“For me, 2020 has highlighted our collaborators’¹ unbelievable resilience and unwavering commitment.”

It is humbling, but also a source of pride for me, to look back on 2020’s overall results. In truth, we adapted to a highly unusual situation in a short space of time. As a solid and responsible insurer, we have a fiduciary duty to effectively safeguard and serve our insureds and mutualists both now, and in the future.

Throughout this exceptional year, we deployed a number of measures to maintain high quality service for our clients. Upholding high standards during the crisis, in particular for our claimants, was crucial for us. Individual and group disability insurance makes up a large part of our business. The pandemic raised many questions from our insureds, group plan members and the financial security advisors who serve them. While working from home, we deployed a series of actions and adjusted several processes in order to maintain benefit payments and continued to provide fast, honest and local service.

One of the highlights of the past 12 months was the launch of Prohealth Income Insurance — Accident² which primarily involves converting our individual wage insurance line to modern digital platforms. Development of the product was targeted to the specific needs of individuals who suffer an event and make a claim. Including certain features up front, such as partial disability and soft tissue coverage, will enable us to process claims faster and more easily, which is one of our top priorities. We also significantly expanded eligibility for this type of plan. No occupation is refused. The policy is issued in minutes, with a single health question and no medical exam or test. Now available and distributed across Canada, we firmly believe that this unique, innovative and competitive product will quickly attract the attention of financial security advisors and affinity groups, thereby contributing significantly to accelerated sales growth.

Partnership

A second partnership was also formed with Speciality Life Insurance. SLI is a major player in Canada in both digital marketing and independent consultant sales. During the year, we co-developed two complete life insurance product lines for each of their distribution networks. Their Jenie platform is a prime example of their vision and drive. The results of this partnership exceeded expectations, with several thousand policies taken out in just a few months.

Humania’s current and future approach is to build and grow strong strategies with specialized companies that have a large underserved life and health insurance customer base and with digital marketing specialists. Our approach is to accelerate mutual growth through specialized and customized digital solutions.

This partnership aims to quickly launch niche products developed specifically to target segment needs. Then, by leveraging analytics and consumer behaviours, we will improve our service offering by adding new, fully digital products and steadily making ongoing improvements.

Group insurance

Given the environment, and with a view to integrity and transparency, clients were offered certain premium reductions. We also deployed the Teladoc telemedicine service and made it available to all our clients without impacting their premium. This service allows all our insureds to remotely consult a licensed physician 24 hours a day from the comfort of their own home. Given the current situation, this improvement means insureds can continue receiving consultation services with a physician without having to travel.

Tour+Med and travel insurance

As years go, 2020 was challenging on many fronts, but particularly for the travel industry. Border closures had a major impact on all segment indicators. Significant reductions in sales and increased prepayment claims substantially impacted expected results. While the short-term outlook for this industry is unstable and closely tied to consumer behaviour after borders are opened at a date that remains to be announced, we continue to be optimistic about the medium- and long-term potential of this business line which will eventually contribute positively to the organization’s growth.

Financial results

Despite current financial results below expectations with a $4.2 million negative net result, we maintain a very strong balance sheet and a total ratio of 136%. In fact, investments and total assets grew 11.9% and 9.5% respectively, supporting the ratio. In addition to the impact from travel insurance sales, total life and health insurance premiums remained stable at last year’s level, despite the impact of the pandemic on new sales of fully underwritten products. The three main factors underlying the negative results and returns are the sharp decline in interest rates in 2020, certain revisions to actuarial assumptions, and the underperformance of the travel insurance line.

IDC

We are proud of our association with IDC Worldsource, Canada’s insurance distribution leader. This partner relationship, formed in 2019 following the Aurrea Signature transaction, contributed positively to Humania’s 2020 results.

Lead2action

More than four partners currently refer their clients to Lead2action. Our financial security advisors are now available to serve clients in Québec and Ontario, and Canada-wide expansion will continue over the next 12 months.

“Lead2action’s mission is to do all we can to get the best insurance coverage for your needs, wherever you are, at your convenience, and without you having to step out the door.”

Human Resources

Health and wellness are our top priorities

2020 changed day-to-day life for everyone. From the outset of the pandemic, we quickly put in place initiatives to support our employees’ physical and mental health, in keeping with our DNA and our values. Financial assistance was available to improve the work-from-home environment. A number of events were also organized to keep us all in close touch: conferences, online training, virtual cafeterias, ergonomics modules, yoga classes — as a safeguard for our employees’ personal and professional well-being. We were creative in keeping our traditional iconic holiday celebrations alive. It was a special time that brought us all together! All of these initiatives were part of our health and wellness implementation plan and they in fact made our values-based culture stronger.

Despite the unprecedented conditions, we successfully rolled out our strategy to enhance employee skills development, which helped leverage our transformation. We succeeded in improving the work environment to make it exceptional through innovative human resources strategies, and our initiatives earned us a number of honours, reflecting the fact that our collaborators are our top priority and key to our company’s success. The Employer of the Year award at the prestigious 2020 Mercuriades competition, the renewal, since 2017, of our “Healthy Enterprise” certification awarded by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec, and our selection by Canada’s Top 100 Employers 2020 as one of the best employers in Greater Montréal all bear witness to this. Our collaborators' commitment was the key to these successes once again this year, thanks in particular to their higher level of engagement, despite the current context.

Acknowledgments

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all our collaborators for their resilience, openness and professionalism throughout this difficult year. Their resourcefulness, their ability to adapt and their involvement allowed us to focus on our common mission despite the uncertainties. I am confident that the coming year will be filled with exciting opportunities and that we will continue working hand in hand.

I would also like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their wise counsel and management for their leadership that contribute so much to the Company’s success and transformation. And thanks go also to our loyal clients for the trust they place in us and to our financial security advisors for the collaboration we share. They’re the best.

When all is said and done, it is with great pride that we close 2020, and turn to the future with confidence and optimism.

¹Humania Assurance employees are typically referred to as collaborators.

²On March 4, 2021, the company launched the innovative Prohealth Income Insurance — Accident and Sickness coverage.