ivari Life Insurance Review: Worth It or Not?

ivari life insurance review (2025 update) 

ivari.ca, formerly known as Transamerica Life Canada, is a Canadian insurance company known for its practical insurance and investment products. It was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Toronto, with an A financial strength rating from A.M. Best.

ivari offers insurance solutions such as life insurance with optional term riders, critical illness insurance, investment solutions for retirement, health insurance, and more.

ivari life insurance: Our verdict ★★★★☆ (4/5)

^{* 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 for $500,000 of coverage.}

Overall, ivari is a solid life insurance provider—it’s over 90 years old, has a strong industry reputation, and high financial strength ratings. It combines a variety of life insurance products with a customer-first team of insurance advisors and meets the needs of Canadians across the country. 

• Online policy management: Policyholders can view their insurance policy details through their My ivari online portal.
• Online insurance calculator: ivari’s My Insurance View can help life insurance shoppers understand their coverage needs.

ivari is also noted for flexibility. For example, Select30 allows you to stop paying premiums and decrease how much insurance coverage you have for the rest of your term at the 15 and 20-year milestones within a 30-year term. That’s a unique offering in the insurance marketplace.

 However, there are a couple factors that set ivari behind some of its life insurance competitors:

• High term life premiums: ivari’s term life insurance rates are relatively above average compared to competitors, though coverage amounts are similar.
• No whole life policy: ivari does not offer whole life insurance.

ivari may not be the best life insurance fit for budget-conscious Canadians considering term life coverage, or those looking for whole life insurance. However, it does offer flexible term life options and well-reviewed customer service.

Methodology

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 50+ life insurance products with in-depth research on 20+ providers. We assigned each product a star rating out of five based on a mix of average pricing, Google Review scores, and shopping convenience, then ranked the results in 12 categories.

Rankings are determined first by star rating and then by price, with preference given to expert recommendations by PolicyMe’s team of life insurance advisors. Our findings are entirely data-driven and do not include paid placements, but should not be considered a substitute for personalized financial advice.

ivari life insurance: Pros and cons

From life insurance rates to the underwriting process, customer support, and investment options; here are the good and bad parts of ivari life insurance.

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ivari life insurance cost and value

The cost of ivari TERMselect life insurance ranges from 16% above industry average to 36% below industry average, depending on your age and sex at birth.

The table below shows 20-year term rates from ivari for non-smoking individuals in average health with $500,000 in coverage.

^{* 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.

ivari life insurance reviews and customer service

ivari life insurance has a 2.8-star review on Google — not good enough to earn a “Great Customer Service” badge. However, it does have an A+ rating from the BBB.

Overall, the company has its fair share of both positive and negative reviews, but there are some policyholders that say it's not a great deal even though the policies are legit. ivari life insurance products at a glance

ivari life insurance products at a glance

ivari life insurance offers term life and universal life insurance products with a number of available riders and add-ons for each policy type. They also sell guaranteed life, simplified life insurance, and critical illness insurance.

Term 10 or 20

ivari’s baseline term plans come in periods of ten or 20 years. Here are the basic features of these policies:

• Terms: Standard term life insurance policies with 10 or 20-year terms.
• Issue ages: Up to age 70 for 10-year plans, or up to age 60 for 20-year plans.
• Coverage: Death benefits for beneficiaries ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 million, with a cap at $10 million for certain plans.
• Policy structure: Option to choose a single or joint policy. Joint policies are available as first-to-die or last-to-die joint life insurance.
• Renewability: Renewable up to your policy anniversary nearest your 80th birthday.
• Convertibility: Convert these policies to permanent life insurance to your coverage anniversary nearest age 71.

Term 30 with SelectOptions

Term 30 with SelectOptions plans have many of the same features as ivari’s Term 10 and Term 20 plans. Coverage, policy structures, and convertibility options are the same, but here are some noteworthy differences for the Term 30 Plans:

• Term: Coverage that lasts up to 30 years.
• Issue ages: Up to age 50.
• Renewability: Automatically renews at year 30 and transforms into permanent coverage.
• Premiums: Level premiums payable until age 100.

