Westland Express, a Canadian tenant insurance provider, has entered into a partnership with Karla, a financial technology company that facilitates credit building through rent payments.
The agreement enables Westland Express clients to use Karla’s platform to report on-time rent payments to Canadian credit bureaus, including Equifax and TransUnion. In Canada, rent payments have not typically contributed to credit scores, limiting credit-building options for students, newcomers, and early-career renters.
"At Westland Express, we're committed to going beyond traditional insurance solutions," said James Malcolm, vice president, Westland Express. "By partnering with Karla, we’re providing our clients with powerful tools to strengthen their financial futures while protecting what matters most today."
The partnership reflects Westland Express’ effort to incorporate financial tools alongside insurance offerings. Through this service, renters may be able to improve their credit profiles and increase access to financial products.
"While our hearts beat with the credit union community," said Karla co-founders Robin Gray and Basil Elefth on the Westland Express partnership. “We're also excited to expand our modules to thousands of landlords, property managers, and tenants with tools like seamless rent reporting, AI-powered insights, and direct pathways for tenants to build their credit."
Westland Express stated that it will continue to support Canadian renters through services aimed at both financial access and insurance coverage.
Earlier this year, Westland Express partnered with real estate investment and management firm BGO. That collaboration integrates Westland Express’ Ziptenant platform, which offers an online insurance process designed to reduce administrative tasks for property managers and allows tenants to purchase and manage coverage digitally.
The integration included features such as real-time policy visibility for property managers, automatic enrolment of tenants at lease signing, and insurance workflow integration during leasing and renewals. The system is designed to support compliance tracking and reduce manual processes.
