What Is The Best No Medical Life Insurance in Canada?

What is the best no medical life insurance in Canada?

No medical life insurance doesn’t require a medical exam to apply, making it easier for people with health issues to access coverage. The category covers simplified issue life insurance (which requires a health questionnaire and no medical exam) and guaranteed issue life insurance (which requires only basic info and no medical exam).

No medical life insurance tends to cost more, so we recommend applying for fully underwritten life insurance first. In return for providing more detailed health information, you could qualify for higher coverage and lower rates. Even if you’re rejected, it won’t affect your chances of qualifying for no medical coverage later.

If you’ve already applied for traditional life insurance and been declined, don’t give up! We reviewed 36 no medical life insurance policies to find you the most affordable and reliable ways to get covered without a medical exam in Canada.

‍

Best guaranteed issue life insurance in Canada

Since it requires no medical exam and only asks basic health questions, guaranteed issue life insurance is the most accessible coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Insurance providers mostly look at your age, gender, and smoking status to determine your eligibility and premiums.

Because there’s so little health information involved in applying for guaranteed issue life insurance, most providers assume a high level of risk, i.e. that your health is poor. As a result, guaranteed issue life insurance can cost up to four times as much as life insurance with a medical exam.

One more thing to note: guaranteed issue life insurance is always permanent. With most policies, you pay insurance premiums until you turn 100, at which point your payments stop but your coverage continues for life.

Below, we rank the most competitive guaranteed issue life insurance policies and explore the pros and cons:

^{* For each product, we display the approximate monthly cost for a 60-year-old female non-smoker seeking a permanent life insurance policy with $25,000 in coverage.}

Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance by PolicyMe

Access Life L100 by Industrial Alliance

Guaranteed Life Protect 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 60-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a guaranteed permanent life insurance policy with $25,000 in coverage.}

Best simplified issue term life insurance in Canada

Simplified issue life term life insurance offers temporary coverage without a medical exam, and requires only a short medical questionnaire to apply. 

It’s possible to get rejected because some insurance providers have stricter eligibility requirements than others, so getting covered is a matter of finding the right policy. The policies below offer competitive premiums for the industry:

^{* For each product, we calculated the average monthly premiums for a female non-smoker between 30-44. The results show the approximate cost of a 10-year no medical term life insurance policy with $50,000 of coverage.}

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 simplified issue permanent life insurance in Canada

Simplified issue permanent life insurance provides lifelong insurance coverage with no medical exam. It requires basic health information to apply and uses your age, gender, health, and smoking status to determine your premiums.

The policies below require you to pay premiums until you turn 95 or 100, at which point your payments stop, but your coverage continues for life:

^{* For each product, we display the approximate monthly cost for a 60-year-old female non-smoker seeking a no medical permanent life insurance policy with $25,000 in coverage.}

Access Life L100 Immediate Plus by Industrial Alliance

Simply Immediate Life by ivari

Simplified Whole Life by Beneva

^{* 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 60-year-old female non-smoker shopping for a no medical permanent life insurance policy with $25,000 in coverage.}

What is no medical life insurance?

“No medical life insurance” refers to any life insurance policy that doesn't require a medical exam. There are two types of plans under the no medical umbrella:

• Simplified issue life insurance requires no medical exam, but may include a short medical questionnaire.
• Guaranteed issue life insurance requires no medical exam or questionnaire.

Medical exams and questions are part of the underwriting process insurance companies use to assess risk. Think of it as a scale from the most thorough to the least thorough screening process: fully-underwritten is at one end, guaranteed life insurance is at the other, and simplified life insurance falls somewhere in between.

With no medical life insurance, even if you have pre-existing medical conditions or are concerned about the results of a medical exam affecting your eligibility, you can still secure life insurance protection for yourself and your loved ones.
‍

Simplified vs. accelerated underwriting

In between simplified and fully underwritten life insurance, there’s a third type of underwriting that can eliminate medical exams for some applicants. Accelerated underwriting employs technology, algorithms, and predictive modeling to evaluate applicant risk with less invasive procedures, such as blood and urine draws, than traditional underwriting requires. It’s a more accurate way of predicting mortality than simplified underwriting, and it carries premiums nearly as low as those achieved through full underwriting.

Accelerated underwriting is the method PolicyMe uses to estimate applicants’ risk. Through PolicyMe’s accelerated underwriting, more than 60% of applicants qualify instantly for coverage with no medical exam.

Who is no medical life insurance for?

