Best Life Insurance in Canada (Updated for 2026)

One of the most important decisions to make in the purchase of life insurance is which provider to trust. Your choice of life insurance provider affects everything from your shopping experience and experience premiums to the terms of your coverage and extra benefits.

As part of our commitment to streamline modern life insurance, PolicyMe analyzed over 450,000 life insurance quotes to find you the most competitive rates.

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How we found the best life insurance in Canada

PolicyMe’s rankings are based on an independent, data-driven review of Canada’s best life insurance products and providers.

Our analysis combines 450,000+ quotes for 70+ Canadian life insurance products with in-depth research on 20+ providers, plus expert recommendations from our insurance advisors. Our star rating system assigns three stars for financial stability, one star for competitive pricing, a half-star for customer satisfaction, and a final half-star for ease of purchase.

Rankings are determined first by star rating and then by price. Our findings are entirely data-based and do not include paid placements, but should not be considered a substitute for personalized financial advice.

What’s the best life insurance in Canada?

A better question might be, “What’s the best life insurance for your situation?”

Term life insurance is the top choice for most Canadians because it’s simple, affordable, and covers a fixed term of 10-30 years, which matches the length of most financial obligations. If you’re shopping for life insurance to protect your family’s finances when your kids are young or until your mortgage is paid off, you likely need term coverage.

Permanent life insurance is best suited for Canadians with permanent financial obligations, like a disabled adult child. It’s also well suited for high-net-worth individuals that regularly max out their TFSA and RRSP contributions. It may include extras like cash value components, investment accounts, or participating dividends (i.e. a share of your life insurance provider’s annual profits).

Both term and permanent insurance coverage may be fully underwritten, which means it may require a medical exam, or no medical (which doesn’t). The no medical category is further divided into simplified issue life insurance that asks a few eligibility questions, and guaranteed issue life insurance that refuses no applicants.

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Our expert recommendation

We always recommend applying for fully underwritten term life insurance first.

Full underwriting can yield premiums up to 10 times more affordable than either permanent or no medical coverage, which helps you maintain your policy until the end. A shocking 87% of permanent, universal life insurance policies never pay out, largely due to payment lapses caused by unexpected events–and life is full of those.

That’s part of the reason why it’s worth buying life insurance in the first place, right?

Best term life insurance in Canada

PolicyMe’s term life insurance follows our core philosophy by providing simple, cost-effective coverage with the policyholder’s benefit in mind. Using technology, we’ve streamlined the application process so most applicants can bypass the medical exam and access affordable protection for their loved ones.

Combined with a convenient, online buying experience and a 4.9-star rating on Google, PolicyMe takes the top spot among the 5 best term life insurance policies in Canada:

^{* For each product, we averaged the monthly premiums for female non-smokers between the ages of 30-44 across every term length available. The results show the approximate cost of a 10-30-year term life insurance policy with $500,000 of coverage.}

Term life insurance by PolicyMe

Solution 10, 20, or 30 by Empire Life

RBC YourTerm by RBC Life Insurance

Term life insurance by Foresters Life Insurance

Term life insurance by Desjardins

^{* We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a female non-smoker between 30-44 shopping for a 10-30-year term life insurance policy with $600,000 in coverage.}

Best permanent life insurance in Canada

“Permanent life insurance” is a catch-all for three types of products: term 100, universal, and whole life insurance. All three are permanent because as long as you keep paying your premiums, your coverage never expires.

Price is a key consideration for permanent policies because you have to make payments for the rest of your life. If you miss even one, your policy will lapse and you’ll lose all the value you’ve built so far, including any cash values, investments and dividends (unless they were deposited in a separate account).

Our expert recommendation

We don’t recommend buying permanent life insurance coverage because its relatively high cost can be unsustainable in the long term–and permanent life insurance is nothing if not long-term.

The only individuals who benefit from treating life insurance as an investment often have a net worth in the octuple digits and fully-maxed out RRSP and TFSA accounts. Instead of paying high monthly premiums for a policy with a low-growth investment account and the inability to transfer funds, we suggest buying term life insurance and investing the rest.

Best term 100 life insurance in Canada

In our opinion, the best permanent life insurance follows our term life philosophy: simple, straightforward, and budget-friendly. Our top recommended product is therefore term-to-100 life insurance, so-called because your premiums continue until you turn 100 (although coverage extends to the rest of your life).

