Equitable Life of Canada life insurance review (2025 update)

Equitable Life of Canada life insurance review (2025 update) 

Founded in 1920, Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada is one of Canada's largest life insurance companies.

Equitable Life is a mutual company, which means it’s owned by its policyholders. They can vote on company matters and may receive dividends. In 2024 alone, Equitable Life paid $137 million in dividends to its participating whole life policyholders—and it has been paying dividends for decades.

Equitable Life currently offers term life, whole life, universal life, and critical illness insurance.

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Equitable Life of Canada quick facts:

• Headquarters: Waterloo, Ontario

• It provides coverage to over a million Canadians

• $1.4 billion in claims and benefits paid in 2024

• $10.2 billion in assets under administration

Equitable Life Insurance ★★★☆☆ (3.0)

^{* This figure reflects the typical costs for a non-smoking woman between the ages of 30-44 across a term length of 10-30 years}

As one of the largest mutual insurance providers in Canada, Equitable Life combines a customer-first approach with its wide range of life insurance products to meet the needs of policyholders across the country. 

• Coverage options: Applicants can choose from term life, participating whole life, and universal life insurance plans. Policyholders can also add life insurance riders, such as critical illness coverage, to offer additional benefits to their beneficiaries.
• Mutual company structure: Equitable Life is policyholder-owned, meaning profits are reinvested into the company for the benefit of its clients.
• Term life insurance policy options: Equitable Life offers single life, multi-life, and joint-first-to-die life insurance policies. Term lengths include 10-, 20-, or 30-year terms with optional riders for child life insurance or critical illness coverage.
• Unique whole life options: Equitable Life’s Equimax Plans are designed to meet long- and short-term needs for individuals seeking permanent coverage and tax-advantaged investment components.
• Strong advisor network: Equitable Life works with licensed financial advisors to deliver, issue, and manage its life insurance products. Their advisors are known for supporting policyholders through every step of their life insurance journey.
• Online tools: Equitable Life’s website provides digital resources for life insurance shoppers, including PDFs that detail their term life plan options and sample policy documents. Policyholders can also manage their plans through the company’s internal online portal, Equitable Client Access.
• Additional financial services: Equitable Life of Canada also offers investment accounts, annuities, and group benefits for employees. 

Equitable is best for:

Young adults and seniors in search of affordable term life insurance, or high-income individuals looking for customizable permanent life insurance solutions.

Equitable Life of Canada life insurance pros and cons

It’s a good idea to look at both the pros and cons of Equitable Life’s life insurance before deciding if it’s right for you. Here’s a rundown of what you need to know before applying for coverage: 

Pros 

• Online policy management: You can view your upcoming premium payments, coverage, and other policy details through Equitable Life’s online client access portal.
• Estate planning option: Equitable Life’s Equimax Estate Builder plan is designed to help policyholders create an estate plan that will benefit their loved ones.
• Customizable plans: Plans can be customized with riders or added benefits, allowing policyholders to cover their life and health needs in one place.
• Children’s coverage: Equitable Life offers whole life insurance for children, which can be paid off in 20 years and provides a cash value component. Cash value built up from an Equimax plan can be withdrawn or borrowed against to fund a child's education.
• Simplified coverage: Equitable Life offers simple-issue whole life insurance, which requires only a few health questions for underwriting.

Cons 

• Potential customer service issues: Some InsurEye reviews complain of poor communication.
• No online quotes or applications: Applicants must work with a broker to get Equitable Life insurance. You can't buy directly or get a quote on their website.
• Limited-term life flexibility: Equitable Life’s term life lineup is less impressive than its permanent products, especially compared to other competitors that offer lower rates.

Equitable Life of Canada insurance cost and value

Equitable’s term life insurance product is priced competitively for non-smoking applicants in good health under age 30 or over age 60, with monthly premiums from 5% to 15% below the industry average. For non-smokers aged 30-44, however — the key demographic for term life insurance — Equitable’s premiums soar to 8-12% above the industry average.

^{* These figures reflect the average monthly cost for $500,000 of coverage for healthy, non-smoking individuals across a term length of 10-30 years.} 

^{** Compared to the average monthly costs for $500,000 of coverage for healthy, non-smoking individuals across a term length of 10-30 years and 26 term life insurance products.}

About pricing comparisons

To ensure fairness and accuracy, all pricing comparisons were made within identical product types and demographic segments. For instance, a 10-year term policy for non-smoking women aged 18-29 with $500,000 in coverage was compared to the average pricing for all other 10-year term policies meeting the same criteria.

Equitable Life of Canada life insurance reviews and customer service 

In our analysis, Equitable Life of Canada didn’t receive enough positive reviews to earn the “Great Customer Service” badge, with a Google reviews score of 3.6 stars and a Better Business Bureau grade of just C+. 