No medical life insurance can be a great option for Canadians with an urgent need for coverage who have pre-existing conditions or high-risk lifestyles, including:

• People with a family history of health conditions, such as stroke or heart disease
• People living with cancer or cancer survivors 
• People who engage in extreme sports
• People who travel to high-risk destinations
• People with a history of dangerous driving or criminal behaviour
• Seniors from age 50-75

When you pass away, your beneficiaries will receive a lump sum, tax-free death benefit equal to your coverage amount. Depending on the amount of coverage you chose, that benefit can be used to cover everything from funeral expenses and estate taxes to ongoing living expenses for your loved ones.

The catch: Simplified issue and guaranteed life insurance can cost anywhere from a few dollars more per month to 2–3x the cost of fully underwritten life insurance plans. Depending on the premiums you qualify for, the cost of no medical life insurance may not be worth it for everyone. 

‍

Weigh your options

Don’t let the fear of high premiums discourage you — life insurance often costs far less than Canadians predict. But if you’re rejected by multiple insurance providers, treat guaranteed life insurance as a last resort.

How much does no medical life insurance cost?

The cost of life insurance without a medical exam depends on how much information you’re willing to provide during the application process. Generally, the more information you provide, the lower your premiums. 

Guaranteed issue life insurance, which requires only basic health information and no medical exam, is typically the most expensive option. For a 65-year-old, a permanent guaranteed issue life insurance policy can cost up to four times as much as life insurance with a medical exam.

With PolicyMe, guaranteed issue coverage can cost less than two times the price of life insurance with a medical exam. It makes it easier to get covered and stay within your budget because your life insurance premiums stay locked and level from the moment you get a quote.

^{*The rates above reflect the approximate monthly cost of PolicyMe’s Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance with $25,000 in coverage for non-smokers.}

Do I need no medical life insurance?

No medical life insurance is an attractive option because it foregoes medical exams and offers a quicker application process. With PolicyMe term life insurance, healthy Canadians can hold onto these advantages while enjoying the pricing advantage of a fully-underwritten policy.

PolicyMe’s online application process may not require a medical exam or extensive medical tests. It takes 20 minutes or less to complete the 26-item questionnaire, and you’ll know instantly if you’re approved, declined, or if we need further information (like a doctor’s note or nurse visit).

With a term life insurance policy from PolicyMe, you’ll be covered for 10-30 years with up to $5 million of coverage at a lower price than no medical insurance.

Can I be denied a no medical life insurance policy? 

As the name suggests, guaranteed issue life insurance accepts every applicant, regardless of their age, health, and medical history. You can’t be denied for this type of policy if you apply and pay your premiums. 

Simplified issue life insurance usually uses a short questionnaire to determine eligibility. These policies do come with a risk of rejection if you don’t meet underwriting eligibility criteria. 

For example, the life insurance companies mentioned above may refuse applicants who:

• Cannot independently bathe, feed, dress, and otherwise care for themselves
• Exceed height and weight restrictions
• Have a history of driving accidents or criminal misconduct
• Have a history of suicide attempts
• Have been diagnosed with or experienced symptoms of cancer, epilepsy, congenital heart defects, and other medical conditions
• Recently completed a stay in a hospital, nursing home, psychiatric facility, or other health-related facility
• Recently experienced a heart attack, stroke, or an illness or injury that caused them to miss work for two weeks or more
• Recently underwent bariatric surgery

Even if you're approved, the no medical policy in question may include so little coverage and such high premiums that it doesn’t make financial sense to take on. What’s the point of paying for a policy that doesn’t meet your life insurance needs?

Next steps: ready to start looking for life insurance?

1. Assess your familial and financial situation to determine how much life insurance you need.
2. Use a life insurance calculator to find the right amount of coverage for you.
3. Decide between term life or permanent life insurance.
4. Shop around to compare companies and find affordable life insurance quotes.

FAQ: Best no medical life insurance in Canada

‍^{The prices listed in this article have been researched and fact-checked with both internal and external sources. Prices are based on publicly available rates.}

Want to learn more about other life insurance options? Here are more reviews of Canadian life insurance companies:

• Best life insurance in Canada
• Biggest life insurance companies in Canada
• Best bank owned life insurance
• Best term life insurance in Canada
• Best whole life insurance in Canada
• Assumption life insurance review
• American Income life insurance review
• Beneva life insurance review
• Canada Protection Plan life insurance review
• Costco life insurance review
• Desjardins life insurance review
• Equitable life Insurance review
• Foresters life insurance review
• Humania life insurance review
• Industrial Alliance life insurance
• Ivari life insurance review
• Manulife life insurance review
• PolicyMe life insurance review
• Primerica life insurance review
• UV life insurance review

‍