The new year is starting as the old one ended, with inflation continuing to impact grocery bills and other essential expenses. Credit insurance may provide security for your clients and their loved ones. Disability, serious illness, or even death could have a serious impact on household finances.
InsuranceINTEL, the insurance product information centre of the Insurance Journal Publishing Group, has compiled the features of credit insurance products from seven insurers: Assumption Life, Beneva, Desjardins Insurance, Humania Assurance, iA Financial Group, RBC Insurance, and UV Insurance.
Together, they offer a total of 12 products in the Canadian market. RBC Insurance stands out with four products. Humania Assurance and iA Financial Group each offer two.
Eight to ten types of loans
Ten major categories of debt can be covered by credit insurance, as shown in the comparative table designed by InsuranceINTEL for this Insurance Portal article.
Four insurers offer at least one product that covers the ten major categories listed in the table. These are Assumption Life, Desjardins Insurance, Humania Assurance, with the Payment Insurance - Accident and Illness product, and iA Financial Group, with the Universal Loan Insurance product.
None of the four RBC Insurance products cover all of the major loan categories identified in the comparison table. Each of the four products excludes multi-unit residential loans and investment loans. Beneva's only product, Term Plus, does not cover credit card balances. This is also the case for UV Insurance's only product, Life Insurance with Credit Insurance Rider.
Other payments covered
Advisors who subscribe to the Product Finder service can explore other features using this tool from Insurance Journal Publishing Group, which allows them to prepare a customized comparison table for their clients based on information from InsuranceINTEL.
Here are a few examples:
- Assumption Life’s product, Whole life or Term Life insurance with Disability Income (based on loans) Rider and/or Critical Illness Rider, also covers condominium fees and rent costs.
- At Beneva, Term Plus also covers student loans and agricultural loans. Insured persons are covered in the event of total disability for certain financial commitments, if they are incurred in Canada. These include school and municipal taxes, condominium fees, rent for housing or commercial premises, and spousal support for one or more children.
- At Humania Assurance, Payment Insurance - Accident and Sickness covers energy costs (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, etc.), telephone, Internet, alimony, utilities, daycare, auto and home insurance, and professional liability. Professional license and registration fees, as well as personal and corporate debts, are also covered by Humania's product.
