By Aly Dhalla, CEO & Co-Founder, Finaeo —
I started my career as a retail financial advisor working for TD Canada Trust. My branch, located in a middle-class neighbourhood in Coquitlam, British Columbia, was a community close to my heart. I attended Centennial high-school just up the road and many of the families that came through our branch were parents or relatives of kids I grew up with. Being at Austin TD was like a reunion, daily.
The 2008/09 recession was an extremely challenging time. I witnessed many families struggle to keep their homes, their businesses, and sometimes their families, intact. To go through that experience early in my career changed my life forever.
I learned that financial wellness is directly tied to mental wellness. Generally, the less stress you have about money, the better life you can live. That’s not to say “money buys you happiness” but it is true that money and emotions are highly correlated.
When we started Finaeo, my Co-Founder, Donald Chu, shared a story with me about the first time he delivered a claim cheque. He called it, “a privilege and an honour”. As an advisor, one of the most rewarding parts of our job is to know that we’ve helped a family in need.
What keeps us grounded during this turbulent time is that our mission has remained the same since we launched Finaeo; to bridge the digital divide between carriers, advisors and clients. Helping advisors ensure clients are not only financially protected, but have support when making important financial decisions has always been at the heart of what we do.
Today, I’m proud to share that with the support of our partners at Hub Financial, we have helped advisors place over $1B in coverage for Canadian families. This is an important milestone in our journey of helping advisors close the $20T protection gap that exists for families across North America today.
Now more than ever, families need advice from financial professionals. They need a voice of reason to talk through the complicated decisions involved in financial planning. They require an expert to help ensure they are set up for success. They need a smile and reassurance that they and their families are protected. They need someone who cares. They need a friend.
Our advisors are, and always will be, the true heroes in our story. To know that Finaeo has played a role in making their jobs easier is a great honour. As an industry, we have to help advisors remove administrative barriers so they can focus on what matters; giving unparalleled advice.
The global pandemic has proven that the insurance industry still has a long way to go in terms of digitizing services and reducing barriers throughout the purchase experience. We are relentless in our pursuit to drive insurance down a digital path. By rewriting industry standards and continuing to increase efficiency, we can ensure even more Canadians are protected when they need it most.
Advisors, we are here for you and we know exactly how you are feeling.
We’ll get through this … together!
About the Author
Aly Dhalla is the CEO & Co-Founder of Finaeo. Aly spent his early career as a financial advisor at TD Bank. Intrigued by the way technology and innovation were shaping financial services, Aly decided to join an employee benefits startup as the first employee. Aly helped scale the company into acquisition by one of Canada’s largest third-party administrators for group insurance, Benefits By Design (BBD).
Aly served as Managing Partner at BBD before launching Finaeo in 2016. Aly is also the Co-Founder of TriCelerate, a not-for-profit tech incubator to help youth move from idea to product.
About Finaeo Inc.
Finaeo is a high-growth InsurTech startup revolutionizing the life insurance marketplace with an advisor-first digital platform. The platform’s automated tools and 24/7 concierge support offer unprecedented turn-around times, allowing financial advisors to drastically shorten the ‘prospect-to-policy’ timeline. Finaeo’s deep industry knowledge and tech background puts them in the #1 position to create the digital fabric that powers the global insurance industry. To learn more, visit www.finaeo.com.
SOURCE: Finaeo Inc.
