Regional disparities also emerged. Uninsured rates were highest in British Columbia, where 39 per cent of respondents said they lacked any coverage, compared with just 28 per cent in Atlantic Canada.
The workplace coverage problem
Much of the coverage increase appears tied to group benefits plans, and that, the report suggests, may explain why confidence has not kept pace with the headline numbers.
Half of insured Canadians rely on workplace plans as their primary or sole source of life insurance. Among those, 26 per cent did not know how much coverage they actually held, and the most commonly reported benefit range was $100,000 to $299,999, a sum that may fall well short of what is needed to pay down a mortgage or support dependents into adulthood.
Among Canadians earning $100,000 or more annually, 79 per cent reported holding coverage. That figure dropped to 50 per cent for those earning under $50,000.
Cost cited as top barrier, but not the only one
Among those without coverage, affordability was the most frequently cited obstacle, with 30 per cent naming cost as a reason for remaining uninsured.