Financial Strength
For close to a century we have been helping people be wise with money and live generously. There have been changes over the years, but one common thread that connects our past to the present is our mission to protect financial futures, live our Christian values – and ultimately, impact the lives of others to build a better world.
A History of Helping
Our roots go back to the 1920’s when two American fraternal benefit societies, Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB), began issuing insurance policies in Canada. This made life insurance available to Canadian members – providing a much-needed safety net for families who had previously relied on church communities to come to their aid when faced with illness or the loss of a primary income. Lutheran Life Insurance Society of Canada was founded in 1972, sponsored by AAL and LB, and the heritage of neighbours helping neighbours, continued as the heart of the organization.
In 2008, we adopted the name FaithLife Financial and today, “faith” continues to be central to who we are as an organization. We are proud of our rich heritage of giving back to communities, alongside our members, and we believe that being wise with money and living generously are wonderful expressions of faith.
What is a Fraternal Benefit Society?
FaithLife Financial operates as a Fraternal Benefit Society. Fraternal organizations inspire their members to participate in one of the largest member-volunteer networks in the world. Serving others is at the heart of the organization and this is done through a variety of programs, which improve the quality of life in communities.
A fraternal benefit society is an institution that has a representative form of government and is operated for fraternal, benevolent or religious purposes, including the insurance of members, or the spouses/common-law partners or children of members, against accident, sickness, disability or death.
Fraternal organizations…
• Provide insurance and investment products.
• Have members instead of shareholders.
• Share a common bond with their members.
• Use revenue from financial services operations for member benefits and to give back to the causes members care about.
FaithLife Financial is federally supervised by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and is subject to the same regulations as other Canadian life and health insurers.
The Society monitors the amount of its capital available. The amount of capital deployed is dependent upon regulatory requirements as well as the Society’s internal assessment of capital requirements in the context of its operational risks and requirements, and strategic plans. The Society’s practice is to maintain capital at a level that will exceed the relevant minimum regulatory capital requirements and the Society’s internal target capital levels.
In Canada, OSFI has established a capital adequacy measurement for life insurance companies incorporated under the Insurance Companies Act (Canada) and their subsidiaries, known as the Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT). LICAT establishes the standards used by OSFI to assess whether a life insurer maintains adequate capital or an adequate margin to support risks specific to the life insurance business.
OSFI has established supervisory target levels of 100% for total ratio and 70% for core ratio. FaithLife Financial’s 2018 total ratio was a healthy 152%, while its core ratio was 94%. To learn more about FaithLife Financial’s capital management, please see our 2018 audited financial statements attached below.
Our Timeline
1920’s -Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood began issuing insurance policies in Canada.
1965 – Membership opened to welcome other Lutherans outside of the Missouri Synod, by the late 1960s, the Association had 792,000 members in the U.S. and Canada.
1972 – Canadian government granted Letters Patent (petition signing shown above) on June 28, 1972, to formally create Lutheran Life Insurance Society (the “Society”). On July 21, 1972, the Board of Directors enacted Bylaw Number One which regulates the operation of Lutheran Life. On December 31, 1972, Aid Association for Lutherans and Lutheran Brotherhood withdrew from Canada. They provided $26.4 million in Canadian assets and more than $167 million of in-force life insurance for Canadian members.
1973 – The Society began operations on January 2, 1973 from its Head Office on the 12th floor of the Marsland Center in Waterloo, Ontario
1975 – Board adopts Statement of Purpose, First University Scholarship awarded
1977 – Orphan Benefit fraternal program introduced
1984 – Member-owned assets pass the $100 million mark
1986 – First term policy, TERM 10, introduced
1988 – Construction of new head office building begins
1989 – In August, 1989 Society staff moved into the newly constructed head office located at 470 Weber Street N. Waterloo, Ontario
1991 – Member-owned assets exceed $200 million, Living Benefits program introduced
1994 – FORTRESS Investment Funds are introduced
1998 – Insurance in force surpassed $1 billion; Sons of Norway Canadian insurance business assumed
2000 – FlexLife Universal Life product introduced
2001 – FlexLife 2 introduced; welcomed Anglicans into membership
2002 – Critical illness insurance introduced; licensed to operate in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
2004 – Opened Membership to broader Christian community in Canada
2005 – To reflect its growing Christian membership, it adopted the trade name FaithLife Financial in March, 2005. Outsourced management of back office functions
2006 – Established FaithLife Investment Management Inc., operating as FI Capital
2007 – Legal name of FaithLife Investment Management Inc. changed to FI Capital Ltd.
2008 – FaithLife Financial was officially adopted as the legal name; membership eligibility expanded beyond Lutherans and to individuals who share its values. FaithLife Financial is licensed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
2009 – Signed an agreement with Woman’s Life Insurance Society, a U.S. fraternal benefit society, to assume its Canadian business
2010 – Significantly increased total charitable impact for causes members care about to over $2.8 million – an all-time high
2012 – Our Board of Directors adopted new core values that inspired a new vision – outlining the effect of all the services to which we are committed
2014 – A significant investment in 21st century technology was made through the launch of a new back-office administration system that will be the backbone of service to Members
2015 – Our growth strategy progressed by doubling our recruiting efforts. We added 12 new Financial Representatives – expanding our sales force which allows us to help even more individuals and families protect their financial futures.
2016 – Sold FI Capital May 4, 2016 to Rae and Lipskie
2017 – Launched a suite of new Whole Life products.