Death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, and now you can make sure you’re ready for both from your phone.
Driving the news: People over 65 are part of the fastest-growing age group in Canada. And like other countries where the median age is climbing, that’s expected to lead to higher healthcare costs and worker shortages. But a lesser-discussed impact is a spike in demand for death care — globally, it is expected to grow into a US$189.8 billion industry by 2030.
A number of Canadian ‘death tech’ startups are coming up to meet that demand, while also trying to make the emotionally fraught work of sorting out what happens after you die a little bit easier.
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Eirene is an online platform for arranging cremation and funeral services. It recently secured CA$4.1 million in seed funding to scale its business and expand to the U.S.
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Willful lets people create legal wills and powers of attorney online. It has partnerships to offer its services at a discount to Scotiabank, ATB Financial, and Meridian clients.
- The ADAM app is a digital time capsule for passwords and sensitive files, to be released to a designated person after someone passes.
- Estateably offers estate and trust planning software for finance and law firms, with Cadence offering something similar for funeral homes, planners, and individuals.
Why it matters: Preparing for end-of-life is a lot of work, and many Canadians are procrastinating. Half of adults don’t have a will, including one in five people over 55. While 87% of Canadians know the cost of funerals adds stress to mourning families, a third haven’t set aside money to pay for one.
- The aging population is tech-savvy and might find these platforms more convenient, cost-effective, and less imposing than dealing with a lawyer or funeral director.
What they’re saying: “We're in the middle of the largest generational wealth transfer in history, and the majority of Canadians aren't prepared with wills, powers of attorney documents, life insurance policies, and other end-of-life plans that will reduce burden on their families,” says Erin Bury, CEO of Willful.