO of Advocis, the Financial Advisors Association of Canada.
“Many life and health insurance companies in Canada are relatively older institutions with traditional processes for selling their products, processing claims, and so on,” Pollock explained. “The pandemic moved these organizations to a whole new level of interacting with customers. I think, overall, they've done an exceptionally terrific job in reacting to this new marketplace.”
Advocis is presenting the award for Life & Health Insurer of the Year at the 2022 Insurance Business Canada Awards (IBCAs). The award of excellence recognizes outstanding insurers providing top-tier life and health insurance products to consumers and businesses, while upholding exceptional customer service. Winners of this and other major category award will be crowned during an in-person ceremony on November 17 in Toronto.
The impressive pivot by life and health insurers during the pandemic included a greater adoption of telemedicine and other virtual health platforms, and artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive hyper-personalization for customers.
“Life and health insurance companies have been innovative with their products, but they haven't been as deeply involved in the lives of their customers. But that’s changing,” said Pollock.
Life and health insurance organizations are beginning to take more direct interest in the day-to-day lives of their insureds. For instance, some are leveraging health monitoring technologies that provide important feedback on an insured’s wellness.
“These health devices are adding a new element to insurance that’s also going to help improve Canadians’ quality of life,” Pollock observed.
There are huge opportunities for life and health insurers to expand their digital capabilities as they try to reach more Canadians. Pollock said: “We have an awful lot of people who are not accessing these products and services, and we need to do a better job of getting to those communities.”
The Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association reports that slightly under half (44%) of Canadians don’t have life insurance. That’s despite internet searches for ‘life insurance’ jumping nearly 50% during the pandemic.
The cost-of-living crisis, increasing debt and house prices are steering many people away from life insurance, the survey added. Apart from the affordability of these policies, Canadians also found the process of purchasing life insurance and complying with medical exams burdensome.
And of 22 million Canadians that have a life insurance policy in place, about 30% of them feel their coverage isn’t enough, according to data by LIMRA. The LIMRA study noted that 20% of Canadian households would face immediate adversity if a primary wage earner passed away.
The numbers are slightly better for health insurance, with nearly 27 million Canadians having access to such benefits, 90% of which offered on a group basis as workplace policies.
“Many people don't understand these products and their benefits. They think of life insurance as costly, as something for the wealthy,” said Pollock.
“There's no doubt that the pandemic caused a lot of people to stop and reflect on whether they have adequate coverage to protect their families. COVID-19 was a challenge, but it also presented many opportunities for us. I think life and health insurance companies are collectively doing an outstanding job of bringing that important story to the Canadian public.”
For Advocis, sponsoring the award for Life & Health Insurer of the Year at the Insurance Business Canada Awards is a way to inspire organizations to continue the noble work of financially protecting Canadians.
“We believe that these products and services are critical to the health and wealth of Canadians,” Pollock told Insurance Business. “We want to see this industry thrive and to see people benefiting from their work.”
Find out which insurer will be handed the Advocis Award for Life & Health Insurer of the Year at this year’s Insurance Business Canada Awards ceremony, to be held on November 17 at the Liberty Grand in Toronto.
To reserve a table, please visit ibawards.ca/register.
