From application to contract delivery, iA Financial Group is transitioning its individual life insurance sales process to a digital experience, the insurer announced earlier this month.
The new system, called Moderna, can issue and deliver a policy to the client in less than five minutes, Frédéric Glorieux, vice-president of administration, individual insurance savings and retirement with iA, said in an interview. The company’s legacy system took several days, even when there was an automatic underwriting decision, he said.
The advisor doesn’t have to find another time to deliver the policy to the client. The contract is available right away in the client portal for digital review, signing and delivery, Glorieux said. “That’s a huge benefit for the advisor.”
As well, other policy management actions are processed more quickly. Replacing a life policy would’ve taken 15 days in the old system, but now it happens overnight, Glorieux said.
Clients can use the self-serve portal to make changes that don’t require advice, such as updating their email address. The advisor will be notified each time a change is made. This reduces the administrative burden on advisors for policy management, so they have more time to provide advice, Glorieux said.
But changes that require advice, such as changing beneficiary designations, are still processed by an advisor, he noted.
Currently, about half of all new individual insurance applications can be processed with Moderna. The transition started with iA’s simplified issue, term and permanent products in 2026, and will include more complex products in the coming years. Glorieux expects all new business to go through Moderna by the end of 2028.
Existing policies to stay in the legacy system
IA won’t transfer existing policies over to Moderna.
“We observed that 40% of transactions on a life insurance policy happen within the first two years, so the conversion isn’t mandatory,” Glorieux said.
However, iA has masked the legacy system’s complexity with an updated user interface. When an advisor needs to update an older policy on the legacy system, they get a direct link to the right electronic document, Glorieux explained. “The system can identify whether it’s a legacy policy or a new one, and we’re able to provide a similar experience [to Moderna].”