Health conditions
A health condition changes how an application is assessed. It does not automatically end it. What matters, condition by condition.
34 articles in this section
A health condition changes how an application is read. It does not automatically end it. Insurers assess thousands of applications a year from people with diabetes, treated high blood pressure, a cancer history or a mental health diagnosis, and a great many of those applications result in an offer.
What varies is the terms. Depending on the condition and how it is doing, an offer might come at standard rates, at a higher rate, with an exclusion attached, or as a smaller amount of coverage than you asked for. Sometimes the answer is to wait, and sometimes it is to apply somewhere else, because insurers do not read the same file the same way.
The pages below are organised by condition. Each one covers the factors that genuinely matter for that condition rather than repeating a general explanation with a different diagnosis at the top.
Diabetes
Type, age at diagnosis, how the condition is treated and how stable your readings have been all shape the assessment.
Life insurance with diabetes
Start hereHow Canadian insurers assess a diabetes diagnosis, what they actually look at, and why the answer differs so much between applicants and between insurers.4 minType 1 diabetes and life insurance
What insurers focus on for Type 1 diabetes: onset age, duration, hypoglycemia history, DKA episodes, pump and sensor data, and complication screening.4 minType 2 diabetes and life insurance
How Canadian insurers assess Type 2 diabetes, why age at diagnosis works in your favour, and how treatment changes and other risk factors affect the outcome.4 minPrediabetes and life insurance
Why prediabetes is usually a minor factor in Canadian life insurance underwriting, when it stops being minor, and why it still has to be disclosed.3 min
Heart and circulatory conditions
Blood pressure, cholesterol, coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke and rhythm disorders are each assessed on their own terms.
High blood pressure and life insurance
Start hereWhy treated hypertension is often a non-event in Canadian underwriting, what readings insurers actually use, and when it starts to matter.4 minHigh cholesterol and life insurance
Which cholesterol numbers Canadian insurers actually use, why the ratio matters more than the total, and how familial hypercholesterolemia differs.4 minCoronary artery disease, stents and bypass
How Canadian insurers assess coronary artery disease, stents and bypass, including ejection fraction, vessel count and time since treatment.4 minLife insurance after a heart attack
How long to wait before applying after a myocardial infarction, what insurers assess, and why your age at the event matters as much as the event.4 minLife insurance after a stroke or TIA
How insurers assess ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes and TIAs, why the cause matters more than the event, and what residual effects mean for an application.4 minAtrial fibrillation and life insurance
How insurers assess AFib, why the pattern of episodes and the state of the heart matter more than the rhythm itself, and what ablation changes.4 min
Cancer
Type, stage, treatment and time since treatment ended carry more weight than the diagnosis itself.
Life insurance after cancer
Start hereHow Canadian insurers assess a cancer history: type, stage, grade, treatment and time since it ended, and why the clock starts later than people think.5 minApplying during active cancer treatment
Why fully underwritten coverage is generally unavailable during active treatment, what options genuinely exist in the meantime, and when to reapply.4 minLife insurance after breast cancer
What insurers look at after breast cancer: stage, node involvement, receptor status, ongoing endocrine therapy, and why DCIS is assessed separately.4 minLife insurance after prostate cancer
How insurers use the Gleason score and PSA history after prostate cancer, and why active surveillance is assessed differently from treated disease.4 minLife insurance after skin cancer and melanoma
Why basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers usually have little effect on Canadian life insurance, and what insurers look at after a melanoma.4 min
Mental health
Treated, stable mental health conditions are common in life insurance applications and are frequently insurable.
Depression, anxiety and life insurance
Start hereWhy treated depression and anxiety are commonly insurable in Canada, what insurers assess, and why medication is not the problem people expect.4 minBipolar disorder and life insurance
How Canadian insurers assess bipolar disorder, why stability and treatment adherence matter most, and what realistic outcomes look like.4 minLife insurance after a suicide attempt or self-harm
An honest account of how Canadian insurers assess a history of self-harm, how much time they usually want, and what options exist in the meantime.5 min
Weight and metabolic
Height and weight sit on nearly every application. Here is how the numbers are actually used.
Height, weight and life insurance
Start hereHow insurers use height and weight, why the thresholds differ so much between companies, and what else on the file changes how much your build matters.4 minLife insurance after bariatric surgery
Why insurers wait after weight loss surgery, how the procedure type affects the assessment, and what happens to conditions that improved afterwards.4 min
Respiratory and sleep
Asthma, COPD and sleep apnea are assessed on severity, treatment and how well controlled they are.
Sleep apnea and life insurance
Start hereWhy treatment compliance matters more than severity for sleep apnea underwriting, what CPAP download data shows insurers, and how untreated apnea is assessed.4 minAsthma and life insurance
Why well-controlled asthma usually has little effect on Canadian life insurance, and what shifts the assessment: hospital visits, oral steroids and smoking.4 minCOPD, emphysema and life insurance
How insurers assess COPD, why lung function testing and smoking status drive the outcome, and what remains available where full underwriting does not.4 min
Lifestyle and substance use
Nicotine, cannabis, alcohol and other substances are judged on very different criteria in Canada.
Smokers, vaping and nicotine testing
Start hereWhat counts as nicotine use on a Canadian life insurance application, how cotinine testing works, and how long insurers want you to have stopped.4 minCannabis use and life insurance
How Canadian insurers treat cannabis since legalisation, why non-smoker rates are often available, and where frequency and method of use change the answer.4 minAlcohol history and life insurance
What insurers ask about alcohol, which blood markers they read, and how a past problem is assessed differently from current heavy drinking.4 minSubstance use, recovery and life insurance
How Canadian insurers assess a history of substance use, why length of recovery is the main variable, and how opioid agonist treatment is viewed.4 min
Other health conditions
Kidney disease, MS, autoimmune conditions, HIV, hepatitis, epilepsy and thyroid conditions.
Kidney disease and life insurance
How insurers use eGFR and protein in the urine to assess chronic kidney disease, what dialysis means for an application, and how a transplant is viewed.4 minMultiple sclerosis and life insurance
How insurers assess MS: the type of course, relapse frequency, degree of disability and time since diagnosis, and why insurer approaches differ so much.4 minLiving with HIV and life insurance
Life insurance for people living with HIV has changed in Canada. What insurers now assess, including viral load, CD4 count and treatment adherence.4 minHepatitis B and C and life insurance
How insurers assess hepatitis B and C differently, why a cured hepatitis C infection changes the picture, and what liver assessment results mean.4 minLupus, rheumatoid arthritis and IBD
How Canadian insurers assess lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and why organ involvement drives the outcome.5 minEpilepsy and seizure disorders
How insurers assess epilepsy: seizure frequency and control, the type of seizures, whether a cause was found, and what a long seizure-free period is worth.4 minThyroid conditions and life insurance
Why a treated thyroid condition is usually a non-event in Canadian life insurance underwriting, and the few situations where it matters.4 min
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