Scotiabank Life Insurance Review: What You Need to Know

Scotiabank life insurance review (2026 update) 

Scotiabank, also known as The Bank of Nova Scotia, is a Toronto, Ontario based multinational financial institution and Canada's third-largest bank. Founded in 1832, the bank has expanded its operations globally, operating in more than 40 countries worldwide with approximately $1.41 trillion in assets.

Scotiabank offers life insurance products underwritten by the Empire Life Insurance Company. ScotiaLife also underwrites policies for auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, and travel insurance.

Scotiabank Life Insurance ★★★★☆ (3.5)

When it comes to pricing, Scotiabank’s simplified issue term life insurance scores just above average, with the most affordable rates for its term life policies. Many competitors have cheaper life insurance quotes, especially for non-smoking policyholders. 

ScotiaLife offers two types of permanent life insurance and neither include a cash value component. Its competitors Sun Life, Canada Life, and Manulife offer more permanent life insurance options that include whole and universal life with investment features. 

Scotiabank receives mixed reviews for customer service, with more negative comments than positive. The most cited issues include communication with insurance representatives, delays in the claims process, and concerns about denied death benefit payouts. 

Review 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.

Scotiabank life insurance pros & cons 

Every insurance provider has benefits and drawbacks. To help you decide if Scotiabank is the right insurer for your needs, we’ve compiled the pros and cons of its life insurance branch.

‍

Scotiabank life insurance cost & value 

The cost of life insurance from Scotiabank depends on your age, coverage amount, and term limit. While limited data indicates that Scotia Life term insurance costs less than the industry average for most adults, there was insufficient pricing data available on best rates to include Scotiabank in our detailed analysis of industry premiums.

The best way to evaluate the cost and value of Scotia’s life insurance products is to get a quote and compare the price you’re issued to the overall cost of the same coverage for Canadians of your age, assigned sex at birth, and health status. For example, term life insurance premiums for a $500,000 lump-sum payout range from about $20/month to $35/month for healthy, non-smoking men and women at age 35. Men usually pay more than women, and smokers may pay 2–3x as much for the same coverage—but that’s common across the entire insurance industry.

Scotiabank life insurance products at a glance

Scotiabank offers two main types of life insurance: term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

Here’s a quick summary of Scotia’s life insurance products: 

Does Scotiabank offer critical illness insurance and disability coverage?

Scotiabank offers critical illness insurance as a standalone product under its ScotiaLife health insurance branch. While disability insurance can be added as a rider for Scotia Mortgage Protection insurance or Scotia Line of Credit insurance, it isn’t sold individually.

How Scotiabank compares to other insurance providers

The bottom line: Who should consider Scotiabank? 

Scotia term life insurance may be worth considering if you want high coverage with a term length of up to 30 years, or if you’re seeking life insurance in your senior years. Its term life product offers up to $2 million in coverage, which is higher than some competitors, and policies are available to individuals up to age 75. 

Current Scotiabank customers may also benefit from purchasing life insurance through ScotiaLife as it offers an Affinity Rate premium discount of 10%. 

With that said, Scotiabank isn’t the ideal fit for all life insurance needs, as its policy rates are typically a bit higher than those of other insurance providers.

If you have additional questions and prefer to speak to a Scotiabank advisor by phone, the phone number for term insurance at ScotiaLife is 1-844-383-2020. Note that many life insurance products are not available in Quebec.

FAQs: Scotiabank life insurance

^{*** The life insurance premium rates in this article are based on publicly available figures as of April 2026.}