There is a large list of Canadian Life Insurance Companies. With the number of companies to choose from it can be challenging sometimes to know which company is right for your needs. Below is a list of companies and where they are strongest.

In 2020 the top Canadian insurance companies were Canada Life, Manulife, and Sun Life. This is based on sales volume of term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance, critical illness policies, disability policies, group benefits, annuities, segregated funds, and Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefits.

Most companies on the list below offer a large range of products. As always, a list like this one can change. Its always best to understand what it is you re looking for, and what companies going to be best at the time of purchase.

Canada Life

Canada Life offers a large variety of products with a long track record. London life and Great west Life are subsidiaries of Canada Life. One thing special about Canada Life (great west life) is their reality fund. Where you can purchase a fund based on Real Estate holdings not based on stocks or bonds. This fund provides returns from both income and capital which, as you can imagine, has helped investors diversify their portfolios.

Manulife 

Manulife is also one of the largest companies in Canada, which also offers a large variety of products. Being one of the first companies to offer up to $1,000,000 in coverage via a non-face-to-face term application. Because COVID 19 limited the number of times people spent in front of one and another, this option became very important for consumers.

SunLife 

SunLife for many years had been only available to their in house advisors. Meaning if you owned life insurance through Sunlife it was because you worked with a Sunlife advisor. However, in recent years they have opened up their product line up to the broker level. Now you can purchase Sunlife products through brokers as well as in-house advisors.

Desjardins 

Desjardins in Canada is one of the largest Canadian insurance companies. When looking at sales volume not only in Canada but in North America as a whole Desjardins outperforms many of the other insurance companies.

Canada Protection Plan

Canada protection plan is best when it comes to guaranteed issue policies and final expense policies. CPP offers a non-face-to-face application with fast approval times. Guaranteed issue policies are great for people with health concerns that other traditional policies wouldn’t be approved for.

BMO Insurance

BMO or Bank of Montreal doesn’t have a massive focus on life insurance. However, when looking at term insurance BMO is priced highly competitive for people age 35-45. Depending on the coverage amount you are looking for BMO might be one of the most affordable options.

Equitable Life

Equitable Life is the last mutually owned insurance company. Where all the other companies are owned by their stockholders Equitable Life is owned by their policyholders.

Assumption Life

Assumption Life is very competitive with CPP. Both Assumption Life and CPP offer guaranteed issue policies. Assumption life offers some whole life insurance policies that CPP does not. Thus, giving them the edge in that category.

Empire life

Empire Life has a very strong Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit. For clients who are several years away from retirement and looking to convert a portion of their assets into something that can produce an income for life, Empire Life is a company worth looking into.

Foresters 

Foresters is another insurance company that offers some living benefit options and is also strong when it comes to their term life insurance pricing. If you are looking for a term life insurance quote and are between ages 20-33 expect Foresters to be one of the more competitively priced companies.

Humania 

Over the past 75 years, Humania (formerly LS Mutual) has grown to become one of the leaders in guaranteed insurance. Humania offers good coverage with a fast application process that can be done completely over the phone.

Industrial Alliance 

IA has a very unique RESP product. For parents who are looking to put some money away for their Childs education, IA offers additional credits over and above what you would get from your government grants.

Ivari 

Formerly known as TransAmerica, Ivari has a strong lineup. They do not offer a whole life insurance product but they have a Universal Life product that can be used as a level cost insurance thus giving you permanent protection. Where they are strongest is they have term 30 options, great for covering your mortgage. To see a full review of Ivari Term 30 CLICK HERE to read the article.

La Capitale

La Capitale has a very easy application process. You can apply using an IPAD (which is still relatively rare for the life insurance space). Their term prices are fairly competitive, although not the most affordable in many situations.

RBC Insurance

RBC offers specific term length on their term policies. Meaning, if you need coverage for exactly 23 years, you can get a 23-year term. Where most companies offer standard Term 10, 20, and 30.

SSQ Insurance

Very competitive in the Critical Illness space. Not only do they have a larger number of conditions but also very competitive on price. This is one good reason to look into this Quebec based company, SSQ.

Specialty Life Insurance 

Great when it comes to final expense insurance.  Many Canadians wait too long when it comes to getting life insurance. Specialty Life Insurance offers affordable final coverage to cover the cost of a funeral.

Wawanesa 

Very easy application process. Wawanesa offers some great guaranteed issue products. Pricing wise, they are competitive with CPP and Assumption life.

As part of Life Insurance Awareness Month, it’s time we talk about one of the most overlooked subjects, reviewing your life insurance policy.

