What the application asks

Identity and basics

Name, date of birth, address, contact details, occupation, and whether you are a Canadian resident. Residency matters because insurers are licensed provincially and generally issue to residents.

You will also be asked which province you live in, since some product features and forms differ by province.

Medical history

The largest section. Expect questions about:

• Conditions you have been diagnosed with, treated for, or advised to have treated
• Medications, including doses and how long you have taken them
• Surgeries and hospital stays
• Consultations with specialists
• Tests you have had, and tests you are waiting on
• Ongoing symptoms that have not yet been diagnosed

Two things people underestimate. Investigations count. A question asking whether you have been advised to have a test, or are awaiting a result, is asking about things with no diagnosis attached. Answering no because nothing has been confirmed is a common and costly mistake.

Time windows matter. Many questions are framed as “in the last five years” or “in the last two years”. A condition outside the window may not need reporting on that question, and may still be caught by a broader one. Read each question as written rather than summarising your history.

Family history

Usually parents and siblings, focused on heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and certain hereditary conditions, and often specifically on whether a diagnosis or death occurred before a given age such as 60.

You are being asked what you actually know. Nobody expects a full family medical record, and an honest “not known” is an acceptable answer where a parent was absent or a cause of death was never explained. See family medical history.

Lifestyle

Nicotine. The definition is broader than smoking. It generally covers cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, vaping and nicotine replacement products, over a stated period. Testing is standard, so this is not a question to round off. See smokers, vaping and nicotine testing.

Cannabis. Asked separately from tobacco in Canada, with frequency and method usually mattering more than the fact of use. See cannabis use.

Alcohol. Typically quantity and frequency, plus any history of treatment or advice to reduce.

Other substances. Including use of prescription medication other than as prescribed.

Driving. Convictions, licence suspensions, and impaired driving specifically. Insurers can check.

Work, travel and activities

Occupation, and for some roles the details of what the work involves. Most jobs have no effect on pricing; a minority do.

Travel to specific countries or regions, planned or recent. Extended stays matter more than holidays.

Hazardous activities: private flying, scuba diving, climbing, motorsport, parachuting and similar. These are covered in travel, work and hobbies, and they more often produce an exclusion or a flat extra than a decline.

Financial questions

For larger amounts, insurers ask about income, net worth, and the purpose of the coverage. This is financial underwriting, and it exists to confirm the amount is reasonable against your circumstances.

You will also be asked about other life insurance you hold or have applied for, including group coverage. Answer this accurately. Insurers can see other applications through the shared industry database, and understating existing coverage is exactly the kind of discrepancy that creates problems later.

Beneficiary and ownership

Who receives the money, who owns the policy, and whether any beneficiary designation is to be irrevocable. These are decisions with real consequences, covered in naming a beneficiary and irrevocable beneficiaries.

Replacement

If you are cancelling or reducing existing coverage to take this policy, you will be asked, and in several provinces a separate replacement declaration is required. This exists to make sure you understand what you are giving up. See replacing an existing policy.

Getting it right

Prepare before you start. A list of conditions with rough dates, medications with doses, surgeries, and the names and addresses of your doctors. Most inaccurate applications come from memory rather than intent.

Ask when a question is unclear. If you are not sure whether something is reportable, ask, and keep the answer in writing. That record is worth having.

Disclose more rather than less. Reporting something the insurer decides is irrelevant costs nothing. Omitting something they consider material can cost your family the claim. The consequences are set out in leaving something off the application.

Read it before signing. If an advisor completed the form on your behalf, check every answer. You are the one signing it, and you are the one whose family lives with the result.