The average cost of life insurance per month in Canada is $39.66 for PolicyMe customers (age 41 and below), and between $15-$100 in general, according to PolicyMe advisor Erik Heidebrecht.
Life insurance can cost upwards of $200+ a month if you're in your late 40s+ and/or higher risk. PolicyMe customers age 51 and below pay an average of $48.21 per month in life insurance premiums.
Life insurance is probably more affordable than you think, but rates do depend on several factors, which we'll explore below.
The average cost of life insurance per month in Canada is about $13 for $100,000 in coverage if you're a healthy 30-year-old requesting a 10-year term life insurance policy with PolicyMe.
If you're a 60-year-old smoker, your premiums will be over $100 per month for the same amount of coverage.
How much life insurance costs in Canada depends largely on your age. Monthly rates increase as you get older, as your risk to the insurer increases.
If you're of average health for your age and your risk factor is low, your monthly premiums will be lower, too.
The chart below looks at the average cost of term life insurance by age from five leading Canadian life insurance solutions.
Usually, Canadian life insurance companies will give you a quote based on your age, gender and smoking status.
Your quoted rate may change based on additional information you provide in your application, such as your family's medical history.
All in all, Canadian insurers use the following factors to calculate the cost of your monthly premiums.
Every life insurance company in Canada weighs these factors differently. This is why you can get different rates from different providers.
A term life insurance policy should cost $38.84 a month on average in Canada for a 40-year-old non-smoking woman with $500,000 in coverage for 20 years.*
The same policy should cost $51.79 a month on average in Canada for a 40-year-old non-smoking man.**
For example, a whole life insurance policy will be a lot more expensive than a term policy.
Still, your life insurance rates in Canada will be higher or lower than the average based on factors such as:
In short, if you're more likely to pass away prematurely, you're more risky to insure and you'll pay more for your term life insurance.
The good news: PolicyMe has some of the most affordable term life insurance rates in Canada.
Why? Because we're a digital provider with less overhead costs, while still being backed by insurance giant Canadian Premier.
Let's take a look at how average life insurance costs in Canada vary based on policy type, age, gender identity, smoking status and lifestyle.
There are two main types of life insurance policies you can buy in Canada: permanent and term life insurance.
Term life insurance tends to be more affordable than permanent life insurance (also called whole or universal life insurance).
In fact, permanent life insurance policies typically cost 5 to 10 times more than term life insurance in Canada.
This table stacks up typical term versus whole life insurance rates in Canada.
Here's our take on term versus permanent life insurance: life insurance is best used to replace your income if you pass away. It's not necessarily the best way to help you invest your money.
There are many more profitable ways to invest your money other than through a whole life insurance policy. Investment options like RRSPs and TFSAs will make more money for your loved ones if you pass early.
Life insurance companies provide rates based on life expectancy and risk. As you age, the likelihood of your insurer having to pay out your policy increases, so your rates will also increase. That’s why it’s always more beneficial to get life insurance when you’re young.
The chart below shows how your age influences your monthly life insurance rates.
Generally, the cost of term life insurance will increase every year you get older, so the younger you are, the less your monthly premium will be.
Even though term life insurance has a fixed cost per month once you start your coverage, the cost of life insurance substantially increases during your late 40s, so the earlier you start, the better.
Your gender identity plays a small but important role, too.
According to a study by Harvard Medical School, women statistically live longer than men. Because of this, women pay less for their life insurance premiums.
Usually, typical policies are based on your self-identified gender instead of your gender at birth.
There isn't yet an established protocol on gender for transgender applicants.
The following table illustrates how monthly insurance premiums vary by gender.
If you’re a smoker, your premiums will increase significantly, costing you double or triple a non-smoker’s rate.
It's no mystery that there are health concerns associated with smoking. If you're a smoker, you're at a higher risk for these health concerns.
In turn, life insurance companies will charge you more to get covered, as you can see in the chart below.
The chart above shows rates for a 20-year term life insurance plan valued at $250,000.
One upside: the younger you are as a smoker, the less difference there'll be from standard rates.
And finally, a caveat: marijuana usage is treated differently by insurers than tobacco smoking.
Life insurance is going to cost you more per month if you have a dangerous occupation, such as:
Different Canadian life insurers have different definitions of what a dangerous job is, so shop around to get the best rate.
The higher your chance of premature death, the higher your monthly life insurance rates are going to be.
The good news is that even if you are considered high-risk by a life insurance company, you won't necessarily be denied insurance.
You can be high-risk and insurable, so apply for a traditional life insurance policy before turning to even pricier options like a no medical provider.
Higher-risk hobbies include:
High-risk activities include:
Life insurance companies calculate your premiums using industry ratings. The ratings range from A to J or 1 to 10, with A and 1 being the lowest.
Higher ratings have corresponding percentage increases to your monthly rate, as the chart shows below.
Even if you have a hobby or health condition that may cause an increase in life insurance costs, never lie about it.
If your insurer discovers that you provided inaccurate or fraudulent information, they can invalidate your coverage.
This would leave your beneficiaries without the ability to make a claim and receive your death benefit.
We're not done yet! If you haven't guessed already, insurers have very complex calculations to assess risk factors.
But it's not just about risk, it's also the type of product you buy and what adjustments you make to it.
The amount that would be paid to your beneficiaries is known as your policy’s face value or death benefit.
