Medavie Blue Cross’ new estate planning digital platform aims to change the perception of what wills are for, says Silvia Chullen
Most Canadians don't have a will but Medavie Blue Cross is betting that employer-sponsored benefits plans can change that by launching a digital estate planning platform through its Connected Care ecosystem in partnership with LegalWills.
The platform gives Medavie Blue Cross members access to a guided, self-serve tool for creating wills and related legal documents at a negotiated group rate. It slots into the insurer's broader Connected Care strategy, which bundles virtual care, mental health supports and other digital health services under one umbrella.
Silvia Chullen, manager of digital product solutions and partnerships at Medavie Blue Cross, said the launch grew out of a push to think beyond traditional claims-based coverage.
“It goes back to the whole idea of supporting our members beyond immediate health needs or benefit needs and looking into how we can help them prepare for situations ahead of time," she said.
Inclusivity a deciding factor for LegalWills
According to Chullen, the decision to partner with LegalWills came down to the platform's ability to handle a range of family structures. Medavie Blue Cross evaluated several vendors, and Chullen said inclusivity was a deciding factor. Common-law couples, blended families and stepchildren all represent scenarios that can make traditional estate planning feel inaccessible.
"It's amazing to see that these digital platforms have taken all those scenarios into consideration and have made it so much more accessible," she said.
According to Chullen, the platform opens with a screening questionnaire designed to flag whether a member's situation falls within the tool's capabilities. If the estate is straightforward enough, the screener routes them into a guided document-creation process. In more complex cases, it signals that a digital solution may not be sufficient.
For members who fall outside the platform's scope, like those with blended households, Medavie Blue Cross can point them toward legal consultations available through its employee and family assistance program. She acknowledged building out that referral pathway more formally is something the insurer wants to develop over time.
How the estate planning platform works
Medavie Blue Cross’ package includes 10 years of unlimited updates as life changes and stages, everything from a new marriage, a separation, a falling-out with a family member can all trigger the need to revise legal documents. The will itself doesn't expire when the 10-year window closes, but members would need to pay to make further changes after that point, she said.
According to Chullen, costs can be reimbursed through a member's personal wellness account if their plan sponsor has opted in. Even members who don't have access to a wellness account still receive the group discount.
On the data governance side, Chullen emphasized Medavie Blue Cross doesn’t own or handle any of the information members enter into the platform as LegalWills is a vetted partner and not a subsidiary. As a result, it goes through the same technical screening and privacy review process the insurer applies to all Connected Care vendors, including its clinical partners.
A lack of awareness for estate planning
Chullen believes the scope of estate planning is widely misunderstood. Many people associate wills strictly with property and savings, which leads those without significant assets to assume the process doesn't apply to them.
“There's this lack of awareness that wills go beyond just your assets. Often people think that wills are related to assets. They're like, ‘Oh, I don't have a house. I don't have enough money to be giving it away,’ but it’s really about who's going to make decisions about pulling the plug or who's going to make financial decisions?” she said.
She drew on her own experience to illustrate the point, noting she had to weigh which family members were best suited for different roles - one sibling for end-of-life decisions, another for finances. Life changes such as marriages, separations or shifting family dynamics make those designations a moving target, which is why the platform's 10-year window for unlimited updates mattered to Medavie Blue Cross.
When estate planning will deliver real impact for Medavie Blue Cross
As to where estate planning fits inside the Connected Care strategy, Chullen emphasized that it represents a pivot toward financial and legal wellness, adding estate planning is one capability among several, and the insurer's focus remains on curating partnerships that give members better value and a clearer path to the right service at the right time.
That said, Chullen was quick to acknowledge the real impact will come when estate planning is woven into broader care pathways rather than offered as a standalone product.
"I think as a one-off capability, it's about bringing and connecting a great service and need to people, but I think the impact's going to come in when we're able to offer as a bigger picture," she said. "How do we bring more of these partnerships, give more access to our members, get better value for them, and connect them to some of these other health needs that we have available?”
Because the platform launched just recently, the insurer plans to begin promoting the platform through advisor rounds in the fall. For now, the offering is available to Medavie Blue Cross members only, confirmed Chullen.
