As Canada is renowned as a hub of digital innovation, being home to some of the World’s most innovative software as a service (SAAS) and AI companies, and is generally seen as one of the most advanced digital nations, you’d expect its insurance sector to be no different. And in that regard, given that referral works so well in insurance, and in particular for North American insurance companies, and indeed for insurers globally, you’d expect to see Canadian insurers leading the way. But as you’ll see from our research below, there’s definitely room for more innovative marketing strategies among Canadian insurers.
Being the global leading provider of enterprise referral programs, we’re immensely proud of our Canadian roots and the fact that we’re Canada’s leading referral and reward provider. So we’re taking a closer look at how Canadian companies across multiple leading industries are embracing Reward and Referral Marketing as the key alternative to search and social marketing. We’ve already explored some of the best referral programs in Canadian telecoms, and now we’re taking the microscope to the insurance sector.
Referral and reward programs are indispensable in today’s competitive landscape for attracting and retaining customers. Globally, an impressive 95% of consumers have participated in referral programs over the past year, indicating a strong preference for brands that offer the ability to recommend to friends and family. Recent research has also shown that referred-in customers are more valuable than those from any other source, not only due to the fact that they spend more and stay longer, but that they are also more likely to refer in more customers themselves.
Interestingly, our Reward Revolution research found that while cash based rewards are popular everywhere, Canadian consumers when asked to rank which gift cards were most likely to encourage a referral opted for cards from supermarket and grocery, and electronics chains, with the top five named brands being Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Best Buy. And interestingly, our Referral Codebreakers research found that the channels which were the most effective for notifying policyholders about an insurance referral program were email, bills, texts, notifications, app notifications, which is not surprising given that policyholders probably have little need to keeping coming back to the insurer’s website after having taken out a policy.
Here’s a summary of the main referral programs we found available in the Canadian market at the time of writing – if we’ve missed one, please let us know.
Square One
Square One Insurance Services is an insurance agency (or brokerage) that serves British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Its referral program distinguishes itself by rewarding both the referrer and the referred-in friend at different stages of engagement. Friends enticed by a referral are greeted with a $10 Amazon gift card simply for requesting a quote, while the referrer receives a $25 account credit when their friend commits to a policy. This tiered reward structure not only incentivizes the initial referral but also the conversion, striking a perfect balance between attracting new prospects and rewarding loyalty.
Excalibur Insurance
Excalibur Insurance is an independent insurance brokerage with 5 branches in southwest Ontario, serving the entire province. Its referral program opts for a trifecta of rewards that enriches the referral experience. Upon the friend’s quote request, both the referrer and the friend enjoy a $20 Tim Hortons voucher, an entry into a monthly draw for $100, and a chance in the annual draw for a grand prize worth $2500. The simplicity of the referral process, requiring just a call or a brief form submission, underscores Excalibur’s commitment to making customer advocacy as rewarding as it is straightforward.
Dundas Life
Dundas Life is a digital insurance brokerage focused on modernizing the life insurance purchasing process. They offer personalized insurance coverage tailored to individual needs without high-pressure sales tactics. Their program offers up to $1,000 in referral bonuses for their customers, with each referral worth varying amounts. The friend receives no reward due to specific limitation in insurance industry legislation.
Morison Insurance
Morison Insurance describes itself as the top-rated, award-winning insurance brokerage with over a century of experience serving customers across Ontario. Their referral program offers both the referrer and the referred-in friend a $10 Tim Hortons’ gift card after the friend receives their first free, no-obligation quote.
Alsop Insurance Brokers Inc.
Alsop Insurance Brokers has been offering reliable consumer and business insurance services since 1945. In its referral program, referrers receive a $15 Canadian Tire gift card for each referred home or auto insurance quotation, an increase from the previous $5 reward. Additionally, Alsop Insurance adds $5 to its donation fund for each referral, benefiting the Canadian Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Higgins Insurance
Higgins Insurance specializes in providing auto and property insurance for groups and individuals, commercial insurance, and personal financial planning for organizations and individuals throughout Atlantic Canada. While there is an opportunity for a referral journey for their customers. No reward program is currently offered for either the friend or referrer, which may limit the number of referrals but could be the brands first step into the world of referral.
Broker Link
BrokerLink is one of Canada’s largest property and casualty insurance brokerages, with local offices across Ontario, Alberta, and Atlantic Canada. Under the terms of their referral program, referrers and their friends each earn a $10 e-gift card when the friend obtains a free, no-obligation insurance quote. There’s no limit to the number of e-gift cards a referrer can receive.
Aon Canada
The Canadian arm of Aon, the leading worldwide provider of risk management services, reinsurance, human capital and management consulting, has several referral programs targeting brokers or introducers for Commercial, Pet, Home and Auto, Health and Benefits and Employee Health and Benefits. As commercial referral programs, referrers earn commission – the amount of which is not public as of this time – throughout the period which the referred client stays with Aon.
Direct Line Insurance CA
Direct Line Insurance is an independent insurance brokerage in Alberta, offering personalized service to help customers achieve their financial and life goals. They provide various insurance products, including home, auto, commercial, and farm insurance, focusing on building trust through one-on-one relationships. In line with their one-to-one ethos, their referral program rewards customers for their advocacy, reinforcing customer relationships further. They offer a $50 check for each referral with no limit on the number of referrals.
Verge Insurance Group
Verge Insurance Group, founded in 1953, is the largest independently owned insurance brokerage in the Niagara Region, offering both personal and commercial insurance solutions. Their mission is to provide advice-based insurance solutions with exceptional service. They specialize in a variety of insurance lines, including automobile, residential, life, manufacturing, construction, retail, and more. Through their referral program, referrers receive a $25 Amazon gift card for each referred-in friend, up to a maximum of five friends per month.
BCAA
BCAA offers a variety of products including home, car, travel, and small business insurance, alongside Evo Car Share and roadside assistance throughout British Columbia. They’re known for their commitment to road safety and community improvement throughout British Columbia. Their program offers referrers 10 of their trademarked CAA Dollars for each friend who joins as a BCAA GO Member or 20 CAA Dollars for each friend joining as a Basic, Plus, or Premier Member; the referred-in friend receives a discount on their new membership. CAA Dollars, which are each worth C$1 can be redeemed on a variety of BCAA products including BCAA Home, Car, and Travel insurance, and auto maintenance and repairs at local BCAA Auto Service Centres.
CAA Atlantic
CAA Atlantic, sister company of BCCA, provides roadside assistance, rewards and benefits, home, auto and travel insurance, travel service sacross New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Through its’Give to Get’ program, both the referrer and the referred-in friend receive $30 in CAA Dollars. Referrers can refer up to 10 people per year.
The above examples show how different examples of referral programs across the Canadian insurance industry that successfully harness customer satisfaction to drive loyalty and customer acquisition. However, in truth we expected to find more, and more sophisticated examples as we can see in other programs across the globe and, in particular, more examples of programs with leading insurers – you’ll have seen that many of the programs above are operated by brokers. To us it’s clear that there’s room to grow and innovate in referral marketing in Canadian insurance, particularly as referral marketing is already developed in many other sectors across Canada. So if you’d like to know more about the power of referrals, let’s chat, as we’d love to share what we’ve learned working, not only with many of the world’s leading insurers but also with over 250 leading enterprise businesses.