Research from Canadian Institute of Actuaries shows ebbs and flows in COVID-19 related claims
The Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) has published its COVID-19 Canadian Insurance Industry Monthly Aggregate Data Analysis, the sixth report in a monthly series.
The series' concluding study examines how the pandemic has affected Canada's life insurance market.
Even though not all businesses were able to record the cause of death, 3,268 reported individual claims were found in 2020 with COVID-19 listed as the cause of death. 2,403 and 1,369 more COVID-19 claims were reported in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Individual life insurance claims resulting from COVID-19 reached 11% of total claims by count and 9% of total claims by value during the height of the second wave in January 2021, placing it second only to April 2020 in terms of the impact of COVID-19 on claims.
Read more: COVID-19 impact on life insurers limited, research suggests
Despite data showing a decline in claims after the first quarter of 2022, a rise in claims is anticipated in the second quarter due to a reporting delay for some claims.
The number of excess deaths and the effect on life insurance claims are anticipated to be smaller than what has been observed thus far, despite the likelihood that Canada will suffer more waves of COVID-19 infections.
Total monthly aggregate individual insurance claims increased over the same level in 2019, with January and February 2021 showing a pattern like the first few months of 2020.
But once the second COVID-19 wave in Canada subsided, the pattern of individual insurance claims declined to a level more in line with what was seen in 2019.
Individual insurance claims increased in May 2021 and were greater than in May 2020, perhaps because of certain larger claims amounts, which is consistent with the pattern of excess fatalities in the overall population.
In comparison to the first and second waves, the third and fourth waves showed fewer insurance claims overall. Furthermore, it appears that some greater claim amounts happened in May 2021.
Read more: COVID-19 is showing Canadians the light on life insurance
The fifth wave has an additional high that can be seen in January, which is followed by a lesser peak in April 2022. Due to some late reporting, the seventh wave is not yet reflected in the claims data.
Less significantly, the Omicron waves increased life insurance claims, with a record of 7.5% for individual insurance and 3.5% for group insurance in January 2022 and February 2022, accordingly.
This is the last report on the monthly average claims data.
According to the report's author and the head of the CIA Research Council's Experience Research Committee, Nicolas Genois, FCIA, said, “The data analyzed in this COVID-19 report series will help actuaries better understand and manage the impact of the pandemic on insurance companies, while fulfilling their roles in risk management and financial stability in the industry.”
