Canada Life has confirmed it is no longer accepting applications for onshore individual protection products.
This impacts the insurer’s fixed term cover range for Life Insurance and Life Insurance plus Critical Illness.
Tim Stoves, managing director, protection, Canada Life, said: “I’m proud of what we have achieved since 2016 in the individual protection market, but it has become clear we need to make priority calls on where best to utlilise our resource as we continue to focus on our core areas of growth.
“Our exit from the onshore individual market allows us to refocus on other areas of our business, including group protection and the international (offshore) protection market.”
Canada Life has confirmed it remains committed to protecting its market leading position in group protection, building a customer-led lifetime wealth business which includes other areas of insurance including home finance, annuities and international (offshore) protection.
Canada Life said the change would have no impact on existing customers and that it will continue to support customers, honouring existing contractual obligations, and pay claims in line with their usual processes.
It now intends to close to new business while it enters a period of consultation with impacted employees.
Phil Jeynes, director of corporate strategy at Reassured, said: “In a market which has lost many high profile brands over recent years, it is disheartening to hear this news.
“It highlights the difficulty in making headway in a sector dominated by established, successful firms without a discernible USP.
“Differentiated treatment of vaping customers simply wasn’t enough for Canada Life, despite no shortage of effort from a team of impressive, experienced individuals.”
