In September 2020, the Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) launched the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), a set of digital ID and authentication industry standards that will define how digital IDs will roll out across Canada. The framework considers public and private sector contexts and acknowledges that a trusted digital identity is critical to strengthening the future economic potential and social benefit of Canada.
The PCTF contains auditable business, technical, and legal rules, developed to support organizations across Canada as they leverage digital platforms, interoperate with other organizations, platforms, and jurisdictions, and protect their data and cybersecurity. It was developed by the DIACC in collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders, and acknowledges over 3,400 public comments that were provided over a four-year development period.
Never has the digital economy – and its key enablers like digital ID – been more important than in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dave Nikolejsin, board chair at DIACC, commented: “The PCTF launch marks an important milestone in Canada’s digital transformation initiatives. Canadians have had to deal with identity theft and fraud, high anxiety in accessing services that they were in dire need of while facing social distancing measures, and attempting to go about their lives as normally as possible. Digital ID minimizes all of those pain points, and elevates the livelihoods of Canadians everywhere.”
David Arbuthnot, director of the innovation outpost at Wawanesa Insurance, has identified advances in digital ID as a key change that will impact Wawanesa’s digital roadmap in Canada through 2021 and beyond.
“Leading innovation in insurance is always a challenge,” he said. “There are lots of moving pieces to sort through, assess, and prioritize. One of the tools we use to guide our work is an innovation roadmap. To build a roadmap, we look at changes we see emerging in the landscape and try to ask ourselves: how might this impact us? What can we explore so that we may be better prepared for the future?
“Every year, we try our best to plan in an uncertain world, but sometimes the world changes rapidly. COVID-19 was a black swan event, something so unexpected, it was shocking. As we navigate this crisis, it has become clear that in some meaningful ways, there’s no going back to the ‘old normal’. So we have to start to think about the new normal, and what it might look like.”
The use of digital ID in Canada changed significantly in 2020. Eros Spodotto, executive vice president, technology strategy and business transformation at TELUS, said the pandemic has “pushed digital adoption five years into the future,” which Arbuthnot said is “a rapid change” indeed. For example, last year millions of Canadians accessed the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) website using their online banking credentials. This, according to Arbuthnot, gave Canadians a “glimpse into the power of digital identity”.
In October 2020, the government of Ontario revealed ‘Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-19 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government’. The very first item on the action plan revolves around the creation of digital ID. Essentially, the province has committed to providing a digital method for citizens of Ontario to store and use government ID, such as a driver’s license or birth certificate directly from a mobile device. Premier Doug Ford said: “This new technology would allow you to securely access new services online where, previously, you may have needed to go in-person to prove your identity.”
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“This will enable citizens to access government services digitally, in a safe and convenient way, but it will also extend their expectations that they can utilize their digital identity for commercial purposes too,” said Arbuthnot, nodding to the potential implications on the insurance industry. “Companies will need to start thinking about how they capture and accept digital identity information both online and in-person. At last, the days of photocopying a driver’s license and putting it in a paper client file will soon disappear for good.”
Digital proof of insurance has been hot on the industry’s docket for the past few years. In February 2018, the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) launched My Proof of Insurance as a modern method of delivering digital proof of auto insurance and policy documents. Built with support and input from industry stakeholders, the My Proof of Insurance solution allows insurance providers to send policy documents and eSlips to personal and commercial lines customers through secure email. Customers can easily receive and view their documents on any device, and eSlips can be stored in a smartphone’s mobile wallet.
So far, the provinces in Canada that have approved the use of electronic proof of auto insurance or eSlips, include: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
“A year ago, we were celebrating the beginning of adoption of pink slips for proof of insurance in Canada, giving consumers the ability to present the information from their mobile device,” Arbuthnot added. “While an exciting first step, 2020 has ushered in the start of the ‘digital me’ era [which] goes beyond [just] providing access to information to people digitally.” Now, insurers must figure out how to unlock true digital experiences across the entire insurance value chain.
