Unprecedented industry changes have sparked shifts in the Canadian life insurance market. Carroll will pinpoint consumer behaviors impacting life insurance sales and ownership trends, and the importance of technology investments for carriers to address changing consumer needs. He will also share LIMRA’s forecast and anticipated growth rates for life insurance sales and provide actionable insights to drive growth through digital optimization, customer experience improvements, and modernization practices.

As powerful trends continue to disrupt the insurance industry, anticipating and harnessing change is vital to maximizing opportunities, performance and growth in an ever-evolving landscape. D’Onofrio will draw on thought leadership and his personal insights to examine the major strategic drivers, including regulation, the changing consumer, distribution, technology, data insights, innovation and talent management. His presentation will help you to anticipate and perhaps think differently about the future of the industry.

Change does not only happen, it occurs at a pace and level of complexity we have not seen before. The always-on transformation mode of existence is the only path forward for many industries, including insurance. The role of insurers will keep progressing over the next decade, to continue to respond to the evolving needs and expectations of stakeholders. Going through some form of business transformation doesn’t necessarily prepare companies for what’s coming and how best to navigate the transformation agenda. There are new ways to approach the change, new pitfalls and risks associated with transformation architecture and delivery, and a whole ecosystem (digital and physical) that needs to be brought along on the journey. Dutt and Gigova will discuss how to structure transformation to successfully address the key challenges and opportunities (including wisely investing available funding), and define important change levers and enablers to leverage through perpetual transformation. They will also identify notable hazards and mitigating actions to enable a smoother transformation and transition.

Manulife’s mission is to make education, healthcare, investing and retirement planning decisions easier and lives better for Canadians. Irshad, who leads the implementation of the company’s growth strategy across the Canadian market, will provide an update on his firm’s progress, strategic priorities and how they are influencing their Canadian life insurance business. Additionally, he and Cuddy will conduct a live Q&A session to address ‘what’s on your mind?’

COVID-19 and advancements in medicine, automation, technology and other areas have ushered in a new age of underwriting and evolved the art and science of the practice. Cutler, Leblond, and Loos will provide their perspectives on current and emerging underwriting hot button issues, challenges and opportunities. Their discourse will also cover the impact of the pandemic on underwriting and claims, as well as the rapidly changing environment including technology and medicine.

Insurance companies can sometimes struggle with growing new channels, including partnerships with other carriers or distributors. Martin and Awad will share lessons learned, common pitfalls and best practices for collaborating successfully and maximizing distribution ROI. They will expound on key factors including partner selections, go-to-market alignment, data ownership, platform flexibility, risk assessments and other critical elements.

The upscale market is raising a lot of interest from distributors and carriers in our industry. However, are we paying enough attention to the 86% of Canadian households with less than $250,000 in investable assets and their protection needs? Laflamme will present a snapshot of this Canadian majority and demonstrate how new digital technologies will allow us to seize opportunities to serve this market while maximizing advisor time and value.