Canada Life Insurance: Everything You Need to Know 2025

Canada Life Insurance is one of the largest and oldest life insurance companies in Canada. But is it the right choice for your coverage needs? This extensive guide examines Canada Life’s history, products, pricing, pros and cons, and more to help you make an informed decision.

What is Canada Life Insurance?

Founded in 1847, Canada Life Assurance Company is Canada’s first domestic life insurer. It provides a wide range of insurance products and financial services to over 13 million Canadians. Canada Life has over $219 billion in assets under management, making it one of the country’s most financially secure insurance providers.

The company offers comprehensive insurance options beyond just life insurance coverage, including critical illness, health, disability, travel and more. Canada Life is owned by Great-West Lifeco and is considered one of Canada’s most prominent and trusted insurance companies.

How Does Canada Life Life Insurance Work?

Canada Life offers both term and permanent life insurance options. Their term insurance provides coverage for a specific number of years with level premiums and is suitable for temporary needs. It is available for terms of 10, 20, 30 years or to age 65, as well as for customizable terms from 5 to 50 years through Canada Life My Term. These policies can often be converted to permanent insurance without new underwriting.

Canada Life’s permanent insurance options include participating life insurance and universal life insurance plans. Participating policies have the potential for dividend earnings, while universal life allows for more flexible premiums and investment choices. A portion of the premiums goes into a cash value account that grows tax-deferred.

What Life Insurance Products Does Canada Life Offer?

Canada Life offers a wide range of life insurance products to meet the diverse needs of Canadians at every stage of life. Their portfolio includes both term and permanent coverage options, as well as specialized plans for businesses, families, and estates.

Term Life Insurance

Canada Life’s term life insurance plans provide affordable coverage for temporary needs such as mortgage protection or income replacement. With term lengths ranging from 5 to 50 years, their plans can be tailored to match your specific coverage period.

Canada Life My Term™ (Term 5 to Term 50)

• Customize coverage with term lengths from 5 to 50 years in 1-year increments
• Renew coverage in 1-year increments after the initial term with no medical questions
• Option to convert to permanent insurance without new underwriting
• Available as single-life or joint first-to-die coverage
• Riders available include:
  • Disability Waiver of Premium: Waives premiums if the insured becomes totally disabled
  • Accidental Death Benefit: Pays an additional benefit if death is due to a covered accident
  • Child Term Insurance: Provides term coverage for the insured’s children, which can later be converted to permanent coverage
  • Business Growth Protection: Automatically increases the death benefit as the insured’s business grows without new underwriting

Traditional Term 10, 20, 30 and Term to 65 Life Insurance

• Level premiums are guaranteed for initial 10, 20, 30-year terms or to age 65
• Renewable after the initial term to age 85 with increasing premiums
• Convertible to permanent coverage for a set period without new underwriting
• Accidental Death Benefit and Disability Waiver of Premium can be added

Permanent Life Insurance

Canada Life’s permanent life insurance products provide lifelong coverage along with the potential for tax-advantaged cash value growth. They offer both participating whole life plans with dividend options and universal life plans with investment choices.

Participating Life Insurance

Canada Life’s participating life insurance plans provide guaranteed level premiums along with the opportunity for dividend earnings. Policyholders can choose between Estate Achiever plans focused on long-term value and Wealth Achiever plans with higher early cash values.

• Estate Achiever Plus
  • Lifetime or 10/20 pay premium options
  • Focus on long-term cash value growth
  • Paid-up additions dividend option to increase coverage
• Wealth Achiever Plus
  • Lifetime or 10/20 pay premium options
  • Higher early cash surrender values
  • Dividends can be used to purchase paid-up insurance or for cash distribution

Universal Life Insurance

Canada Life’s universal life insurance plans offer flexibility in premiums, insurance costs, and investment options. Policyholders can choose how much to contribute, how much to allocate to insurance vs. investments, and how to invest the cash value.

• Annual Increasing Pay to 85 cost of insurance (COI)
  • The cost of insurance increases each year based on age
  • Flexible premiums can be increased to build tax-advantaged investments
  • Coverage continues for life or to age 85, depending on plan
• Level COI
  • Insurance costs remain level to age 100
  • More premium can be allocated to investments from the start
  • Choice of investment accounts to build tax-deferred savings
• Limited Pay COI
  • Pay all required premiums in the first 10, 15 or 20 years
  • Cash value builds up during the payment period to fund future costs
  • Excess premiums can be directed to investment accounts

Critical Illness Insurance

Canada Life’s critical illness insurance provides a lump-sum payment if you are diagnosed with a covered condition like cancer, heart attack or stroke. It can help pay for treatment costs or cover lost income.

