The life and health insurance industry paid out a record amount in insurance benefits and retirement solutions in 2024. All told, the industry paid $143.3 billion, a 12 per cent increase over 2023 figures published by the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association (CLHIA).
The annual industry-wide factbook, Canadian Life & Health Insurance Facts, released Sept. 23, notes that insurers in 2024 paid out $71.4-billion in retirement benefits from annuities, $18.6-billion in life insurance benefits, $10-billion in disability benefits and $53.3-billion in total health claims, up from $48.2-billion the previous year.
Health benefits
Prescription drugs continue to account for the largest share of health benefits. The industry paid out $16.6-billion for prescription drugs, up from $15.3-billion a year ago. They say 85 per cent of health insurance premiums were paid out as benefits to policyholders in 2024.
Overall, the report states that 69 per cent of life and health insurance products are group plans while 31 per cent are individual policies. In 2024 the industry collected $168-billion in premiums, an increase of $11-billion relative to 2023 figures. Annuities were up 17.7 per cent, health insurance was up 8.4 per cent and life insurance rose 3.2 per cent during the year.
Life insurance protection
Average life insurance protection per household in Canada currently sits at $509,000, up from $483,000 in 2023.
Interestingly, the report also notes that the industry is a significant investor in domestic infrastructure, with more than $1-trillion invested. Broken down, the industry has $50-billion invested in infrastructure, $111-billion invested in provincial, territorial and municipal government bonds and $25-billion in federal government bonds.
The association says its 65 member companies account for 99 per cent of Canada’s life and health insurance business.
