Canada’s insurance M&A market proved resilient in 2021 despite the enduring pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a challenging economic climate, M&A served as a vital tool for organizations to pursue innovation, gain scale, and achieve healthy top-line growth. The stage is set for another active year as the impact of the pandemic continues to wane, with buyers from both home and abroad leaping into the insurance M&A arena even in the face of rising interest rates globally.
To examine these market-shaping shifts, Dentons conducted a survey of 30 dealmakers active in Canada’s insurance market to uncover key M&A drivers, the challenges they are facing, and their outlook for the future.
Key findings include:
- The largest share of respondents (40%) cite the accident & sickness insurance (individual) sector as offering the most appealing M&A opportunities.
- Over a third of respondents (37%) say the primary driver of their Canadian insurance M&A over the next 12 months will be pursuing digitalization.
- Almost a third of respondents (30%) cite regulatory intervention as the number-one potential impediment to their near-term M&A strategy.