Let's take a closer look at actual reviews for Equitable Life Insurance:

Positive Equitable Life insurance review:

"Over the years (past 20 years) we've been with all of the big Canadian companies (Sun Life, Manulife, Great West Life) and they were all ok but from a customer service standpoint, Equitable Life call centre representatives are the most knowledgeable and actually seem to care when one of my [employees'] phone's in." - InsurEye customer

Positive Equitable Life insurance review:

"Have insurance for both my son and me, have found this company to be extremely responsive to my questions and see value & growth in our policies." - InsurEye customer

Negative Equitable Life insurance review:

"Their policies are a lot worse than those of other insurance policies, for example: 90 days to submit all claims after you terminate (and who wouldn't). Their systems are archaic and when you call in, nobody knows how to direct you properly ... I lost 1500 because of their policies that they did not disclose until it was too late." - InsurEye customer on Jan 24th, 2017

Equitable Life of Canada life insurance products at a glance

Equitable Life offers three types of life insurance: term life, whole life, and universal life.

Here’s an overview of its term life insurance:

And here’s a summary of its whole life and universal life policies: 

• Equimax Estate Builder (participating whole life): Provides lifetime protection and guaranteed cash value earnings with the benefit of guaranteed premiums. This permanent plan type is ideal for individuals with long-term goals who want to plan for their beneficiaries and protect their estate with tax-efficient wealth transfer.
• Equimax Wealth Accumulator (participating whole life): Offers higher early cash values with a 20-pay option. Coverage ranges from $25,000 to $10 million.
• Equitable Generations & Equitable Generation IV (universal life): Permanent, affordable insurance with tax-advantaged growth. Offers death benefit options, payment options, and investment account options for individuals seeking single, joint-first-to-die, or joint-last-to-die policies. 
• Final Protection (simple issue whole life): Permanent whole life insurance that can be issued within 2 days to individuals between the ages of 40 and 80. Applicants only need to answer a few health questions to qualify for underwriting, and coverage ranges from $5,000 to $50,000.

Equitable Life also offers critical illness coverage as a standalone product or as part of a benefits plan for those with increased risk of pre-existing health conditions. EquiLiving provides a lump sum if the policyholder is diagnosed with one of the 26 critical illnesses specified in the policy, such as cancer, stroke or heart attack.

Equitable Life of Canada insurance riders

All of Equitable’s life insurance plans come with the option to add riders, including the following: 

• Children’s protection rider: Includes coverage for your children if the insured is an adult 
• EquiLiving critical illness rider: Provides lump-sum benefit if the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness
• Waiver of charges rider: Life insurance charges are waived if the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness or disability for an extended period

How Equitable Life of Canada compares to other insurers

Equitable Life holds a solid reputation as a mutual insurer and provider of permanent life insurance, but it also has some limitations compared to Canada’s biggest names in insurance.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison between Equitable Life and four of Canada’s top life insurance companies:

^{* These figures reflect the average monthly cost for $500,000 of coverage for healthy, non-smoking individuals across a term length of 10-30 years}

Equitable Life of Canada life insurance vs. PolicyMe life insurance

PolicyMe scores higher than Equitable Life in terms of affordability, customer experience, and industry reputation. PolicyMe also beats the industry’s averages, reinforcing its overall position as one of the strongest options for affordable, digital-first term life insurance in Canada.

Cost

PolicyMe’s standard term life insurance costs roughly 17% less for adults aged 30-44 than Equitable’s comparable term policy. However, it’s worth noting that Equitable’s term life insurance rates beat out PolicyMe’s for young adults aged 18-29 and for seniors 60 and above. 

Customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a weak spot for Equitable Life of Canada, which hovers at a 3.6-star rating on Google reviews. Even more concerning is the company’s C+ grade from the Better Business Bureau, which suggests that customers are dissatisfied not only with their initial interactions with customer service representatives but also with Equitable’s resolution process. 

By contrast, PolicyMe earned a “Great Customer Service” badge in our analysis and boasts a 4.9-star rating on Google. 

Convenience

Equitable Life of Canada doesn’t offer online life insurance quotes, making it a less convenient option for most Canadians than PolicyMe, which allows applicants to buy coverage online in 20 minutes or less. Equitable Life of Canada policies may also require a medical exam, whereas over 60% of PolicyMe customers qualify for coverage amounts from $750,000 to $2,000,000 without a medical exam.

The bottom line: Who should consider Equitable Life of Canada? 

Equitable Life may be a good fit if you want flexibility and performance from your permanent life insurance coverage, or if you’re looking for simple, affordable term life coverage.

Its permanent life insurance plans offer customizable features to suit both long-term and short-term wealth-building needs, and its term life policies are considerably affordable compared to competitors and the industry’s average. However, it's important to note that its permanent life insurance lineup offers a lot more options than its term life lineup, which may seem limiting to individuals seeking term coverage.

FAQs: Equitable Life insurance