Issue link: http://clhia.uberflip.com/i/396028
Canada's life and health insurance industry has a substantial impact on the well-being of the people of Nova Scotia. The industry provides a wide range of financial protection and income security products that are critical to protecting the financial future of some 730,000 Nova Scotia residents. These products include individual and group life insurance, health and disability insurance, annuities, RRSPs, RRIFs and pensions. Life Insurance Ownership At the end of 2013, about 560,000 residents of Nova Scotia owned $92.7 billion of life insurance, providing their dependants with financial protection in the event of their death. Total ownership across the country was almost $4.1 trillion. For Nova Scotia residents with life insurance, the average amount of coverage per insured individual was $165,600 at year-end, compared with the national average of $189,600. For households with life insurance protection in Nova Scotia, the average amount of life insurance owned per household was $307,200 — $66,200 less than the national average of $373,400. Of the life insurance owned in Nova Scotia, $43.9 billion, somewhat less than half, was individual insurance. The remainder, $48.8 billion, was group insurance. Life Insurance Purchases People buy life insurance for many reasons, but mainly to provide financial protection for their families in the event they themselves should die prematurely. During 2013, $7.2 billion of life insurance was purchased in Nova Scotia. This represented 2.1% of the $341.4 billion of life insurance bought by all Canadians. Of the 2013 total purchases in Nova Scotia, 57% of new life insurance protection was bought on an individual basis — that is, by personal or family decision, usually through a life insurance agent. Purchases of individual life insurance totalled $4.1 billion for the year. During 2013, about 18,300 individual life insurance policies were purchased in the province. The average size of new individual life insurance policies was $225,100 in Nova Scotia compared with $309,400 in all of Canada. Group insurance purchases amounted to $3.1 billion or 43% of the 2013 total purchases. New contracts, including transfers of coverage from one insurer to another (which shows some volatility from year to year), account for the majority (about 90%) of the group purchases, while increases in coverage under existing contracts make up the remainder.