iA Financial Group announced today that it is merging two of its companies: the Excellence Life Insurance Company and Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services (iA Insurance), effective Jan. 1, 2020.

iA Insurance acquired Excellence in 2008, a move that allowed the company to enter the individual disability and health insurance market. At that time, Excellence did business exclusively in Quebec, posting gross premiums in the amount of $90-million. Today the company says Excellence operates across Canada with 173 employees, posting gross premiums of $135-million. iA Financial says the announced merger will have little to no direct impact on jobs.

“We are bringing the operations of Excellence and iA Insurance together under the iA Financial Group brand,” says Renee Laflamme, executive vice president of individual insurance, savings and retirement at iA Financial Group. “The integration of the companies’ operations will provide gains in operational efficiency and facilitate continuous improvement in favour of a simpler client experience and a more fluid advisor experience by proposing a single way of doing business with iA Financial Group.”