Dubbed Vesta, the new "error proof" platform ensures "a perfect application every time," the Assumption Life website explains.

The Moncton-based mutual insurance company describes the platform as a simple tool that saves time, lets advisors process files faster and reduces administrative tasks and paperwork.

The insurer wants to help its advisors grow their business. "Vesta was designed with advisors in mind. Our goal is to offer high-quality investment solutions while providing our advisors with flexibility and speed in the process. Advisors can now focus on growing their business,” says Sébastien Dupuis, President and CEO of Assumption Life."

This is the first time the insurer is offering its advisors an application platform for fully online sales, Luc Bossé, Assumption Life’s Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, and Claudette Richard, National Director, Investments and Retirement, told the Insurance Portal.

Less than 10 minutes

"(Before) we didn't have e-apps for advisors for investment products. It was all done on paper," Bossé recalls. “Now, advisors can complete an application in less than 10 minutes."

Richard says this process is foolproof. Advisors must fill out each information field before they can complete and sign the application. "The application can be signed electronically using the computer mouse. Advisors who choose the paper option once the application is completed can print the application and send it by e-mail or fax after the client has signed it," she explains.

Once all the documents are complete, the application is processed instantaneously, Bossé adds. "The transaction can be completed and the client deposit made on the same day, if the client and advisor’s signatures are received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. in the Maritimes)," he says.

Greater integration

The investment transaction platform was on the drawing board since 2019. "We wanted to have the same approach as in life insurance and allow investment advisors to complete all the steps of a transaction online, including remote selling and electronic signatures," Luc Bossé explains.

A similar platform, Lia, was introduced a few years ago. It lets advisors sell Assumption Life's life and health insurance entirely online.

Vesta also integrates investors' profiles into the application. A regulatory requirement for investment fund distribution, the investor profile notably allows advisors to determine clients’ investment risk levels. Once the client validates the profile, it becomes an integral part of the Assumption Life application.

The platform supports advisors’ compliance efforts, Richard continues. "All applications completed on Vesta are saved on the dashboard. Everything entered onscreen during the process is also recorded," she explains. Richard adds that Vesta was designed similarly to Lia: "Advisors are in the same environment, which saves them a lot of time.”

Accelerated by COVID-19

The onset of the COVID-19 crisis underlined the need to complete the work in progress, the two leaders told the Insurance Portal. "We were focused on finalizing the platform when the pandemic struck. We then integrated the e-signature, in order to release the entire platform as quickly as possible," Richard explains.

Regarding the impact of COVID-19 on Assumption Life's investment product sales, Bossé says: "They are fairly stable, but we have not been able to maximize their potential. This is why we rolled out Vesta, which lets advisors carry out remote sales, because paper is certainly not the most user-friendly option during a pandemic.”

Array of products

Vesta can handle almost all of Assumption Life's individual investment products, Richard adds. "Our term deposits, segregated funds including the Smart Series Target-Date funds and Registered Investment Accounts (RIAs). Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) and Life Income Funds (LIFs) will be added soon," she says.

Assumption Life's Registered Investment Account is an annuity contract that mirrors the returns of one or more reference funds or strategy selected by the investor, the insurer explains on its Web site. However, the premiums are deposited and kept in Assumption Life’s general account. "The RIA offers a series of low-fee funds," Bossé explains. "Further, the Target-Date Fund Series is one of the things that sets us apart from the competition. This type of fund is usually offered in group plans. Few offer an individual version of the fund," he adds. Assumption Life's Target-Date Funds follow a glide path that adjusts the underlying mix of investments and volatility over time. The fund's investment allocation becomes more conservative as its target date approaches. Clients will generally choose the fund whose target date is closest to the year they expect to achieve their goal, Assumption Life explains. This fund also gives them the flexibility to adjust the date if their goal changes over time.