Teachers Life appoints new CEO

Teachers Life, an 80-year-old member-driven insurer, has appointed insurance industry veteran Kayte Fredrickson as its new chief executive officer (CEO).

Fredrickson brings to the Teachers Life team over 20 years of experience in senior roles in the insurance industry, most recently as a VP of insurance at Ontario Medical Association, a member-service organization representing more than 43,000 physicians. She also led an innovation-focused team at Munich Re and held positions in other leading insurance organizations, including Desjardins, Swiss Re, and Manulife Financial.

In her new role, Fredrickson is responsible for growing Teachers Life and its division nowly, a new digital life insurance offering available on innovative and streamlined platform instantly.

Lori Foote, chairman of the board of directors for Teachers Life, commended Fredrickson’s extensive experience in areas that are integral to the CEO role, including insurance, innovation, and member services.

“This is especially important as Teachers Life expands its offerings to include nowly and to our mission to improve the health and well-being of our communities,” Foote said.

Launched in February, nowly was designed to make life insurance accessible to Canadians using innovative technology to deliver instant coverage and benefits. It also supports social-preneurs Press Start, a free program providing curated support, including business tools and resources for established and early-stage entrepreneurs.

Fredrickson commented: “Teachers Life has long been invested in closing the life insurance gap by making life insurance accessible and easy for underserved communities across Canada. While the industry has made big strides in modernization over the past several years, very few incumbent insurers are willing to be disruptive. Teachers Life is an exception as it has demonstrated with the launch of nowly. It’s an exciting time to join the team and lead the drive for both innovation and growth in the years to come.”