How a Canadian Life Insurer Gained a Global Perspective on Digital Innovation

The Situation

A mid-sized Canadian life insurer distributed its life and living benefits insurance products via brokers and agents. At the start of the pandemic, the insurance company experienced an increase in customer demand for self-service and digital channels. The insurer realized it needed to shift to direct distribution and service models. The insurer’s Board of Directors approached Burnie Group looking for guidance on moving towards direct and, in particular, digital distribution for its insurance products.

The Approach & Solution

Burnie Group introduced the insurer to insurance innovation case studies from Burnie Group’s insurance innovation database, offering a global perspective on innovative insurance distribution models. Burnie Group compiled extensive research and best practices to empower the life insurance company to accelerate its digital journey, including:

• A direct-to-customer competitive analysis
• Insights about leading direct and digital players in the insurance space in Canada and other regions, including the US and Europe
• An overview of the digital insurance landscape in Canada, including aggregators, digital brokers, and digital incumbent insurance players
• A product perspective from direct and digital channels, such as product fit with digital channels
• A summary of innovations and trends in the life insurance space in North America and globally

Burnie Group designed a Digital Life Insurer Framework highlighting all key digital capabilities required to succeed in the digital space and developed a roadmap to deliver these capabilities.

The Result

The insurer’s Board was impressed by potential opportunities and approved the decision to implement digital distribution capabilities. The insurer decided to move ahead according to the roadmap that Burnie Group defined. This roadmap spanned several topics, including customer experience, branding, communication, product, process re-design, technology (including payments and digital underwriting), and 3^rd party management.