The more coverage you have, the more you’ll pay in premiums. This applies to both term and permanent life insurance policies.
You should have the right amount to provide for your loved ones if you pass away. However, even if funds are tight, providing your family with a small policy is better than nothing at all.
Here's how life insurance rates vary as the coverage amount increases:
Term life insurance policies are typically available for a 10-, 20- or 30-year period. The shorter the policy length, the more affordable the life insurance.
When you renew at the end of your term, the cost of your annual premiums may increase.
Sometimes life insurance premiums stay the same for your entire term (like with PolicyMe). Sometimes they may go up in increments, such as every year for a one-year renewable policy or five years for a five-year renewable policy.
The following chart shows how policy length can affect the monthly cost of life insurance.
Life insurance plans are also available for children in Canada.
Plans work similarly to life insurance for adults and include term life insurance, whole life insurance and a child term rider.
A child term rider is a plan that adds a fee to their parent's existing plan and provides coverage until the child is an adult.
For the average Canadian family, we’d recommend against purchasing further coverage until the child is 18 and can have their own policy. Why? There are a few reasons:
At PolicyMe, every term life insurance plan includes free child coverage of $10,000. We add it to all new and existing plans.
There are two main types of life insurance for couples: individual and joint life insurance.
Individual couples life insurance allows you and your partner to pick different policy lengths and coverage amounts.
It tends to be more expensive than joint life insurance but provides flexibility in your policy.
At PolicyMe, you can bundle your policy with your partners and receive a discount.
Term life insurance rates for seniors are $240 for a non-smoking, 65 year-old-female with $250,000 of coverage over a 20-year policy with PolicyMe.
For a 65-year-old non-smoking male, it would cost $357 per month for the same policy length and coverage amount with PolicyMe.
As you get older, your circumstances change, and so do your needs for life insurance.
Even though we’ve stated the younger you are, the cheaper the life insurance, this does not mean you cannot afford good coverage once you are older.
You may have less debt or require a smaller coverage due to your older age. Even though your monthly rate may rise, a lower policy length and coverage amount can almost offset these costs making your coverage close to the same amount as someone half your age.
Life insurance for the elderly can often be used for funeral expenses, paying off any debts, and helping your beneficiaries once you have passed.
At PolicyMe, term life insurance can only be purchased when you are about 65. At 70, you may only get a 10 or 15-year term, while at 75 you are only eligible for 10 years of coverage.
Whether you need to start new coverage or renew your previous term life insurance, it is never too late to get the coverage you need.
Here are a few good rules of thumb when you're shopping for life insurance:
Recommended reading: reviews of the top life insurance companies.
Mike and Samantha live in Burlington, Ontario. Like many other millennials, they balance their student loan debt with other financial commitments, including their mortgage.
As they start to think about having a family, they realize the importance of taking out a life insurance policy. They want to ensure that their children will be taken care of financially if something happens to them.
Because he’s both a man and a smoker, Mike’s premiums are quoted as being over double the rate compared to Samantha’s. Even so, the couple was surprised at how affordable life insurance actually is. For a 20-year term, their monthly premiums will be less than their cell phone bill!
*These premiums are based on PolicyMe rates.
They also realize that they likely won’t need the same $500,000 coverage amount upon renewal since they’ll owe less on their mortgage. This should help lower the renewal amount for their new policy term and keep it affordable for their family.
As we said earlier, base prices for term life insurance in Canada are pretty similar between providers.
That doesn't mean you still can't save money on your life insurance. Make sure to call around and use an online rate comparison tool to back up your research.
And keep in mind that the quotes you'll get are estimates only, not the final price.
PolicyMe has some of the most affordable term life insurance rates in Canada.
We've used technology to streamline the application process and pass on the savings to you, meaning quality coverage at a lower price.
Use our Canadian life insurance calculator to find out your estimated monthly cost of life insurance with PolicyMe.
The average cost of life insurance is only $22 per month in Canada. Although many Canadians believe life insurance isn’t affordable, for $500,000 of coverage over 20 years, your premiums are usually cheaper than your typical cell phone bill. For younger people, rates are especially affordable.
A $100,000 life insurance policy will cost about $13 per month on average for a 35-year-old man with a 20-year term life insurance policy.
The cost of life insurance in British Columbia is about $22 per month on average. The same as any other province or territory in Canada.
PolicyMe provides life insurance in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, B.C. and 8 other provinces and territories. Using our life insurance calculator can provide you with a monthly price for life insurance anywhere we offer our services.
Some life insurance companies, like PolicyMe, offer instant approval.
We don’t require a medical exam for most applicants. If we do request a medical exam, you will find out instantly. And the time you wait for insurance is only weeks, not months.
Read more about no medical life insurance.
An average 30-year-old man and woman will pay $18 per month and $15 per month respectively for a $250,000 20-year term life insurance policy.
A million-dollar term life insurance policy will cost $82 for a 30-year-old, non-smoking male with 20 years of coverage at PolicyMe. For a 30-year-old non-smoking female with a 20-year policy length, the cost per month is about $60 at PolicyMe. Recommended reading: what is life insurance?
*This number is an average taken from 32 quotes from 22 Canadian life insurance companies using WinQuote. This data is recent as of August 17, 2022.
**This number is an average taken from 33 quotes from 22 Canadian life insurance companies using WinQuote. This data is recent as of August 17, 2022.
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