Emma and YouSet entered into a distribution partnership for life and property and casualty insurance on Sept. 24, 2025. The agreement between the two partners will allow YouSet's approximately 350,000 users to add life insurance coverage via Emma's platform.
Through their partnership, the two digital platforms say they want to better protect Canadian families by providing them with simple, affordable, and fully online insurance coverage.
“We are seeing the emergence of partnerships between digital players, who are joining forces to provide a 360-degree offering with fully integrated approaches,” said Félix Deschatelets, president, CEO, and co-founder of Emma, which acts as an insurance broker, in an exclusive interview with the Insurance Portal.
“We will see more and more of these types of partnerships,” believes Deschâtelets. He cites the example of the online brokerage platform Wealthsimple in its partnership with digital lender Pine to offer mortgages.
Deschâtelets adds that Emma's customers have already been able to take advantage of YouSet's services for two years to shop for and manage their auto and home insurance online. He mentions that from now on, Emma's platform is integrated into the YouSet portal and receives “leads” (customer referrals) from it.
Rather than adopting a commission-sharing approach, the partners have opted for a commercial agreement based on the cost of the lead.
Emma's CEO says that his platform interacts with a number of users comparable to that of YouSet. Emma's website has already reached 500,000 visits, Deschatelets revealed. He believes it is too early to comment on the conversion rate, but he expects several thousand Emma customers to “simultaneously take advantage of both experiences.” Deschâtelets also revealed that 80% of transactions on Emma's platform are completed on mobile devices (smartphones).
Jumping on the bandwagon
Félix Deschâtelets observes that partnerships between digital and more traditional players have experienced difficulties in terms of integration. When both partners are digital players, “we speak the same language and have similar cultures and experiences. We jump on the bandwagon in terms of innovation. Traditional players need to adapt and take action, because the train is leaving the station right now," he comments.
Deschâtelets advises traditional insurers to deal with Insurtech partners who have already integrated a digital experience and absorbed the development costs. “We have a big head start.”
According to Deschâtelets, traditional players would also benefit from using digital platforms such as his and YouSet's. “As a digital platform, Emma is not a disruptor. We are in collaboration mode,” he says.
Very selective
Between 20 and 25 advisors work for Emma on a commission basis, with the exception of a few salaried employees. Its CEO would like to recruit more, but this is not easy, as Emma is very selective, he explains. “We turn down many advisors,” he admits. Deschâtelets says he looks for candidates who are able to support clients after the transaction and build a helping relationship. “That requires a lot more tact.”
He critiques the industry's tendency to focus on the transaction. “Exceptional advisors stand out because of their human approach, which focuses on the value they bring to the client rather than just the product. That's the hardest thing to find in advisors,” says Deschâtelets.
Emma believes it can bring YouSet more business than any other partner. “It's not uncommon for our advisors to do 10 to 15 transactions a week. We have one advisor who sold 142 policies in a month,” he reveals.
Félix Deschâtelets expects that traffic from YouSet will eventually allow him to serve 150 to 200 advisors across Canada. "We're improving our offering so that advisors who aren't 100% affiliated with us can also sell our products. We want to enable other people in the industry to benefit from the same technological efficiency we use internally."
For now, Emma is focused most on Quebec and Ontario, but will expand to other provinces in the coming months. Licensing efforts are underway in a few provinces, including Manitoba. British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
Emma's CEO adds that the offering of standard personal insurance products, which are underwritten by Humania Assurance, represents a large portion of its business, and that the remainder is divided among some five other insurers for more complex needs.
Property and casualty insurance: digital is a growth driver
Digital will be a decisive weapon in the battle among property and casualty (P&C) insurance brokers to expand their market share, believes YouSet co-founder and CEO Xavier Freeman. He launched the digital brokerage in 2017 with Fellipe Monteiro, who serves as Chief Technology Officer and software engineer.
In an exclusive interview with Insurance Portal, Freeman explained that digital distribution makes client acquisition easier compared to the traditional brokerage model. “The advantage lies in faster turnaround times. In a traditional firm, referrals are often handled over the phone,” he notes. Clients must call to start the quoting process for auto or home insurance. “That can lead to longer wait times than clients expect – or want.”
Traditional firms also have more limited business hours, Freeman adds. “Our technology is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People can complete a quote on our site at any time. That’s the biggest differentiator for digital brokers.” He adds that YouSet responds the same day to inquiries submitted during office hours, and within 24 hours for those received outside business hours.
YouSet offers a hybrid model, giving clients the option to build a relationship with an advisor as well. The company now employs 30 people.
Clients want life insurance
Freeman describes the company’s alliance with Emma as a first step toward a new level of development: two-way distribution. “We told ourselves it was time for YouSet to start building some reciprocity.”
The brokerage currently has agreements with 70 distribution partners, each working with multiple clients who represent potential policyholders. These include several landlords and property managers in the rental housing sector. Among them are Bloc Solutions, a tenant management platform for property managers, and Borrowell, a Toronto-based firm specializing in credit improvement.
For now, YouSet’s model with these partners is one-directional: the client chooses YouSet. The founders are considering a bidirectional approach, offering solutions to clients in collaboration with another partner.
A client survey convinced the co-founders the time was right. The digital brokerage asked its clients what other products beyond P&C insurance they were interested in. “The most popular product was life insurance,” Freeman reports. He believes the alliance with Emma allowed YouSet to put together, in a few weeks, a partnership that might otherwise have taken years.
YouSet is also considering other bidirectional partnerships, for example in travel insurance.
By Alain Thériault and Serge Therrien