• LifeAdvance plan covers 24-25 illnesses with benefit amounts from $25,000 up to $2.5 million
• Partial payout included for non-life-threatening illnesses
• Return of Premium and Disability Waiver of Premium riders available
• Coverage is available for adults and children, individually or combined on one plan

Disability Insurance

Canada Life’s disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you can’t work due to an illness or injury. It can help you continue to meet your financial obligations while you focus on recovery.

• Two plans: Lifestyle Protection (maximum $25,000/month) and Independence (maximum $3,000/month)
• Choice of benefit periods: 2 years, 5 years, to age 65
• Ability to increase coverage as income rises without new underwriting

Health & Dental Insurance

Canada Life’s health and dental plans help cover the costs of prescription drugs, dental care, and other health-related expenses not fully paid by government health plans.

• Three plan designs to choose from: BasicPlan, ComboPlus Starter and ComboPlus
• Options to add catastrophic coverage, hospital coverage, or travel insurance
• No waiting period for many benefits and no lifetime maximum

In addition to these core products, Canada Life also offers:

• Juvenile insurance plans that grow with a child’s needs
• No-medical simplified issue life insurance up to $500,000
• Key person, loan protection and buy-sell insurance for businesses
• Group life, health, disability and critical illness plans for business owners and employees
• Estate planning insurance plans to cover taxes and other estate costs
• Charitable giving plans that create donation tax credits

With such an extensive range of insurance and investment products, Canada Life provides comprehensive solutions for the financial security needs of individuals, families, and businesses.

What Optional Riders Do They Offer?

Canada Life allows customizing coverage through optional riders like:

• Accidental Death Benefit
• Disability Waiver of Premium
• Guaranteed Insurability
• Business Growth Protection
• Life Insurance for children

Riders provide supplementary benefits to tailor protection for your profession, lifestyle and family.

How Much Does Canada Life Insurance Cost?

As with any insurer, Canada Life Insurance rates depend on personal factors like age, gender, lifestyle and health. However, some key considerations for pricing:

• Higher Premiums – Canada Life’s premiums tend to be higher than competitors for similar coverage.
• Minimums Apply – Policies require at least $100,000 coverage or $500/year premium.
• No Online Quotes – Must talk to an advisor; no direct online pricing.

Here are sample monthly premiums for a healthy 35-year-old non-smoker:

While competitive, Canada Life is not the most budget-friendly, so compare quotes.

How Do I Apply for Canada Life Insurance?

The company sells its insurance products exclusively through a network of licensed advisors. There is no option to obtain quotes or apply for coverage directly online or over the phone.

Finding an Advisor

To purchase a Canada Life insurance policy, you must work with one of their licensed advisors. Here are two ways to find a Canada Life advisor:

1. Contact Canada Life’s customer service team
   • Call Canada Life’s general inquiries line.
   • Request to be connected with a licensed advisor in your area who can assist you with your life insurance needs
2. Get a referral from a friend, family member, or colleague
   • If someone you know has recently purchased a Canada Life insurance policy, ask if they would recommend their advisor
   • A referral can be a good way to find an advisor who has already provided satisfactory service to someone you trust

Another option is to visit Lifebuzz.ca. We can match you with an advisor based on your location and the products you’re interested in.

Getting Quotes

Once you have selected an advisor, they will gather information about your age, health, occupation, lifestyle habits, and coverage requirements. Based on these details, the advisor will provide you with quotes for suitable Canada Life insurance products.

They can answer any questions you have about the different policy options and help you determine the appropriate coverage amount for your needs and budget.

Completing the Application

After you have decided on a policy, your advisor will guide you through the application process. This typically involves:

• Filling out application forms with your personal information and medical history
• Answering lifestyle and occupational questionnaires
• Completing a paramedical exam to assess your vitals, blood work, and overall health
• Providing any supplementary information or medical records requested by underwriting

Your advisor will submit the completed application and all supporting documents to the insurer on your behalf. The underwriting process can take several weeks, during which time the provider may contact you or your physician for additional details.

Policy Delivery and Ongoing Service

If approved, Canada Life will issue your policy, and your advisor will deliver it to you. They will review the policy provisions with you and can assist with setting up payment methods.

Throughout the life of your policy, your Canada Life advisor will be your primary point of contact. You can reach out to them with any questions, to make changes to your policy, to update beneficiaries, or to file a claim.

Canada Life does not provide an online portal for policyholders to manage their coverage directly. All service requests must be handled through your advisor.

How Long Does Canada Life Insurance Underwriting Take?

The underwriting process typically takes between 6-10 weeks. This is substantially longer than many other insurance providers in Canada.

