Specialty Life Insurance (SLI) is an Ontario-based firm that designs products whose risk is underwritten by insurers. It distributes these products through a network of MGAs across Canada. Now, SLI is poised to launch a term insurance product line in collaboration with Humania Assurance.
SLI serves the niche of hard-to-insure individuals, notably with a product line of life insurance with no medical exam. SLI says it has a clientele of 100,000 Canadians insured for total coverage of over $10 million.
Humania CEO Stéphane Rochon told the Insurance Portal that he set this collaboration with SLI in motion a few months ago. The SLI product line will include the comment “underwritten by Humania,” he adds.
Canada-wide
The launch, planned for October in English and French, is the first phase of the campaign. It will include a line of T10, T20 and T30 products that offer up to $1 million in life insurance coverage with no medical exam, Eugene Shafronsky, Vice-president, sales, distribution and product development at Specialty Life, told the Insurance Portal.
In phase 2, the company will launch T100 insurance. No date was mentioned.
Not an MGA
Each Specialty Life launch is backed by a partnership with an insurer that underwrites the mortality risk and pays out claims, Shafronsky explains. He adds that SLI is not an MGA, but its products are distributed through an MGA network.
Back in 2015, SLI was a direct-to-consumer insurance provider. The nascent business distributed its product via the Web and a call centre.
“Since then we’ve expanded through MGAs and their independent advisors. We work with most (large and mid-size) MGAs across Canada...We offer everything in both English and French,” Shafronsky says.
Artificial intelligence
The term product line features a decision engine that uses artificial intelligence, developed by a fintech whose identity Shafronsky will disclose during the official launch. This virtual underwriter is available 24/7.
Dubbed Jenie, short for Jet Evolution Non-Med Intelligent Engine, the pricing engine uses the most current risk underwriting guidelines and incorporates advanced medical knowledge. It can intuitively tailor the sequence of questions that are most appropriate for each applicant, including answers to questions about age gender etc., often using behavioural questions.
“The application is processed in one day. The engine allows the applicant to go through the whole process without being referred to a human underwriter. Jenie provides the most unique and intuitive experience with precise and instant decision, and business logic to offer the best possible solution for every applicant,” Shafronsky explains. He adds that maximum coverage available may vary according to the final assessment decision.
