The 7 Best Canadian Life Insurance Plans
Where Can Canadians Find the Best Life Insurance Policies?
If you're not fortunate enough to have coverage through your employer, you're wise to consider purchasing life insurance privately. Why? The right policy can help your beneficiaries, usually your spouse and/or dependents, to cover the costs of final arrangements, replace your salary and continue to pay the bills, or even have enough money to fund future expenses like university tuition.
Even if you have a policy through your job, are you sure you have enough coverage? Although a 2019 LIMRA study showed that nearly 13 million households in Canada had life insurance coverage - an all-time high - further research demonstrated that most policies weren't enough to pay for remaining mortgage payments at the time of death.
Thursday, February 9th
2023 Canadian Life Insurance Reviews
PolicyMe
PolicyMe should be the first site you visit when shopping online for life insurance in Canada. The company specializes in life insurance, particularly term policies, and gives you ample insurers to choose from during their intuitive online quote process. Customer feedback is very positive, and you're likely to get the lowest possible premiums for the coverage you want. PolicyMe earns our highest ranking among online life insurance providers.
Emma
Emma is one of the easiest, most affordable ways for Canadians to get life insurance coverage. Their online quote tool should only take you a few minutes to use, and you can get your policy immediately - with no lab tests or doctor exams required. Although Emma isn't available in every province, the majority of people in Canada should have no trouble getting the life insurance coverage they want through this highly-rated service.
PolicyAdvisor
PolicyAdvisor earns high marks for being one of the few life insurance providers in our review that actually offers easy access to quotes for both term and permanent coverage. Clients praise this service for being easy to use and helpful, and we found their premiums to be on par with even the biggest names in the industry. Unfortunately, PolicyAdvisor is only available to residents of Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
RatesDotCA
RatesDotCA is a rebranding of two Canadian companies, Kanetix and RateSuperMarket. This service connects you with many different insurers, as long as you live in one of the 8 provinces in their service area. You may be redirected to a third-party insurance agency while using the site, but you'll still find a good range of life insurance policies at competitive rates.
Sun Life
Sun Life is one of the longest-lasting life insurance companies in Canada, with products ranging from wealth solutions to customized health programs and beyond. While their policies offer some advantages you won't find with other insurers and brokers, Sun Life's premiums are much higher than their rivals'. Plus, you may wind up needing to work with a broker, due to problems with the website quote process or because you want coverage that isn't available online.
Arbetov Insurance
Arbetov Insurance is an independent insurance agency that specializes in travel and health coverage, but they also offer life insurance policies. While the company has a positive reputation, they don't make it possible to get a quote online and you'll have to contact them directly. Frustratingly, their online agents never responded to our messages, leaving us without any information about their life insurance coverage.
Insurance Hotline
Insurance Hotline is a sister site to RatesDotCA, but with much less to offer. You'll find some helpful information about life insurance; however, getting an actual quote through this service is close to impossible. IH has a limited, unspecified service area, and you won't know if you're eligible for coverage until you enter your postal code. Even then, site errors can still leave you hanging. We recommend using a more reliable source of life insurance policies.
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In other words, many Canadians have life insurance but are still underinsured. For that reason, some consumers choose to purchase individual policies even though they have a group plan through their work.
How much life insurance do you need? That depends on many factors, such as your annual income, your number of dependents, your debts and your anticipated funeral expenses. But, before you decide to buy millions of dollars in coverage, you should be aware that there's a limit to the amount of insurance you can have. Known as "insurable interest" , your coverage has to match your net worth and your income: you can't buy a policy for $10 million if your net worth is $100,000 and your salary is $75,000 a year.
Plus, you'll need to evaluate how much insurance you can afford. The bigger the policy, the higher the premiums - and the older you are at the time you initiate the coverage, the more you'll pay as well. Your premiums will also be affected by the type of life insurance you choose, and in Canada there are typically only two types: term insurance, which is usually less costly but will only insure you for a predetermined number of years, and permanent life insurance, which lasts for as long as you live and often has a cash value against which you can borrow but with higher premiums to match.
Reaching out to an insurance agency online makes it easy to find out what policies are available to you, how much coverage you can get, and how much you can expect to pay in premiums. You will likely need a medical exam before your policy goes into effect, but starting the process online is a great way to get the ball rolling.
As you shop for life insurance, how can you tell which provider is the right choice? Here are several criteria to keep in mind, to guide your decision-making:
- Reputation. What do other clients have to say about their experience with the agency? Has the company been rated by the Better Business Bureau?
- Ease of Use. How quickly can you get a quote through the agency's website? Can you find the information you're looking for? Is the site intuitive to use?
- Selection. Does the agency have a wide range of policies to choose from? Can you get both term and permanent life insurance quotes?
- Rates. How much will you pay for your coverage? Can the agency give you a policy with competitive premiums and terms?
TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best sources of life insurance policies in Canada. We hope this information helps you find the right coverage, to give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved ones are taken care of in the event of your passing.
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