Foresters Financial, also present in the U.S. and the U.K., says it chose to join forces with Canada Protection Plan because of its marketing strength and agility in developing innovative products.

Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial Company, will manage the insurer’s business in Canada, led by Michael Aziz. Aziz has been co-president of Canada Protection Plan since 2011, and previously served as Vice-President, Sales, of the Toronto-based company.

Foresters also values Canada Protection Plan’s MGA distribution network, which the mutual insurer says complements its own. Over the years, Canada Protection Plan has developed close ties with an independent network that spans Canada. Early on, it was primarily known for its life insurance products designed for hard-to-insure clients. It has since expanded its offering to include a full range of products, from guaranteed issue to traditional underwriting and simplified issue.

35,000 advisors

Canada Protection Plan, which also holds MGA status, develops its own products and delegates their distribution. Foresters has insured CPP’s products since the company’s inception in 1992.

By joining forces, Canada Protection Plan and Foresters can trumpet their joint statistics. Matt Berman, Foresters Financial's North American Chief of Distribution, told the Insurance Portal that his sales force is now 35,000 advisors strong. He will oversee product sales and pricing in the US. “Now Michael will directly oversee Canadian sales and I will focus on the United States,” Berman explains.

One gateway

The transaction eliminates administrative duplication and unifies the company’s distribution partners’ experience. "The goal of the transaction is to have a single entry point for both companies. One company in the Canadian market that will be a subsidiary of Foresters Financial, rather than two. Previously, each had its own team of wholesalers and its own compensation system,” Michael Aziz said during the same interview.

“Canada Protection Plan will continue to operate individually, because it is an innovative player in the Canadian marketplace and now gets the financial backing of Foresters as an international group with a footprint in Canada,” Berman adds, pointing out that he is immediately gaining distribution synergies. Canada Protection Plan has “distribution partners that Foresters didn’t work with. Combined, we have opportunities to be a little bit more synergistic.”

By combining the statistics from both organizations, Berman believes the new entity will become the most competitive insurer in Canada. “Foresters ranked number 7 in annual new business premiums, and 6 in Canada in policy count,” he says, quoting the LIMRA report on individual life insurance sales in Canada in the second quarter of 2020.

Based on these same figures, he says Foresters ranked third in terms of growth in Q2 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019. “We want to keep up with that pace of growth. There is still a lot of potential growth in Canada,” he says.

Rivalling the big players

Berman thinks Foresters can hold its own against the large insurers, adding that as a mutual it offers benefits such as scholarships and community grants to its two million members, which works in the Forester’s favour. The clients are much more than just policyholders, he says.

Another key advantage: simplified issue. “In our environment today, managing risk has become such a concern. The pandemic is particularly challenging for first face to face engagement. Non-face-to-face simplified issue life insurance without blood and fluids is another advantage. All this supported by one of the strongest balance sheets in Canada,” he says.

Aziz highlights Canada Protection Plan’s agility, giving the example of how it recently postponing the launch of a line of health insurance products in order to accelerate remote policy delivery.

In addition, Canada Protection Plan “launched a very innovative product line that is taking off, he says. “We combined this with the power of Foresters, which lets us access three markets: Canada, US, and UK. Advisors have become more effective in their work with clients during COVID-19. They have options to reach more people, and issue policies in one or two days,” Aziz adds.