Consumer demand, regulatory developments and advisor succession are all front and centre when you ask industry experts like Hugh Moncrieff to list the challenge and opportunities related to distribution that exist for insurance companies in Canada.
“Canadians do not own enough insurance,” says Moncrieff, who is Canada Life’s executive vice president, advisory network and industry affairs. “We want Canadians to own the right amount of life insurance and have the right protection. There is a need in the market for Canadians to own more insurance. We need to make it easier for clients to buy it and easier for advisors to sell it. The access to advice, products and solutions has never been more important.”
Higher regulatory standards anticipated
Regulation, meanwhile, has shifted as regulators become more interested in the insurance industry.
“The insurance industry should expect higher standards, and that’s ok. I like high standards because what we are dealing with are very important issues.” - Hugh Moncrieff
“In the mutual fund space we know that there is a high degree of supervision. It is very organized and very structured,” he says. “The insurance industry should expect higher standards, and that’s ok. I like high standards because what we are dealing with are very important issues. I think regulation and access to advice are a couple of opportunities.”
In no particular order of importance, he says the titling issue – who should be able to call themselves a financial advisor and why – is one area the company is interested in, as is emerging regulatory interest in the oversight of Managing General Agencies (MGAs).
“That one will take some time,” he says of the developments in the MGA space, adding that a lot of the right stakeholders are presently involved in the discussion.
Another regulatory item the company is watching closely, he says, is the fair treatment of customers or FTC – an international movement – with many regulators actively looking at things like the language of contracts and other FTC considerations. “I think the Canadian industry, our company and many others are in really good shape there. I am sure there will be things that we have to change. That is fine. But I think we are doing it collectively, which is really important,” he says.
Advisor succession
Finally, he says advisor succession is an issue for the company. So much so, that it is currently developing a program where advisors can join Canada Life before partnering with firms, either as an associate advisor or as an advisor’s successor. “For advisors in Canada, there is a succession issue,” he says. “Who is the next generation that will be taking over these wonderful businesses from coast-to-coast. We are actually investing significantly in attracting talent to the industry,” he adds. “We are actually building a succession plan for thousands of advisors.”
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