Term 100 life insurance is usually the most affordable type of life insurance because it doesn’t include cash values, investment accounts, participating dividends and other extras. The 3 best T100 life insurance policies in Canada are nearly affordable as term life insurance:

^{* For each product, we averaged the monthly premiums for female non-smokers between the ages of 30-44. The results show the approximate cost of a term 100 life insurance policy with $50,000 of coverage.}

Term to 100 by Desjardins

Term to 100 by PolicyMe

Term to 100 by Empire Life

^{* We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a 30-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a term 100 life insurance policy with $50,000 in coverage.}

Best whole life insurance in Canada

Because life insurance is generally tax-deductible, a whole life insurance policy with participating dividends or an investment account can help you leave more wealth to your loved ones. But unless you’ve already maxed out your RRSP and TFSA, you’ll enjoy more growth with traditional financial instruments. 

If you want life insurance with extra benefits, our top 3 recommendations offer straightforward, lifelong protection:

^{* For each product, we averaged the monthly premiums for female non-smokers between the ages of 30-44. The results show the approximate cost of a whole life insurance policy with $50,000 of coverage.}

ParPlus (Life Pay Enhanced) by Assumption Mutual Life

Preferred Whole Life by Canada Protection Plan

Solution 100 by Empire Life

^{*We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a 30-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a whole life insurance policy with $50,000 in coverage.}

Best universal life insurance in Canada

Universal life insurance is permanent coverage that typically includes a self-directed investment account. These investments can reduce your premiums, pay for extra coverage or even add to the tax-free insurance payout for your beneficiaries.

However, because it’s attached to your life insurance policy, you can’t close it, transfer your funds, or even withdraw from it as easily as a traditional account. Plus, if you miss even a single premium payment, you’ll lose all your accumulated value.

The top 3 universal life insurance products in Canada manage to keep premiums low for people who like to keep an active hand on their investments:

^{* For each product, we averaged the monthly premiums for female non-smokers between the ages of 30-44. The results show the approximate cost of a universal life insurance policy with $50,000 of coverage.}

Universal Life by Desjardins

Genesis 10 Life Pay by Industrial Alliance

Universal Life by Canada Life

^{* We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a 30-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a universal life insurance policy with $50,000 in coverage.}

Best no medical life insurance in Canada

No medical life insurance covers policies with an eligibility questionnaire (also known as simplified issue) and those that accept all applicants (also known as guaranteed issue). Both tend to carry high premiums.

Applying for fully underwritten life insurance first can yield big savings, and even if you’re rejected, it won’t affect your application for a no medical product later.

Best no medical term life insurance in Canada

Term Simplified by Beneva

Term Superior+ Express/Immediate by UV Insurance

Simplified Elite Life by Canada Protection Plan

^{*We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a female non-smoker between 30-44 shopping for a 10-year no medical term life insurance policy with $50,000 in coverage.}

Best no medical permanent life insurance in Canada

^{*For each product, we averaged the monthly premiums for female non-smokers between the ages of 30-44. The results show the approximate cost of a permanent life insurance policy with $50,000 of coverage.}

Access Life L100 Immediate Plus by Industrial Alliance

Simplified Whole Life by Beneva

Guaranteed Issue Term 100 Life by Manulife

^{* We compared each product's yearly costs to the average cost of similar products for the same type of applicant. This figure shows the approximate price difference for a 30-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a no medical permanent life insurance policy with $50,000 in coverage.}

Methodology: best life insurance in Canada

About the data

PolicyMe’s rankings are based on an independent, data-driven review of Canada’s best life insurance products and providers. Our analysis combines 450,000+ quotes for 70+ policies and 20+ insurers, drawing on trusted sources such as COMPULIFE, WinQuote and official provider websites, supplemented by ratings from Google.

About star ratings

Each product received a star rating out of five based on pricing, customer satisfaction and ease of purchase, customized by age group, sex at birth, and smoking status. We awarded three stars to every provider with insolvency protection from Assuris and a financial stability rating of “A-” or higher from a respected credit rating agency such as A.M. Best.

Products with an average price at least 5% below the industry average received one extra star for affordability, while providers with a Google Reviews score of 4.0 or higher earned an extra half-star for customer satisfaction. Finally, products offering convenient online quoting options earned another half-star for accessibility. 

About the categories

The 10 “Best Of” categories use criteria reflecting the most popular types of coverage and buyer needs. Most term life insurance categories compare the average price of a 10-30-year policy with $600,000 in coverage for non-smoking women between the ages of 30-44. The “best of” categories for smokers and seniors compare policies for smoking women and 60-year-old women, respectively.

