Alan Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of French insurtech Alan, recently entered the group insurance sector in Canada by obtaining insurer's licenses in Ontario and Alberta.
Alan Canada is an accident, health and life insurer regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). It is also licensed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) and the Alberta Superintendent of Insurance (ASI).
Contacted by the Insurance Portal, FSRA clarified that it had issued Alan Canada's licence on Jan. 6, 2025.
OSFI lists Mark Goad as CEO of Alan Canada in its list of regulated entities. At the time of writing, Insurance Portal had not been able to speak with Goad. Alan Canada states on its website that it plans to establish a presence in British Columbia by mid-summer, and in Quebec by the end of 2025.
In an e-mail exchange with Insurance Portal, Goad suggests that his license applications are on track, and that he may have some announcements to make this summer regarding Quebec.
No intermediaries
On its website, Alan Canada promises its Canadian customers that it will reduce the administration costs of their private plans from 30% to 15% of the group insurance premium.
Alan Canada says it intends to achieve this by distributing its products without the need for group insurance brokers, and by eliminating phone calls and paperwork. “No PDFs to print, sign, scan, and fax,” it says.
The Insurtech says it is targeting start-ups and small businesses. “Our first product in Canada: Fully digital group health insurance,” it states on its website. Alan Canada currently offers Alan Bear, a program it says covers the essentials, starting at $100 per person, per month. The company adds that a person can sign up online. By entering four data points, “you’re pretty much covered.”
The Alan Bear plan covers 80% of the cost of prescription drugs, subject to an annual cap of $3,000; 80% of the cost of dental care, subject to an annual cap of $1,500; and 80% of the cost of paramedical services, subject to an annual cap of $500 per provider category. Alan Canada plans to launch two other programs in the near future, a less generous one starting at $86 per month, and a more generous one starting at $149.
Alan isn't the only insurtech in Canada's group insurance sector. Founded in 2023, digital group insurance firm Viver Health offers a solution that allows an employer to obtain a group insurance quote with three questions. Unlike Alan, Viver Health uses group insurance brokers to sell its offering. Co-operators Life underwrites its products.
Not profitable before 2026
Alan is not profitable. The insurtech generated annual recurring revenues of 523 million euros, or 818 million Canadian dollars, in the first quarter of 2025, up 44% on the first quarter of 2024. At the end of this comparative period, however, Alan posted a net loss of 12.7 million euros ($19.9 million).
Alan is banking on a partnership with investment bank Belfius Banque & Assurances. Belfius says it is a bank insurer owned by the Belgian federal state, and has over 10,000 employees and 450 branches across Belgium. It explains that under the partnership, Belfius will offer Alan's services to corporate and institutional clients.
As part of a commercial agreement, Belfius said it was participating in Alan's new €173 million ($271 million) equity financing. Belfius added that this round of financing enabled it to become a shareholder in Alan, bringing Alan's valuation to 4 billion euros (C$6.26 billion). The press release mentions that shareholders such as Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) have renewed their confidence in the financing and that others have been added.
In a related blog, Alan writes that the investment will enable it, among other things, to accelerate its growth and intensify its international development. The company adds that its goal is to achieve group profitability by 2026. Alan also states in this blog that the company's governance remains controlled by the two founders, the largest shareholders, who together with the employees hold over 40% of the capital and the majority of voting rights.
Controversy in France
The company was founded in France in 2016 by two engineers, Jean-Charles Samuelian and Charles Gorintin. Alan says it has over 600 employees and operates in France, Spain, Belgium and Canada, serving more than 710,000 members and 33,000 companies.
Alan, dubbed a “neo-insurer” by the French media, has sent shock waves by winning successive public sector tenders in France, raising the hackles of trade unions.
On May 26, 2025, La Tribune de l'assurance wrote that as of Jan. 1, 2026, employees of France's Ministry of the Economics and Finance must be covered by compulsory supplementary health insurance, 50% of which is financed by the employer.
“Having already won the healthcare tenders for the services of the Prime Minister (SPM) in September 2024 (covering 15,000 agents) and the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion in October 2024 (covering 60,000 civil servants), Alan is now offering itself to Bercy with 130,000 additional agents for their healthcare coverage,” reports the article.
Three days earlier, L'Argus de l'assurance reported the unions' strong reaction. The publication wrote that the awarding of the health contract for Ministry of Economics and Finance employees to the company Alan puts the historic mutual insurer Mgéfi in difficulty.
“The unions express their opposition to this decision,” the article states. Among other things, Mgéfi offers health and provident coverage for civil servants. Its health coverage includes a salary continuation guarantee.
