Individual Life Ownership Trends – 2019 Canadian Life Insurance Ownership Study

Summary

• Currently, 44 percent of Canadians own individual life insurance, compared to a majority of households (55 percent) in 2006. By 2013, market penetration fell to 43 percent, largely due to the global financial crisis[1] and subsequent economic recession in Canada.[2] Thus, the industry has stabilized ownership rates, but has yet to recover its pre-recession level of market penetration.
• While the individual life ownership rate has declined, the number of households that own individual life has increased. Currently, 7 million households own individual life, suggesting growth of 1.2 million households (21 percent) since 2013. The increase in ownership volume is a result of stability in market penetration, while the population base is growing.[3]

[1] “The Washington Post,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-guide-to-the-financial-crisis--10-years-later/2018/09/10/114b76ba-af10-11e8-a20b-5f4f84429666_story.html, accessed August 25, 2020.

[2] “The Canadian Encyclopedia,” https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/recession-of-200809-in-canada, accessed August 25, 2020.

[3] Statistics/Statistique Canada, Annual Demographic Estimates, 2019; https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91-215-x/2018001/sec1-eng.htm, accessed August 25, 2020.

• Research Abstract
• Consumer
• Individual Insurance
• Workplace Benefits
• Insurance Products
• Life Insurance

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