Research finds Canadians value life insurance more than ever during pandemic

TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- New research from Canada's leading online insurance brokerage PolicyAdvisor.com finds more than three-quarters of Canadians are feeling anxious about their financial future due to the economic effects of COVID-19, but not at the expense of their life insurance coverage. The company's Canadian Life Insurance Landscape: Pandemic Checkup sought to determine consumer attitudes and buying behaviour towards life insurance coverage considering COVID-19's impact on their lives.

As families start their holiday shopping and 2021 budgets, it is clear that life and health insurance is one place where they are not cutting corners. While 77% of respondents said they would be cutting discretionary expenses like entertainment and eating out, only 13% said they were looking to reduce any of their life insurance premiums.

In fact, 64% of Canadians thought life insurance was one of the most important types of coverage to have during the current global pandemic; and 63% think that owning life insurance is more important to them now than before COVID-19.

"The results confirmed what we were seeing on a daily basis," said Jiten Puri, founder and CEO of PolicyAdvisor.com. "There has been an urgency to get life insurance coverage now that many people know how quickly they may need it."

All told, 44% of Canadians plan to or already have purchased more life insurance coverage because of COVID-19. The biggest reason preventing respondents from buying more life insurance at this time is their perceived inability to buy it online. The cost of life insurance, and its complexity, closely followed.

"The sad truth is that many Canadians still feel in the dark when it comes to comparing and buying life insurance, especially in the age of social distancing. With a digital broker, you can do your life insurance application online, with easy-to-understand product descriptions, and transparent price comparisons," said Puri.

The time commitment, medical testing requirements, and absence of an advisor they could trust were also cited as reasons some Canadians weren't yet ready to purchase the life insurance coverage they needed. Puri stresses there is a clear need for consumer education. Online insurance tools allow Canadian consumers to remedy most – if not all – of the setbacks they face in their search for coverage. Over half of the respondents (52%) said online fulfillment would make them more likely to purchase life insurance.

Additionally, 65% of Canadians say they rely on their group benefits for life insurance coverage, with 38% citing the work insurance plan as their sole life insurance policy. Recent research from the Conference Board of Canada suggests that 12% of companies making layoffs due to COVID-19 don't plan on extending workplace benefits to laid-off employees, which could leave some Canadian households with a significant insurance shortfall.

About PolicyAdvisor.com
PolicyAdvisor.com is an innovative Canadian online insurance broker providing a digital solution to an archaic industry, combining modern technology, intuitive design and real-world expertise to make insurance buying simpler, straightforward and stress-free.

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Mark Cluett, PolicyAdvisor, +1 6478391060, markcluett@policyadvisor.com

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SOURCE PolicyAdvisor