Another major difference for Term30 with SelectionOptions plans is the conversion options for policyholders at the 15th and 20th coverage anniversary. Customers can choose from the following three policy routes:

• Select30: Stop paying premiums and decrease how much insurance coverage you have for the rest of your term.
• SelectLIFE: Get paid-up lifetime final expense coverage. You don't pay any more premiums, you reduce your coverage, and extend your policy for life.
• SelectVALUE: Access the cash value of your policy through surrendering or decreasing coverage. Or convert to one of ivari's eligible universal life policies. The cash value can then be used as a tax-deferred bonus credit.

ivari life insurance riders for term policies

You can also choose from a large number of riders that can be added to any term policy for an extra fee:

• Accidental death and dismemberment: Provides a benefit if death or dismemberment occurs from an accident.
• Critical illness protection: Pays a one-time lump sum for four or 25 covered conditions if you become critically ill and survive the 30-day survival period.
• Payor waiver of premiums: No premiums if the person paying for a child's life policy passes away or is completely disabled.
• Waiver of premium: Waives the premium if the insured person is disabled before age 65.
• Children's insurance: Not a standalone policy, but an add-on to your term policy that provides low-cost term life insurance coverage for your children.

Universal life insurance (UL)

Universal life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance policy that offers unique benefits for investment growth. Here’s what you can expect from Ivar’s UL policies:

• Investment growth: Tax-deferred investment growth component.
• Policy structure: Option to choose a single or joint policy. Joint policies are available as first-to-die or last-to-die joint life insurance.
• Coverage: Death benefits starting at $25,000 for single life policies and $100,000 for joint life policies. They can range up to $10 million with increasing death benefits or $20 million level death benefits.
• Bonuses: Option to get a guaranteed bonus, either via accumulation (making consistent payments) or performance (depends on how well your investment funds perform).
• Living benefit: if you're disabled, you can access your fund value tax-free and without paying a surrender charge. Disabilities stemming from pre-existing conditions don't apply.
• Compassionate assistance program (CAP): take out a loan against your death benefit if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness or injury, or your life expectancy is under two years.

As for riders, you can access the same ones as for the term policies above, plus the following, depending on your policy details:

• Level cost of insurance: Cost is fixed until age 100 with enhanced tax deferral options.
• Waiver of monthly deduction: Waives planned premium payments if disability occurs before age 65.
• Payor waiver of monthly deductions: Waives monthly deductions for a child’s policy until they are age 25 if the person responsible for the policy passes away or is considered totally disabled before age 65.
• Waiver of planned premiums: Waives planned premiums if the insured person is considered completely disabled before age 65.

Guaranteed life or simplified life insurance

ivari also offers guaranteed life or simplified life permanent policies, which are designed to speed up the underwriting process and skip full medical exams. These plans are generally pricier than other term or permanent policies, but they can be handy for policyholders who can’t get other types of life insurance due to health issues, or those who want a faster application process. Here’s what you can expect from ivari’s policies:

• Policy type: Permanent life insurance
• Key benefits: Offers a quick and simple application process with no medical exam, guaranteed fixed premiums, and access to value-added benefits.
• Issue ages: Available to those between the ages 18 to 74.
• Coverage: Death benefits of $10,000 to $25,000 for guaranteed life plans, or $10,000 to $500,000 for simplified life plans.

How ivari compares to other insurers

ivari excels in coverage flexibility and customer service. But, providers like Canadian Life, Manulife, PolicyMe, and Sun Life achieve higher financial strength ratings while offering more coverage flexibility.

Take a look at the table below to compare ivari with some of Canada’s top life insurance providers.

^{* 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.}

ivari life insurance vs. PolicyMe life insurance

PolicyMe offers more affordable term life insurance rates than ivari, with savings adding up to almost $15 per month for some term lengths—that’s $180 per year. This means you could save up to $3,600 over a 20-year term with PolicyMe.

Cost

ivari’s premiums are higher in most categories, meaning that most Canadians would save money by opting for PolicyMe. The exception is men over 60, who pay well below average for life insurance from ivari.

Customer Satisfaction

PolicyMe wins in this category, with a perfect 5-star rating on Google and plentiful positive customer reviews. ivari has a 2.8-star rating on Google, and Reddit is full of mixed reviews from real policyholders.

Convenience

You can get quotes and buy policies online with PolicyMe, but you’ll have to speak to an advisor with ivari if you want to compare costs. Peak convenience means digital shopping and digital policy management — and only PolicyMe offers it.

The bottom line: Who should consider ivari?

Overall, ivari offers the financial stability and reputability of a trusted insurance provider and covers flexible life insurance options, but it definitely isn’t a cost leader for life insurance in Canada. 

Price-sensitive insurance shoppers may want to compare life insurance quotes from other providers before considering ivari. But, ivari may be a good option for someone who doesn't mind paying a higher rate for the benefit of ivari’s various policy add-ons, like critical illness insurance.

ivari might also be a good fit if you’re a man over 60, as costs are lower than verage.

FAQs: ivari life insurance

^{*** The life insurance premium rates in this article are based on publicly available figures as of December 2025.}