Making digital insurance feel personal
Bringing the warmth and clarity of in-branch conversations into BMO’s first digital Creditor Insurance experience.
Bringing Personalized Insurance Conversations to Digital
BMO became the first Canadian bank to launch a fully digital pre-approved Creditor Insurance journey in 2020 — and remains one of the few offering this experience end-to-end online.
Goal
To make digital insurance feel as personal and trustworthy as an in-branch conversation.
Problem Definition — The Enrollment Gap
Even with multiple entry points, adoption among mortgage customers remained low.
• Branch enrollments: ~5 % (post-mortgage conversations)
• Digital enrollments: < 3 %, despite 10 + entry points
• Key issue: Users lacked context, clarity, and reassurance
How we measured it:
Branch data came from CRM enrollment metrics; digital completion rates were tracked via Adobe Analytics.
We normalized by comparing completion behavior — how many users reached the decision point once they started.
Even after normalization, digital remained lower.
Insight
The gap wasn’t about access — it was about understanding and trust.
UX Research & Insights
We collaborated with BMO’s internal UX Research team to evaluate how users perceive mortgage-related insurance.
Because the flow lived in a secured environment, we used a Figma prototype with all branding removed,
running unmoderated testing so participants could explore independently — mirroring real-world behavior.
Key Findings:
​ 1. Confused Creditor Insurance with CMHC Mortgage Insurance
2. Unsure about eligibility and coverage scope
3. Hesitant to answer health questions truthfully
4. Unclear about value compared to life insurance
Quick Clarification:
CMHC insurance protects the lender when a down payment is under 20%,
while Creditor Insurance protects the borrower if they become ill, disabled, or pass away.
Prioritization & Planning
To turn insights into action, we worked cross-functionally with Design, Legal, Business, Dev, and Data teams.
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Using an Effort vs Impact matrix, we prioritized:
• Quick wins: terminology fixes, FAQ improvements
• Long-term: personalization and dynamic data integration
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Reusable UI components were added to the design system to ensure consistency and accessibility across digital products.
Landing Page Redesign —
From Informational to Personalized
The previous page was short and transactional.
The redesign emphasized education, empathy, and personalization.
What changed:
• Added stats, FAQs, and real testimonials
• Personalized mortgage balance summary
• Age-based statistics (3 user groups)
• Improved readability and visual hierarchy
• Introduced a top CTA for returning users
Content Enhancement & Empathy
We integrated real data to make the content personal and relevant.
Users now see their mortgage details — balance, account, and next payment date — within the page.
We also collaborated with the Dev team to dynamically adjust stats by age group (under 30 / 30–49 / 50 +).
These enhancements required close coordination with Legal and Dev to ensure security and accuracy.
By combining personalized data, clear FAQs, and authentic testimonials,
we built a page that informs, reassures, and connects.
Outcome & Next Steps
User testing after the redesign showed clear improvement —
participants described the flow as “easier to understand” and “more trustworthy.”
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Conversion didn’t skyrocket immediately — which is expected for insurance —
but we validated the direction: users now feel informed and confident.
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The modular card-based structure allows future scaling to other journeys
like personal loans or overdraft protection without rebuilding from scratch.
We’re now partnering with analytics and sales teams to monitor engagement and continue iterating.
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​This isn’t the end of the journey — it’s a strong foundation for continuous UX growth.
What I learned
After launching the redesigned flow, we ran another round of user testing — and the feedback was genuinely encouraging.
Participants described the new experience as clearer, easier to understand, and more reassuring throughout the process.
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Of course, insurance conversions don’t change overnight.
While overall comprehension and trust improved, behavioral change and data movement take time. The important part is that we validated the direction — the flow now helps users make more informed decisions with greater confidence
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This project reminded me that success in UX isn’t measured only by metrics, but by the ability to align multiple teams toward a shared goal — balancing legal precision, business intent, and user understanding.
It also reinforced a key lesson:
clarity and empathy scale best when built on real user feedback, not assumptions.