Over the entire year, whole life insurance’s new annualized premiums jumped 10 percent to a record $1.27bn, with the policy count increasing 4 percent over 2022 levels. Whole life premiums represented 68 percent of the Canadian life insurance market share.
Moussa pointed out that whole life sales in Canada are predominantly driven by participating whole life products, which constitute 88 percent of the whole life market. In 2023, these products saw a 12 percent increase in premiums, significantly contributing to the sector’s growth.
“Participating whole life products generally attract more sales since they offer dividends for policyholders, which can be used for additional coverage or cash value growth,” Moussa explained.
Term life insurance also recorded growth in the fourth quarter, with new annualized premiums increasing 3 percent year-over-year to $88m and policy count rising by 3 percent.
Throughout 2023, term life new premium totaled $345m, up 1 percent over 2022, despite a 2 percent decline in the number of policies sold. Term life products held a 19 percent market share of the total Canadian new annualized premium, illustrating their consistent presence in the life insurance landscape.
