TD Insurance

TD Insurance is the insurance arm of the Toronto Dominion bank and the largest direct response insurance group in Canada. Unlike most other insurance companies TD Insurance does not deal with agents, selling all its policies directly, mostly from call centres and bank branches rather than stand alone offices. This is called the ‘Direct Writer Mode‘. As a direct insurer their web site plays a larger role in attracting new business than it does with many of its competitors. Through a program of staff retention and education they claim that they make their staff some of the most accessible within the insurance industry.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Toronto-Dominion Bank, or TD, is Canada’s second largest bank by deposits. Throughout the group it has 74,000 employees. The headquarters are in Toronto. It is the result of a 1955 merger of the Bank of Toronto and Dominion Bank. Toronto and Dominion both started out as a farmers’ banks. TD also has the Waterhouse securities brokerage brand. It bought Canada Trust, who had a large insurance business, in the 1990s. It has a branch network in the northeast of the United States and international stock broking operations.

TD Insurance Core Customers

TD Insurance has two sets of core customers. Firstly there are savings and loans customers of Toronto Dominion bank to whom insurance is cross sold. Secondly there are members of affinity groups who are marketed to by the TD Insurance Meloche Monnex brand. TD Insurance aims squarely for end consumers rather than selling insurance for employers.

TD Insurance Market share

TD Insurance is the largest direct response auto and home insurer in Canada. It is the third largest car and home insurer in the whole of Canada. It has 1.6 million policies written for 1 million customers. TD Insurance employs 3,700 people. TD Insurance is not available in British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba - although Meloche Monnex is available to groups throughout this area.

TD Insurance Products

TD Insurance offers home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance and travel insurance. As with other direct offer insurance firms it tends to be stronger on auto insurance and travel insurance, and weaker on life and health insurance which are less price sensitive. Like other insurance subsidiaries of banks it offers credit protection insurance to TD banking customers.

The main competitors to TD Insurance are bank backed insurers such as RBC Insurance and big life insurers such as Sun Life.

TD Insurance Meloche Monnex

TD Insurance Meloche Monnex is a subsidiary of TD Insurance that was bought by Toronto Dominion in 1999 when the bank bought Canada Trust. Meloche Monnex was a Quebec based insurance company founded in 1949. It acquired Liberty Mutual in 2004.

It was a pioneer in the affinity marketing area and is now a market leader in affinity marketing to professional associations, trade unions, employees and interest groups. Its competitors are similar affinity marketing insurance groups such as SSQ Financial.

It is the only Canadian brokerage firm that operates both underwriting and brokerage entities.