Wawanesa Life has introduced Bereavement Support, a suite of services available at no additional cost through its Group Plan Member Life, Dependent Life and Employee Assistance Program offerings.
The service gives members access to Solace, a digital platform built by GreenShield Ventures that helps families manage estate administration, notifications and funeral planning alongside the emotional dimension of loss. Eligible claimants with Group Plan Member Life and Dependent Life coverage also receive professional bereavement counselling and financial guidance following the death of a covered family member.
"The loss of a loved one can be overwhelming, leaving families to navigate not only grief, but also a range of complex responsibilities," said Dean Chambers, Wawanesa's VP and chief life operations officer. "Bereavement Support reflects our commitment to supporting our members through challenging times and is the latest example of how we're enhancing our offerings to meet their needs."
Wawanesa Life's core group benefits mobile app is itself developed and branded through GreenShield, meaning this Solace integration builds on infrastructure the two companies already share rather than introducing a brand-new vendor relationship.
That continuity matters for how quickly and smoothly plan sponsors and members are likely to see this rolled into their existing digital experience.
This launch arrives right as employer demand for exactly this kind of benefit has become measurable in Canada specifically, not just anecdotally. Empathy's 2026 Workplace Benefits Report, part of the company's fifth annual "Grief Tax" research series developed with Censuswide, surveyed 4,001 employees and 1,502 employers across the US, Canada and the UK between December 8 and 18, 2025, including roughly 500 employers in each of the three countries.
As Insurance Business reported on the findings, 95% of employees say bereavement-related benefits are valuable and 84% of employers plan to expand them in 2026, rising to 91% among C-suite leaders. One in five employers identify bereavement and grief support as among the biggest unmet needs in their current benefits lineup.
Empathy's own research quantified the practical burden behind that gap: being named an executor or next of kin involves an average of 500 hours of administrative work and roughly 18 months to wind down a loved one's affairs, all while an employee is simultaneously grieving and managing a regular workload, the exact combination of practical and emotional demands Wawanesa's Solace integration is designed to address directly.
Bereavement benefits have a structural advantage over many voluntary benefits: the trigger is unambiguous and immediate. An employee's absence from work following a death creates a natural point of contact well before formal claims paperwork or funeral arrangements are finalized, giving employers and insurers a clear moment to proactively surface support rather than waiting for an employee to seek it out.
For brokers advising employer clients on group benefits renewals, Wawanesa's move gives a concrete example to raise directly: bereavement support is shifting from an overlooked category to one Canadian employers are actively telling researchers they plan to prioritize, and a no-cost addition bundled into existing life, dependent life and EAP coverage is a low-friction way for plan sponsors to respond without renegotiating premium structures.
Brokers with clients on Wawanesa Life plans should confirm exactly which coverage tiers include the professional counselling and financial guidance components specifically, since the release distinguishes between broad platform access to Solace and the additional benefits available only to Group Plan Member Life and Dependent Life claimants.
