Research from Canada’s leading online insurance brokerage PolicyAdvisor.com finds more than three-quarters of Canadians feel anxious about their financial future due to the economic effects of COVID-19, but not at the expense of their life insurance coverage. The company’s State of the Nation: Life Insurance Trends 2020 – Pandemic Checkup seeks to determine consumer attitudes and buying behaviour towards life insurance considering COVID-19’s impact on their lives.
As families continue their holiday shopping and start 2021 budgets, it’s clear life and health insurance is one place they are not cutting corners. While 77% of respondents say they will cut expenses like entertainment and eating out, only 13% say they are looking to reduce life insurance premiums.
In fact, 64% of Canadians think life insurance is one of the most important types of coverage during the current pandemic; 63% think owning life insurance is more important to them now than before COVID-19.
“The results confirmed what we see on a daily basis,” said Jiten Puri, founder and CEO of PolicyAdvisor.com. “There is an urgency to get life insurance now that many know how quickly they may need it.”
All told, 44% of Canadians plan to or have purchased more life insurance coverage because of COVID-19. The biggest reason preventing respondents from buying more life insurance at this time is their perceived inability to buy it online.
“Many Canadians still feel helpless when it comes to comparing and buying life insurance, especially in the age of social distancing. Thankfully, with a digital broker you can do your life insurance application online, with easy-to-understand product descriptions, and transparent price comparisons,” said Puri.
The time commitment and medical testing requirements are also reasons some are not yet ready to purchase coverage. Puri stresses the clear need for consumer education; online insurance tools let Canadians solve most of the setbacks they face in their search for coverage. 52% of respondents said online fulfillment would make a life insurance purchase more likely.
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