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Episode 10

You Can Buy Life Insurance at Costco Now — Should You?

August 2026 34 min Digital Insurance

With Yusudan Ren (Director of Product & Partnerships, Prospr by Sun Life), Greg Rozdeba (Co-Founder & CEO, Dundas Wealth) & Martin Ochwat (COO, Dundas Wealth)

The Briefcase Is Gone

Buying insurance used to mean a guy showing up at your house with a briefcase. Now you can buy a policy on Amazon, at Costco, or on your phone before your coffee gets cold. The question this episode tackles: should you?

In Episode 10 of Keep What You Build, Martin Ochwat and Greg Rozdeba sit down with Yusudan Ren, Director of Product & Partnerships at Prospr by Sun Life, to talk about how digital insurance is reshaping the Canadian market — what you can genuinely buy online now, and where the real risks are when you skip the advisor.

Amazon and Costco Are Selling Insurance Now

The retail giants aren’t dabbling — they’re moving in. And they come with an advantage no brokerage has: your shopping data. A retailer can predict your life stage from what’s in your cart — the diapers, the moving boxes, the ring — and put an insurance offer in front of you at exactly the moment your coverage needs change.

The ChatGPT-Armed Client

The consumer side is changing just as fast. Yusudan calls it the “prosumer” effect: clients now show up to advisor meetings with ChatGPT-generated questions — some sharp, some confidently wrong. Some are even using AI to interview their advisor live, mid-meeting.

The client who researched everything online still needs someone to tell them which half of what they read applies to them.

That’s why the model the industry is converging on isn’t pure digital — it’s hybrid: digital tools for speed and access, a human in the loop for judgment. AI is already helping advisors present complex plans more simply, with plain-language summaries. But the group also digs into the times AI gives dangerously wrong advice on insurance and tax — and why nobody should act on a model’s output without a licensed professional checking it.

The $32/Month Policy That Never Got Bought

The episode’s most sobering moment is a real story about a client who decided against a $32/month policy — and what happened next. It’s the case for why “I’ll get to it later” is the most expensive phrase in insurance, however you buy it.

Where Digital Still Can’t Go

1

Corporate-owned insurance

Corporate-owned life insurance — the policies incorporated business owners use for tax planning, key person coverage, and estate strategy — still can’t be done online. The structuring, ownership, and tax mechanics need an advisor.

2

Cross-subject planning

Tax, insurance, and estate planning interact — and AI can’t yet reason across all three for your specific situation. That cross-subject judgment is exactly what a coordinated advisory team is for.

An Industry That Needs the Help

One more reason digital tools aren’t optional: the average insurance advisor in Canada is over 60 years old. The industry needs technology to serve the next generation of clients — the open question is how much of the job the technology should do.

What to Do Next

If your needs are simple, buying online can be fine. If you’re incorporated, have a family, or hold meaningful assets, the cheap-and-fast option can quietly leave the expensive problems unsolved. Book a free strategy call below and we’ll tell you honestly which camp you’re in.

Timestamps
0:00Intro
2:03What is digital insurance?
4:37Amazon and Costco selling insurance
5:53Retailers tracking your life stages
6:48Hanging out at Costco to sell insurance
8:16Consumers are getting smarter (sometimes too smart)
8:39ChatGPT-informed clients and the “slopification” of questions
13:08Hybrid advice: human in the loop
14:22AI summary pages for advisors
17:39Clients using AI to interview their advisor live
20:44The aging advisor workforce
22:37The $32/month policy tragedy
26:32Why corporate-owned insurance can’t go fully digital
29:49Cross-subject planning: tax + insurance + estate
32:38Wrap-up

This episode is general information, not tax or legal advice. Figures are current as of 2026 and vary by province and situation — confirm your own numbers with your CPA before acting.

Free Strategy Call

Not Sure What You Can Safely Buy Online?

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