Why are fewer Canadians buying life insurance? How can this trend be reversed?
Why do four out of five advisors leave the distribution network before reaching their fifth year? How can the industry retain them?
Why is the industry struggling to recruit?
Why is it more difficult to sell life insurance than an investment fund? What could be done differently?
In the future, will consumers still need advisors to purchase life insurance?
Twenty-five industry leaders will attempt to answer these questions, which are crucial to the future of every industry stakeholder.
From 2010 to 2024, the number of life insurance policies sold annually declined from 733,941 to 635,067. Meanwhile, Canada’s population grew from 33.8 million to 41.5 million. As a result, the number of policies sold per 1,000 Canadians fell from 21.7 to 15.3.
What explains this concerning trend?
At the invitation of the Insurance Journal Publishing Group, the 25 leaders will explore the future of life insurance distribution as the industry looks ahead to 2035.
They will take part in a collaborative strategic foresight event: a co-design workshop focused on innovation and creativity. The session will be held on October 7, 2026, at the National Club in Toronto.
The event will be conducted in collaboration with Laurent Simon, director of Mosaic, the creativity and innovation hub at HEC Montreal, and an associate professor in the institution’s Department of Entrepreneurship. Mosaic has helped more than 100 organizations and companies strengthen their capacity for innovation. It has worked with Ubisoft, Bell, Desjardins, Cirque du Soleil, Bombardier, Renault, Michelin, Convectair, IBM, Aéroports de Montréal and many others.
The session will bring together leaders from various segments of the industry, including insurers and MGAs, as well as observers of the industry and Canadian society.
Together, they will examine how these complex issues could reshape life insurance products and their distribution.
Insurance Journal Publishing Group has previously held co-design sessions for group benefits and property & casualty insurance. Participants greatly valued the ideas that emerged from these sessions regarding the future development of insurance distribution.
Mosaic’s collaborative approach reflects a powerful message expressed in 2014 by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman: “No company can succeed by itself. The only way to accomplish something significant is by working with other people.”
Serge Therrien
President and Publisher
Insurance Journal Publishing Group
