Personal situations
What tends to matter at different points in life, from a first policy in your twenties to coverage after 70.
11 articles in this section
The right amount and type of coverage moves around over a lifetime. A 28-year-old with student debt and no dependants has a different problem from a 45-year-old with a mortgage and two kids, who has a different problem again from a 72-year-old thinking about what their estate will owe in tax.
These pages are organised by circumstance rather than by product. Each one starts from the situation and works toward what tends to fit it.
Start here
Life insurance for young adults
Whether a Canadian in their twenties actually needs life insurance, what happens to student debt on death, and the case for buying early.4 minLife insurance for new parents
How having a child changes the coverage calculation, why the stay-at-home parent needs insuring too, and how long the term should run.4 minLife insurance for seniors
What coverage is realistically available in your sixties, whether you still need it, and how to judge an expiring term policy against the alternatives.4 minLife insurance for new Canadians
What insurers require from newcomers to Canada, how residency and time in country affect an application, and what to do without Canadian medical records.4 min
Everything else in personal situations
Couples: two policies or a joint one
How joint first-to-die and last-to-die policies work in Canada, when a joint policy is the right tool, and why two separate policies usually win.5 minLife insurance over 70
What life insurance is realistically available after 70 in Canada, how issue-age limits work, and when the arithmetic stops favouring a policy.4 minLife insurance for self-employed and small business owners
Personal versus corporate ownership of a policy, what personal guarantees mean for your family, and why the decision needs an accountant.4 minKey person and buy-sell coverage
How key person insurance protects a business against losing someone essential, and how life insurance funds a buy-sell agreement between shareholders.4 minLife insurance after separation or divorce
Why divorce does not automatically change your beneficiary, how court-ordered coverage works, and the protections to insist on.4 minLife insurance in retirement
How to judge whether life insurance still earns its premium in retirement, the reasons it sometimes does, and what to do with a policy you no longer need.4 minLife insurance for a child or grandchild
An honest look at buying life insurance on a child in Canada, what the guaranteed insurability feature is actually worth, and the cheaper alternatives.4 min
Related sections
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