There is a number embedded in Alain Thériault's April 2026 report1 on simplified issue individual life insurance that stops the reader cold. Since 2010, the Canadian life insurance industry has been unable to close a 100,000-policy gap in total annual individual life insurance sales. The market has not recovered to its pre-2010 peak. Simplified issue insurance is now being positioned as the mechanism to close it, and the partnerships being formed around it are reshaping how the industry reaches Canadians who have never been touched by traditional underwriting.
The Market and Its Players
Eleven companies offer simplified issue individual life insurance in Canada, according to data gathered by InsuranceINTEL. They are Assumption Life, Specialty Life, Beneva, Co-operators Life, Empire Life, Humania Assurance, iA Financial Group, Manulife, Canada Protection Plan, Sun Life, and UV Insurance. All offer it as term life insurance. Most also offer it as permanent life insurance, with Co-operators Life and Manulife the notable exceptions on the permanent side.
Two players have chosen to operate exclusively in this niche: Specialty Life and Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial subsidiary. Their positioning is deliberate. Canada Protection Plan promises coverage with "no medical exams, no needles and less worries." Specialty Life describes "an innovative and effortless path to securing life insurance." The rest treat simplified issue as a complementary product line alongside their traditional individually underwritten offerings.
The Partnership Logic
The strategic pivot toward distribution partnerships is the article's most consequential finding. Humania Assurance has relied since April 2024 on Blanket Life, a digital platform and online broker. Nicolas Moskiou, President and CEO of Humania, says the partnership "signifies a major step into making insurance always more accessible." Blanket founder Elizabeth Leah Lipkowitz adds in the announcement that families can "sleep easy in less than 5 minutes" buying coverage. The claim is notable for what it implies: the traditional advisor-mediated sale is no longer the only route.
Assumption Life has gone further, partnering with Goose Insurance Services, a mobile-first "super-app" built for instant policy purchases. Pierre Martin, Chief Digital Officer and Assistant Vice-President of Partnerships at Assumption Life, states that "Goose has proven its ability to reach and convert an often-underserved consumer base." Martin also notes that Assumption Life has developed its own distribution platform, Lavvi, which is a "completely separate" entity that any insurer could theoretically use. The platform is led by Roddy Awad.
The Accessibility Argument
The market rationale behind all of this is not subtle. Today, 31% of Canadians are uninsured or underinsured, according to Cathy Hiscott, President and CEO of PPI. "We have a huge market opportunity," she says, citing LIMRA statistics. "31 per cent say they want some or more insurance. We have the opportunity right in front of us." Valérie Le Roux, Vice President, Product and Partnerships at Humania Assurance, frames the insurer's role clearly: "As an insurance company, we are manufacturers; we must not think or assume that we know how distribution works." The distribution question is therefore not peripheral. It is the central strategic challenge.
The Digital Infrastructure
The article takes a detailed pass through the electronic application infrastructure across carriers. UV Insurance offers all its products through an electronic platform accessible through its My Universe advisor portal. Assumption Life uses Lia. Empire Life offers the Fast and Full submission process with online payment, risk assessment, and electronic signature. iA Financial Group uses EVO. Canada Protection Plan's e-App system supports multiple signatures, allowing the owner and premium payer to be different from the insured. Sun Life's guaranteed issue online application involves seven steps, though the insurer does not provide further detail.
The Advisor Pipeline Problem
The report surfaces one finding that complicates the optimism around simplified issue and digital distribution. Shawn Redford, Chief Business Development at Experior Financial Group, notes during a Canada Sales Congress panel that only 8% of advisors remain in the business for more than seven years. The industry's distribution problem is not only digital. "The top 10 per cent of agents at most organizations are treated like gold," Redford says. "But at the other end of the spectrum, they're left on an island to themselves. They're isolated. They're alone. And they're burning out because all the revenue opportunities are on their shoulders."
5 Key Takeaways for Advisors and Investors
- The 100,000-policy annual gap in Canadian life insurance sales since 2010 represents the single largest unaddressed market opportunity in simplified issue, and 31% of Canadians remain uninsured or underinsured.
- Distribution partnerships between insurers and digital platforms are no longer experimental; they are the leading growth strategy in this segment, with Humania, Assumption Life, and others having already made operational commitments.
- Advisor retention is a structural constraint on simplified issue growth. With only 8% of advisors surviving past seven years, digital channels are filling a gap the traditional network cannot.
- Conversion rights matter for long-term planning. Most simplified issue term products can be converted to permanent coverage, but the rules vary significantly by carrier, making product knowledge a meaningful competitive differentiator for advisors.
- Minimum coverage amounts across simplified issue products span a wide range, from $1,000 at Specialty Life to $50,000 at several others, meaning advisors can now engage clients at virtually any entry point.
Footnote:
1 Thériault, Alain. "Fertile Ground for Partnerships." Insurance Journal, vol. 30, no. 2, Apr. 2026, pp. 22-26, https://insurance-portal.ca/ij/april2026/22/.