Most customers purchase a smaller amount of permanent and no medical coverage because it’s expensive, and they require coverage for end-of-life expenses rather than debt or income replacement. We therefore capped the coverage for the permanent and no medical life insurance categories at $50,000. Similarly, we compared the best products for seniors using $150,000 of coverage.

About rankings

The rankings within each category are determined first by star rating and then by average monthly premiums by age group, sex at birth and smoking status. 

About pricing comparisons

To ensure fairness and accuracy, we made all pricing comparisons between products of the same type, with the same coverage amount, and for the same combination of age group, sex at birth and smoking status. The rates listed in this article are based on publicly available rates as of February 2026.

For example, the cost of a 10-year term policy for non-smoking women aged 18-29 with $400,000 in coverage is always compared to the industry average for all 10-year term policies for the same demographic segment and with the same amount of coverage.

Similarly, the average cost of a fully underwritten permanent life insurance policy for non-smoking women aged 30-44 with $75,000 in coverage is always compared to the industry average for all fully underwritten permanent policies for the same demographic segment and with the same amount of coverage.

Disclaimer

PolicyMe’s findings use unaltered data and are free from paid placements or sponsored influence. While we strive to keep our information up-to-date, we cannot guarantee the validity of third-party data. These results are intended as a helpful reference and not as a substitute for personalized financial advice.

How to choose the best life insurance policy for you

Life insurance works best when it’s tailored to your needs. To find a policy that works for you, first:

1. Consider term vs permanent. If your financial obligations will end or change in a decade or two, term life insurance is likely your best option. If you’re planning for end-of-life or estate planning expenses, permanent life insurance may suit you better.
2. Calculate how much life insurance you need. Rather than simply multiplying your income, sit down and think about your dependents, what you want to cover and how much it will cost. Subtract any coverage already provided by your group benefits.
3. Choose your term length or permanent life insurance options. Think about how long your financial obligations will last and set your term accordingly. Consider your budget carefully to see if you can support the extra cost of a cash value, investment account or participating option.
4. Compare permanent and term life insurance quotes. The best way to find a deal is to compare prices from multiple insurers or ask an insurance broker to do it for you. 

Don’t forget to research life insurance providers! PolicyMe’s life insurance reviews examine the cost, customer service, and product selection of Equitable Life, Sun Life, Scotiabank, and more.

FAQ: Best life insurance in Canada

What is the best life insurance provider in Canada?

On the basis of affordability, customer satisfaction, and convenience, PolicyMe is the best life insurance provider in Canada. Its cost-effective coverage is designed to make it easy for Canadian families to secure financial protection.

How much does life insurance cost in Canada?

The cost of life insurance in Canada depends on your age, sex at birth, and health, as well as the type of policy and amount of coverage you choose. Monthly insurance premiums can be as low as $4/month for an 18-year-old female non-smoker, or as high as $800+/month for a 60-year-old male smoker.

What factors should I consider when choosing a life insurance company?

Cost should be your primary consideration when shopping for life insurance, because if you can’t pay your premiums, you can’t maintain coverage. Beyond that, it makes sense to look for a company with good customer service so you and your loved ones can get timely, reliable help.

How much is a $500,000 life insurance policy for a 60-year-old man?

Assuming you’re a non-smoker in good health, a life insurance policy with $500,000 in coverage starts around $185/month for a 60-year-old man. A fully-underwritten, 10-year term life insurance policy is the cheapest choice; choosing permanent coverage will raise your premiums to a minimum of $876/month.

What is the best life insurance to get?

Fully-underwritten term life insurance is the easiest, most affordable, and most flexible type of coverage you can buy. It provides more coverage for your dollar and lasts as long as you need it to, so you don’t end up under or over-insured.

How much life insurance coverage do I need?

To calculate how much life insurance coverage you need, add up the cost of everything you want your insurance payout to achieve (whether it’s paying off your mortgage, supporting a spouse, or putting your kids through school) and subtract your savings, assets, and any coverage you already have. It’s better to make precise calculations rather than simply multiplying your income or using a rule of thumb, because the latter can leave you under or over-insured.

Jasmine Kanter

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Jasmine specializes in converting complex insurance data into actionable guidance. Her background includes auto, life, and health insurance and financial planning. Lately, she’s leveraging AI to extract insights from the numbers and help Canadians make better decisions.

Jasmine specializes in converting complex insurance data into actionable guidance. Her background includes auto, life, and health insurance and financial planning. Lately, she’s leveraging AI to extract insights from the numbers and help Canadians make better decisions.