Regulators finalize new insurance classes

Canada’s insurance regulators have finished a project intended to harmonize and streamline the classes of insurance across provincial borders. There are now 16 classes, reduced from the 50 different types of insurance found overall in various provinces and territories, says the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR). The only exception is Quebec, where there are 15 new classes. The new classes take in both life and p&c insurance products.The purpose of the new system is both to harmonize classes nationally, and to make it easier for insurers to introduce new products, explains Winston Morris, chair of the CCIR and insurance superintendent for Newfoundland and Labrador.”To better meet consumers’ needs, insurers are developing new products that do not always fit neatly into traditionally defined classes of insurance,” says Morris. “This is why a key component of this new system is the creation of the ‘other approved products’ class.”This, along with new guidelines regarding filing for approval for new products, should make it easier for insurers to introduce products more quickly. The CCIR notes that most provinces expect to implement the system over the next three years, depending on the legislative processes involved in each jurisdiction.