4
Canadian marketplace
There are more than 150 life and health insurers operating in Canada (including 38 foreign-owned
life insurers) providing a competitive Canadian marketplace with a wide range of financial security
products for businesses and individuals. These products include employee benefits and individual
plans that provide life and health insurance protection and retirement savings solutions to ensure the
financial security of almost 29 million Canadians.
Benefits by product line
The industry paid $92 billion, or nearly $1.8 billion a week, in benefit payments to Canadians in
2017 - an increase of almost 50% from 10 years ago.
Life
22 million
Health
25 million 70%
Retirement
Canadians own
$4.7 trillion in life
insurance coverage
Canadians have
supplementary
health insurance
of all private pension
plans are managed by
the industry
Coverage by product line
$12.5B
Life insurance
benefits
$34.0B
Health insurance
benefits
$45.3B
Retirement
benefits
$11.3 billion for prescription drugs, which
accounts for about 35% of Canada's total
spending on prescription drugs
Annuity payments on employer-sponsored and
individual products increased by 58% over the
past decade
of benefit payments went
to living policyholders
Over 90%
$7.2 billion paid as death benefits
$5.3 billion paid to living policyholders as
disability benefits, cash surrenders or dividends
