Canada Life Re has delivered double-digit earnings growth for much of the past decade, with recent expansion driven by strong demand for Capital Solutions, supported by its strategy to remain disciplined, innovative, and client focused, according to CEO, Jeff Poulin.
As Canada Life Re continues to originate attractive opportunities through a disciplined approach, Reinsurance News spoke with CEO Poulin about the company’s recent performance and strategic priorities going forwards, as well as where he sees the biggest opportunities in the global life reinsurance market.
He began by explaining that Canada Life Re is viewed in the context of two businesses: Risk Solutions and Capital Solutions.
“Risk Solutions are transactions like longevity swaps where we lock in the future cost of pension claims in return for a fee, asset intensive transactions where we fund all future obligations in return for an upfront premium, or catastrophe business where we agree to pay losses in the event a client experiences losses above a defined retention.
“Capital Solutions are a more specialist product, identifying where the transfer of risk can optimize capital efficiency – often to support growth. The transactions generally are built around provisions whereby the cedent retains a portion of the risk and other features that align interest,” said Poulin.
Canada Life Re’s earnings exceeded CAD 300 million in both the first and second quarter of this year, with the Q1 result of CAD 353 million a record for the carrier. Poulin explained that this recent earnings growth has been driven primarily by Capital Solutions, where demand has been strong across geographies and products.
“We see this as a structural trend. Insurers increasingly desire tailored solutions that not only transfer risk, but allow them to improve capital efficiency, flex usage depending on needs and improve execution certainty.
“Transaction flow can be variable and create some earnings variability, but the underlying demand is durable. Our focus is on building a diversified portfolio of attractive business and strong relationships that generate sustainable earnings over time,” he said.
In terms of the transaction pipeline, Poulin confirmed that this remained strong through 2025 and into this year, particularly for the Capital Solutions arm.
“Demand has been broad based by geography and by underlying product. The opportunity is not limited to one market or balance sheet need, although transaction timing is subject to the capital needs of clients – which can be cyclical by market,” said Poulin.
On the Risk Solutions side, Poulin noted that although competition has been intense, demand for longevity, asset-intensive blocks, and catastrophe business also remains high.
“We remain disciplined. We only deploy capital where we believe the economics, risk profile and long-term client relationship make sense,” said Poulin.
Adding: “Looking ahead, we expect continued demand for large, customized transactions. Our competitive advantage is not just pricing – it is our financial strength and capacity, structuring expertise and ability to execute complex deals with certainty.”
The life reinsurer’s strong growth over the past 10 years has primarily been driven by new business, and Poulin emphasised that the strength of Canada Life Re’s franchise “has allowed us to originate attractive opportunities, while our disciplined approach has helped ensure that growth remains aligned with our risk appetite and return expectations.”
In recent years, continued Poulin, the firm has also taken steps to improve investment income and actively manage its risk profile with those actions contributing positively to results.
Looking ahead to Canada Life Re’s strategic priorities over the next three to five years, Poulin said that the strategy is a simple one: remain disciplined, innovative and client focused.
“We look for areas where client needs are evolving and where we can offer differentiated solutions rather than compete in commoditized markets. That approach has helped establish Canada Life Re as an innovative partner, particularly in North American and European life and health markets.
“Over the next three to five years, we see opportunities to expand our presence in Asia and South America and to grow our Capital Solutions capabilities in non-life markets.
“The common thread is customization. Clients increasingly need solutions tailored to their specific objectives, and our ability to innovate and respond early to emerging needs has been a key driver of our success,” he said.
Canada Life Re’s strong performance comes as the global life reinsurance market continues to grow steadily, driven by rising demand, although Poulin underlined that dynamics differ by line of business.
“Longevity demand remains high, supported by the continued growth of pension risk transfer. Pricing has become more competitive as additional capacity has entered the market, but there is also greater uncertainty around future longevity improvement. COVID-19, GLP-1 drugs and advances in healthcare, including AI-enabled care, all complicate long-term assumptions. Over time, that uncertainty could support more balanced pricing from a reinsurer perspective,” he said.
“In mortality, demand remains steady, but we have been selective. We have exited the U.S. Yearly Renewable Term market because we did not believe pricing adequately reflected the uncertainty highlighted by the pandemic. Instead, we have focused on shorter-duration mortality covers that can work well for large clients and fit our risk appetite.
“Health reinsurance has historically been small relative to the size of the market, but demand has increased over the past two years. Health insurers experienced a long period of favorable results, followed by pressure as utilization rose after the pandemic. When results deteriorate, capital can be eroded just as insurers need more capital to renew books at higher premium levels. That creates a stronger role for reinsurance. We may now be returning to a more normal health pricing cycle, with periods of favorable experience followed by more challenging years,” continued Poulin.
Today, Poulin feels that pension risk transfer remains one of the largest global opportunities in the life reinsurance market, as primary players continue to assume substantial long-duration liabilities, often requiring support from their reinsurance partners for longevity risk, asset risk, and capital management.
“At the same time, pricing in some areas has become highly competitive. For transactions that can run for decades, cedants should place significant weight on counterparty strength, long-term alignment and the reinsurer’s ability to perform through market cycles. A credit crisis or sustained market stress could test some business models,” said Poulin.
“We also see opportunities in jurisdictions where regulations are evolving. As capital requirements become more robust, reinsurers can play a larger role as strategic partners, supporting insurers’ growth, risk management and capital efficiency. Reinsurance is no longer simply a risk-transfer relationship. Increasingly, it is a long-term partnership embedded in a company’s financial and strategic planning,” he concluded.
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