Life insurance basics
How life insurance works in Canada, who it is for, how much to consider, and what drives the price.
10 articles in this section
Most people arrive at life insurance with two questions: do I need it, and how much. Everything else follows from those answers. This section works through both, then covers the handful of things that trip people up early, like the difference between a policy you own and the coverage the bank offers alongside your mortgage.
If you are comparing products rather than starting from scratch, the term and permanent sections go deeper. If a health condition is your main worry, skip ahead to health conditions.
New to this? Start with What life insurance is and how it works, then come back for whichever question below is yours.
Start here
What life insurance is and how it works
A plain explanation of how life insurance works in Canada: what you pay, who gets paid, when the money arrives, and what can stop a claim.5 minWho needs life insurance, and who probably does not
An honest look at who benefits from life insurance in Canada, who can reasonably skip it, and the situations where the answer changes with time.4 minHow much life insurance coverage to consider
How to work out a coverage amount from your actual obligations rather than a rule of thumb, and why the ten-times-salary shortcut misleads.4 minTerm or permanent: how to choose
The real difference between term and permanent coverage, what each one costs you, and the questions that decide which fits your situation.4 minWhat life insurance costs and what drives the price
What actually determines a life insurance premium in Canada, which factors you can influence, and why two people the same age pay very different amounts.4 minMortgage insurance from the bank versus your own term policy
How lender mortgage insurance differs from a personal term policy in Canada: who gets the money, when underwriting happens, and portability.5 min
Everything else in life insurance basics
Coverage through work versus your own policy
What employer group life insurance covers in Canada, why it usually is not enough on its own, and what actually happens to it when you change jobs or retire.4 minWhen to buy life insurance
Why waiting costs more than people expect, the life events that should trigger a review, and the situations where buying sooner genuinely matters.4 minHow to spot misleading life insurance advertising
The claims that should make you pause, why they are usually technically defensible, and how to check whether the person advertising is actually licensed.4 minLife insurance terms in plain language
Plain-language definitions of the life insurance terms Canadians actually run into, from attained age to underwriting, with links to fuller explanations.5 min
Talk it through with a licensed advisor
Reading about how coverage works only gets you so far. What is actually available to you depends on your health, your age and which insurer is looking at your file.
A few questions about you and your health, then a licensed advisor comes back with the options you can actually apply for. No obligation, and a quote is an estimate rather than an offer of coverage.
Send the question you actually have. A licensed advisor replies within one business day. Nothing gets started until you say so.
Would rather talk now? +1 877-418-8847
