Best Life Insurance Plan in Canada in 2023
By Nick Robert
Choosing the best life insurance plan in Canada is vital to ensuring you and your family are protected in emergencies. That’s why I have ranked and reviewed the best life insurance companies in Canada & their life insurance policies to help you make an informed decision.
Below is a summary of my top three picks for the best life insurance in Canada:
#1 Pick – PolicyMe
PolicyMe has an easy, online application process and affordable term life insurance
#2 Pick – Manulife
Manulife is one of the largest insurance providers in Canada with great coverage
#3 Pick – Humania Assurance
Humania offers excellent term life insurance at affordable rates
How to evaluate life insurance plans and life insurance companies
You must evaluate the life insurance policy and the company to choose the right life insurance plan. Both are equally important to ensure you make the right choice for your life insurance needs
The financial strength of the life insurance company in Canada
You need to evaluate the financial strength of the life insurance company to ensure they have adequate cash flows to pay out your life insurance policy. This can be difficult to determine, and sometimes you have to evaluate the parent companies of the life insurance companies.
If they are a public company, all of this information should be readily available to the public.
Picking the right type of life insurance policy
If you only require a term life insurance policy (insurance that covers you for a set amount of time while the policy is in place), then the large insurance providers will have clear policy’s in place for you to evaluate. Your primary consideration should be your life insurance coverage.
If you require whole life insurance (life insurance that is in place until you die), you will need to evaluate your specific needs against the policy, like your death benefit and cash value, to make the right decision.
I think working with an insurance broker with these specifics would be a good idea before moving forward with a whole life insurance policy. Insurance brokers are like mortgage brokers, they get paid by the insurance company, and it does not cost you anything to use their services.
Cost of the insurance policy
The cost between life insurance policies & types can vary very significantly between life insurance companies & life insurance policies. It’s essential to run the numbers for your specific situation, as you don’t want to pay for premiums you don’t need and want to ensure you have the right coverage.
If all else is equal between two policies (benefits and riders for example), it is best to go with the lower-cost option.
Reviews
It would be best to read reviews of the life insurance providers and the life insurance policy you are considering. This can identify red flags that others have encountered with a life insurance company.
This will give you a better understanding of what it will be like dealing with this company during a stressful time in your or your family’s life. Insurance is meant to make everyone’s life easier – not harder!
The Best life insurance plans in Canada
For each of the life insurance companies in this list, I summarized the insurance policy types, the monthly policy costs, the application and sign-up process, and google customer reviews. Here is the short list of my top picks from the 20+ options I evaluated:
PolicyMe – Best term life insurance policy
Manulife Insurance – Best whole-term insurance
Humania – Best for a quick policy
IA Financial life Insurance – most affordable insurance for smokers
BMO Insurance – Low-cost term & whole life insurance
#1 – PolicyMe – Most affordable premiums
Features:
Insurance policy types: Term life insurance & whole life insurance
Term life insurance cost: $31.42/month for a 35-year-old male, non-smoker
Process difficulty: Low (10-minute online approval)
Customer reviews: Good to Great
PolicyMe offers some of the lowest rates on term life insurance policies in Canada. You will receive a 10% discount on insurance premiums if you are married. PolicyMe makes it easy to apply. There are no in-person visits, just a short 5-minute online application.
This company started as an online platform to compare insurance policies, but it has grown to offer its own insurance policies underwritten by Canadian Premier Life Insurance, which has been operating since 1955.
By not having physical locations, PolicyMe can offer lower-cost premiums on typical term life insurance policies.
Pros:
Cons:
#2 – Manulife – best term life and whole life insurance offers
Features:
Insurance policy types: Term life insurance, whole life insurance, disability insurance and critical illness insurance
Term life insurance cost: $32.80/month for a 35-year-old male, non-smoker
Process difficulty: Low-Medium – some online options with no medical required
- Customer reviews: Complaints of slow payouts.
Manulife is one of the largest & most trusted insurance providers in Canada. This allows them to offer many types of insurance policies and affordable rates, making them one of the best insurance companies in Canada.
They offer many great options for whole life insurance that can be customized to suit your specific needs. The application process varies depending on the policy you are looking to purchase. They do offer some insurance policies that do not require any medical exams.
From customer reviews, there have been some complaints of poor customer service and slow payouts from policies.
Pros:
Cons:
#3 – Humania – Best for quick approvals
Features:
Insurance policy types: Term life insurance
Term life insurance cost: Competitive pricing
Process difficulty: Low – entirely online and in effect in less than 1 hour
Customer reviews: good to great
Humania offers affordable rates on term life insurance with an easy approval process. It’s so easy that you can have a policy in place in effect in under 1 hour. This makes it an excellent option for those other providers have turned down.
Due to this, there is generally less advantage for healthy individuals to use Humania. They also offer many variations on their life insurance coverage, making it difficult to know which policy is best for you.
Pros:
Cons:
#4 – IA Financial Group – most affordable life insurance in Canada for smokers
Features:
Insurance policy types: Term life insurance, health insurance & critical illness
Term life insurance cost: Offers lowest premiums for smokers
Process difficulty: High – a paper process only
Customer reviews: Medium – complaints of poor customer service
Most insurance companies in Canada charge up to three times higher premiums to smokers. IA Financial has lower premiums for smokers (about 12% of Canadians), making it an excellent choice for smokers.
Pros:
Cons:
#5 – BMO Insurance – Low-cost term & whole life insurance
Features:
Insurance policy types: Term life insurance & whole life insurance, critical illness insurance
Term life insurance cost: $33.30/month for a 35-year-old male, non-smoker
Whole life insurance cost: 10-15x higher than term life
Process difficulty: High (in-person application & medical exam)
Score from InsurEye: 2.4 out of 5
BMO life insurance, both term and permanent life insurance are some of the most affordable options. BMO is one of Canada’s top banks, providing extra security that they have the liquidity to pay out policies.
This bank insurance is best suited for policyholders looking for in-person support with the application process.
Pros:
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FAQ
Term life insurance vs Whole life insurance
Term life insurance gives you coverage over a set period of time, generally at a lower cost. After the term, you renew at a slightly increased premium for a new period.
Whole life insurance is permanent life insurance as long as you continue to pay the premium. The cost is higher, but you have a death benefit that you pass on tax-free.
Each has different purposes, so evaluate your insurance needs to determine which is best for you.
Using whole life insurance to be your bank
Whole life insurance has a death benefit that builds over time. Many policies can be set up to let you borrow against your death benefit as collateral. By getting the right policies in place, you can use this to make investments in real estate or start your own business.
What is permanent life insurance?
Permanent life insurance policies continue to provide coverage for the rest of your life. A death benefit will be paid out based on your choice. This is one of the common types of life insurance.
When do you need life insurance?
If you have debts that need to be repaid when you die, it’s good to consider putting a plan in place to cover those debts and assist the important people in your life. When you are younger, policies are cheaper and get more expensive as you age.
Conclusion
In this article, I have covered the best life insurance companies and the best life insurance plans in Canada. Please review the type of life insurance you need and get the proper coverage.
About the Author
Nick Robert is the founder and creator of Nickrobert.com. I created this website to educate Canadians about everything related to personal finance. As a Chartered Professional Accountant & Chartered Accountant, I have worked with many Canadians to achieve their personal finance goals.
To contact me, you can visit my contact page to email me directly, or you can visit and participate in my subreddit. Let me know about any topics you would like me to cover. If you are interested in guest posting on this website, message me through the contact page.
