Feb. 25, 2025 — A CLEAR correlation between households having sufficient insurance coverage to protect against the unexpected and improved financial resilience has been established in a new report funded by Co-operators.

The 71-page report was prepared by the Financial Resilience Institute, an independent Vancouver-based organization that was established as a non-profit in 2022.

It polled thousands of Canadians in separate surveys about their coverages in February 2023, February 2024, last June and October and found that the correlation was consistent within all income demographics.

The institute said the findings highlight the valuable contribution of insurance for financial resilience, regardless of household income level.

The report, titled ‘Insurance Protection as a Pathway to Improved Financial Resilience and Financial Well-Being,’ was prepared to explore the current state of household financial vulnerability in the face of increasing extreme weather events.

Protection-related financial inclusion gaps were evident, with more financially vulnerable households reporting they have not been able to access insurance to improve their financial security over the past year.

The researchers found that 47% of the household responders surveyed in October felt they did not have sufficient insurance coverage to protect against the unexpected.

And 37% of households reported that they were not aware of any coverage gaps with their insurance policies — with younger Canadians more likely to report a lack of awareness.

The institute has developed a Financial Resilience Index model which scored 66% of households surveyed as either approaching resilience or were financially resilient, while 40% lacked sufficient insurance protection.

“This index will enable us to measure our clients’ ability to withstand financial hardships and stressors and inform the solutions we create that help to better prepare them and that catalyze a resilient future for all Canadians,” said Rob Wesseling, CEO of Guelph, Ont.-based Co-operators, which is a partner of the Financial Resilience Institute.

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