On September 8, 2023 Beneva announced it will cease selling the Penncorp range of products by December 31, 2023. This is a series of disability insurance products that La Capitale Financial Security (LCFS) inherited when it acquired the insurer of the same name, based in Mississauga, Ontario, in 2006.
In its press release, the insurer stated that it aims to accelerate its pan-Canadian development in two sectors: financial services and individual insurance.
After 5 years of efforts
The poor performance of the Penncorp series also played a role in its discontinuation, according to comments made to the Insurance Portal by Lara Nourcy, Executive Vice President and Leader of Individual Insurance and Financial Services at Beneva. "Despite numerous efforts over the past five years, the number of sales and in-force contracts for the Penncorp series has continued to decline, resulting in the lack of profitability for this product range," revealed Nourcy.
Lara Nourcy has long been nurturing a strategy to focus on core activities and thus on the most promising niches. She mentioned this when La Capitale divested itself of Securiglobe in favor of Blue Cross Canassurance in July 2021.
Still about disability insurance
"The products in the Penncorp series specialize in disability insurance and are primarily aimed at self-employed workers and small business owners," said Nourcy. She specified that these products are distributed exclusively by a network of independent agents grouped under the subsidiary La Capitale Financial Security.
This announcement comes on the heels of that of Blue Cross Canassurance, which ceased selling similar products on June 1, 2023. Humania Insurance quickly launched a new product to fill the void left by Blue Cross.
Simplifying the offering
As for Beneva, there's no question of replacing the Penncorp series. "No new product will be developed for distribution by this network. This decision is part of the organization's strategy to simplify the offering," insisted Lara Nourcy. Nourcy explained that Beneva had two distinct ranges of disability products, namely the Penncorp series and the Pillar series. "By discontinuing the sale of the Penncorp series, the disability product offering is thus simplified with a single product line on the market."
Lara Nourcy added that the insurer will continue to be active in the field of disability insurance. "This business decision has no impact on the distribution of Pillar series products, which will continue to be available for sale as is currently the case," concluded Beneva's Executive Vice President and Leader of Individual Insurance and Financial Services.