The underwriting process is the review and assessment Canada Life conducts to decide whether to approve your application and issue a policy.

The lengthier underwriting process is something to factor into your plans if you need coverage to be in place quickly. Be prepared for Canada Life to take 1-2 months for underwriting.

The slower decisioning comes as a trade-off for Canada Life’s focus on traditional underwriting with paramedical exams versus accelerated underwriting used by some competitors.

If you need insurance in place urgently, ask your advisor about expedited underwriting or consider providers with faster underwriting. Otherwise, be patient during Canada Life’s application process.

What are the Pros and Cons of Canada Life Insurance?

Pros

• Longstanding reputation and financial strength as a top Canadian insurer
• A broad range of insurance offerings beyond just life coverage
• Ability to customize policies through optional riders
• Participating whole life policies offer dividends
• High maximum coverage amounts available

Cons

• Premiums tend to be higher than those of some competitors.
• No online quotes or applications are available; you must use an advisor.
• A slower underwriting process typically takes 6-10 weeks.
• Minimum policy requirements may rule out small coverage amounts.
• Working with advisors introduces potential sales pressure or bias.

Is Canada Life Insurance the Right Choice for You?

When considering life insurance options, Canada Life Insurance could be a choice worth exploring.

Canada Life is a great option for:

• Those wanting permanent life insurance or critical illness coverage.
• People who value reputation and financial strength.
• Individuals who are seeking an advisor relationship for advice and service.
• Applicants who require high insurance amounts are given their high maximums.

Canada Life may not be the best fit for:

• Buyers focused on finding the lowest cost term life insurance.
• People who want a fast and simple online application process.
• Those shopping strictly on price, given its higher premiums.

Ultimately, the best life insurance provider for you depends on your budget, preferences and specific coverage needs.

Tips for Buying Canada Life Insurance

• Compare quotes from other top insurers online first before committing to Canada Life. This ensures you get unbiased, competitive pricing.
• Ask advisors to explain how they are compensated so you understand if they have incentives to sell you certain products or coverage amounts.
• Be prepared for a lengthy application process and plan accordingly if you need coverage quickly.
• Inquire about bundling different policies like life insurance, critical illness and disability for potential discounts.
• If considering participating life insurance policies, ask your advisor to illustrate projected future dividends and cash value growth specific to your situation.
• Discuss term conversion options upfront if you may want to switch your term policy to permanent coverage later on.
• Take advantage of their high maximums if you require an exceptionally large amount of insurance.
• Get quotes for shorter terms if you only need coverage for a specific period.

Comparing options and asking the right questions allows you to get optimal coverage suited to your needs and budget.

How Does Canada Life Insurance Compare to Other Insurers?

While a respected leader, Canada Life is not necessarily the top choice across every category. Here is how they compare to competitors:

• Premium Price – Tend to be higher than many competitors for similar coverage.
• Underwriting Time – Their 6-10 week underwriting is slower than accelerated underwriters.
• Online Experience – No online quotes or application option, unlike some insurers.
• Policy Options – Wide range of products, terms and riders to customize coverage.
• Financial Strength – Among the highest ratings as an established company.
• Customer Experience – The focus is on advisor relationships for service and support.

Make sure to compare Canada Life against other top insurers in Canada using online quotes to find your best option.

How Can I Learn More and Get a Canada Life Insurance Quote?

The best way to learn if Canada Life is right for your specific needs is to get a customized quote. You can easily compare Canada Life to other insurers using these steps:

1. Get instant quote comparisons from top insurers using online tools.
2. Speak with an advisor for personalized quotes if interested in Canada Life.
3. Apply online for your selected insurer, or work with an advisor if choosing Canada Life.

Canada Life is undoubtedly one of Canada’s most established life insurance companies and a viable option thanks to its financial strength and coverage offerings. But make sure to weigh it against competitors using quotes tailored to your situation. Comparing quotes allows you to find the optimal mix of pricing, features and services to protect your family.

This ensures you select the best life insurance provider based on your budget, application preferences, and specific insurance needs – whether that’s Canada Life or an alternative. So get started with instant online quotes to kickstart your search!

Some review other life insurance companies in Canada, you should not ignore it :

• Overview Manulife Insurance
• Overview CPP life insurance
• Overview Sun Life Insurance
• Overview Ivari life insurance

Frequently Asked Questions

Article Sources:

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1. Canada Life Insurance Review – Updated 2024 – https://www.policyadvisor.com/
2. Is Canada Life Insurance the best? 2024 Review – https://hellosafe.ca/
3. Canada Life Insurance Review: Updated for 2024 – https://www.policyme.com/