Your need for life insurance changes throughout your life, this is the main reason you should review your life insurance. And no, this doesn’t always mean you have to pay more. Let’s take a look at a few factors to determine if you need to review your coverage.

Age 25-40

It’s no secret, if you are between that ages of 25 and 40, this is when life insurance is often most needed. This is the age where many couples have their first children, buy their first house, and maybe, still have some other debts that need to be paid off. So the need for life insurance is great. But it’s also when money is tight. Which is why term insurance is one of the most popular forms of life insurance for this age group.

If you have recently had a child, increased your mortgage, or taken on extra debt, you should probably consider reviewing your life insurance.

To get FREE quote and shop the entire market to see what it would cost to own Life Insurance, click here.

Age 40-55

This is when life for many Canadians begin to change. Building your wealth, while preparing for retirement is more of a focus. And life insurance is a key component of that.

There are two factors you’ll want to consider:

1. Can life insurance be utilized to help work your overall retirement plan?
2. How can I cost-effectively utilize life insurance so when my time comes there is enough money my family doesn’t have to be out of pocket for funeral cost.
   

It’s very normal for Canadians to need to change their insurance in this age group. This is why reviewing your policy is so crucial.

Age 55+

Often this is when Canadians begin to think about insurance. And no, it’s not too late. But the truth is your options are limited.

In a perfect world, you can utilize the coverage you purchased in your 40s to take care of your final costs. But what if you haven’t, is it too late?

The answer is no, many insurance companies know that with an aging population the need for life insurance is increasing. Which is why they have guaranteed products to help the older population get life insurance they can afford.

If you still own the same policy from your 40’s it’s a good idea to review your options.

For more information or to speak with one of our non-commissioned staff members click the link below.

Let’s break this down into 2 sections

1. How to get term life insurance quotes

Getting the quotes is the easy part. You start by utilizing free resources like TIP services FREE quote tool. It allows anyone to find rates shop different products and get a sense for what’s out there.

Many insurance companies let you get quotes online. Ask yourself, are you getting the best a company has to offer or the best the market has to offer. You see these companies below:

Which company has the best Term Life Insurance Quotes?

They all have the best policy in the right situation. Rates and policies details change. Based on your age and health status Manulife might have the best policy today but it might be Sunlife tomorrow.

2. What to look out for

First, the product. You see not all term life insurance is created equal. Some policies may be cheaper than others but they may also lack the ability to convert into a permanent life insurance policy. Depending on your reasons for purchasing life insurance this may be something that drastically impacts you in the future.

Many clients will look for a Term 10 option as it will be the most affordable option for you today but maybe more costly depending on how long you need the coverage. Let’s run through an example.

A $500,000 Term 10 policy might only cost you $25.41 a month compared to a $31.66 Term 20 policy. That’s a great deal, right? Well, that depends on how long you need the coverage. You see, a Term 10 policy guarantees your $25.41 will NOT go up for the first 10 years of owning the policy. At year 10 the policy renews based on your new age (10 years older). That same policy would cost $56.10 a month going forward. Now if you need the coverage for 20 years (let’s say to cover your $500,000 mortgage) it would actually cost you more to own the term 10 based on simple math.

Term 20 total cost to own

$31.66/month x 12 months in a year x 20 years of owning = $7,598.4

Term 10 total cost to own for 20 years

$25.41 x 12 month x the first 10 years of owning the policy is $3,049.20 the second 10 years would be $56.10 x 12 months x the second 10 years of owning this term life insurance policy is $6,732. Meaning the total out of pocket to own a Term 10 policy for 20 years is $9,781.2.

Would you rather pay $7,598.4 or $9,781.2 to own the same amount of coverage for the same amount of time?

Second, sales agents that care more about their commission then the policy you relieve apply for. The main reason we created TIP SERVICES was just that. We wanted to hire advisors who were paid salary and not commission. We believed this would take the pressure off them and in turn our clients would receive the policy that best suited them.

As you could see in the example above that there are times to recommend and own a term life insurance policy where the cost to own may look higher today but is less in the long run. The only time a term 10 option would be the one an advisor should recommend is if the client needs the coverage, but can’t afford the higher amount today.

Third, the company they represent. You see when you meet with a Canada Life representative they are going to offer you the best Canada Life has to offer. But not necessarily the best the market has to offer.
That’s true for any company that only has access to one or two companies.

So who can you trust? Well I mentioned TIP SERVICES is there for you. We have advisors that are working solely on salary. That’s regardless of their commission. As of now, they are only in Canada.