What's the Best Health Insurance in Canada?

What’s the best health insurance in Canada?

Health insurance is a broad term that covers a variety of plans designed to support overall health and wellness. This includes supplemental health insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance. Other types of coverage, such as disability insurance, critical illness insurance, travel insurance, and visitor insurance, also fall under the health insurance umbrella.

In this article, we focus on the best private health coverage you can buy in Canada for you and your family. Regardless of whether you’re looking for extended health, drug, dental, or vision care (or a combination), the best health insurance policy has four ingredients:

• Affordability: You have to pay premiums to receive coverage, so they’d better be affordable and provide good value.
• Coverage: A private health insurance plan should cover your healthcare needs and provide a high enough dollar limit (also known as a maximum) to make them work with your budget.
• Customer satisfaction: From purchases to paperwork and filing claims, good customer service can make all the difference.
• Stability: Your health insurance company must be able to pay for your benefits.

We can’t tell you how much health coverage you need or how to coordinate your benefits in a single article, but we can help you find affordable coverage from a company with a solid reputation for financial stability and customer service.

According to the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association, there are 121 health insurance companies selling plans from coast to coast. We crunched the numbers for 18 of the biggest names to bring you a list of the best health insurance policies and the best health insurance providers in Canada.

Who has the best health insurance in Canada?

The best health insurance provider in Canada is PolicyMe, followed by SunLife, Manulife, ScotiaLife, and Canada Life. 

PolicyMe’s flexible policy design provides maximum value because it allows you to use more of your coverage on more medical professionals, services, and supplies. In other words—you don’t have to visit an acupuncturist, sign up for speech therapy, and buy a wheelchair every year just to get your money’s worth. 

After evaluating each health insurance company’s customer experience, value for money, and industry reputation, we can confidently recommend these providers and their plans.

1. Best health insurance in Canada: PolicyMe

Overall score: ★★★★☆ (4.1/5)

Company profile: PolicyMe is an online insurance solution based in Toronto, ON. Founded in 2018, PolicyMe secured $18M in Series A funding and added critical illness insurance in 2022 and health and dental insurance in 2024. They now provide $10+ billion of protection for Canadians.

PolicyMe has partnered with Securian Canada, a leading player in the Canadian insurance industry, to design its own health and dental insurance policies from the ground up. 

Why is it the best? It’s one of the only providers to offer a yearly combined maximum for visits to 9 professionals, including chiropractors, physiologists and massage therapists. Unlike other health insurance plans, there’s no need to juggle different limits for different types of medical care—you can spend your coverage as you see fit.

Going by PolicyMe’s reviews, customers love its flexibility. The company holds an A+ from the Better Business Bureau and a 4.9-star rating on Google. 

Customers can choose between 6 Guaranteed Issue Plans (Dental Care, Economic, Classic, Drug Care, No Dental Advanced, and Advanced) starting at $117.35/month.¹

Best of all, every plan includes 24/7 access to telehealth services and no waiting period, so you can start making claims immediately.

Pros:

Cons:

• Few extras: No travel insurance included
• No add-ons: No optional benefits available

2. Best prescription drug health coverage: Sun Life

Overall score: ★★★★☆ (3.8/5)

Company profile: With over 5 million Canadian customers, Sun Life is one of the giants of the insurance industry. It offers a huge variety of products and contact methods, including a coverage management app, but could stand to improve its customer service.

Sun Life underwrites many of the largest group benefits plans in Canada, but it also sells individual health insurance plans directly to the public. Its high “Value for money” score comes from its generous coverage maximums, which range from an estimated $9,000 - $270,000+ per year. 

However, making full use of said coverage depends on claiming between $750 - $250,000 worth of prescription drugs every single year. Take away the drug benefit and you’re left with about $6,000 - $20,000 of total coverage, which is well in line with industry standards.

Pros: 

 Cons:

• Low accidental coverage: Each plan includes only $2,000 of accidental dental coverage
• Poorly-reviewed: Customers complain of poor communication, especially regarding claims and coverage exceptions
• Skewed toward drug benefits: Not counting prescription drug coverage, every $100 of coverage costs an average of $0.75 per month

3. Most versatile health insurance company: Manulife

Our score: ★★★★☆ (3.8/5)

Company profile: Founded in 1887, Manulife is the biggest life insurance company in Canada, holding about $849 billion in assets. The company has an A+ financial strength rating from A.M. Best.

Manulife sells just about every health insurance product under the sun, including coverage for critical illnesses, disability, travel, and long-term care. It’s a one-stop shop for customers who want all their care in one place, and it offers a range of products and prices.

Choose between “FlexCare” (which includes drugs, dental, or a combination), “CoverMe” (for guaranteed acceptance), or “FollowMe,” which replaces group health insurance benefits if you leave your job. Every plan provides a year of free health benefits to your dependents if you pass away, but Manulife customers often complain of payment delays.

Pros

 Cons:

• Expensive: CoverMe Guaranteed Issue plans start at $256/month for a 35-year-old adult and $298/month for a 60-year-old senior
• Low-value entry plans: The cheapest plans are the least flexible and charge an average of $1.27/month per $100 of coverage
• Poorly-reviewed: Manulife customers complain of poor communication, especially regarding payment delays and paperwork

4. Best bank health insurance: ScotiaLife

Our score: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

Company profile: ScotiaLife is the insurance division of Scotiabank, one of the Big 5 Banks in Canada. It benefits from strong financial stability, though some customers have reported occasional challenges with customer service.

ScotiaLife offers just one product, a “Health Insurance Plan” with an optional “Dental Insurance Plan” available as an add-on. The former is a steal, offering $15,000+ of coverage for routine procedures per year for just $48/month for a 35-year-old and $64/month for a 60-year-old.

The catch? ScotiaLife’s Dental Insurance Plan offers a $500 worth of coverage for routine procedures in exchange for $350 - $461 in annual premiums. Plus, both products are only available to Scotiabank customers. 

Pros: 

 Cons:

• Low-value dental coverage: The Dental Insurance Plan provides just $500 of coverage for routine procedures in exchange for $350 - $461 in extra premiums
• Mixed reviews: Trustpilot reviewers complain of payment problems (including unauthorized withdrawals), and long wait times
• Restrictive: ScotiaLife health and dental insurance is only available to Scotiabank customers

5. Most customizable health insurance policy: Canada Life

Our score: ★★★☆☆ (3.4/5)

Company profile: In 2020, Canada Life brought together Great West Life, London Life, and Canada Life. The company now serves over 14 million Canadians and received straight A’s (for financial stability) from A.M. Best, DBRS Morningstar, and Global S&P.

Canada Life sells a trio of health insurance plans that perfectly illustrate the trade-offs of basic, mid-tier, and premium health insurance. 

The entry-level, Freedom To Choose Select plan’s coverage is 40% less flexible than the highest-tier plan, meaning most coverage is restricted to a single type of medical professional, service, or equipment. And although it carries the lowest premiums, every $100 coverage costs an average of 9 times more than on higher plans.

For maximum coverage and flexibility, opt for Freedom To Choose Select Elite—just be prepared to pay about $200/month as an adult, and over $300/month as a senior.‍

Pros: 

 Cons:

• Inflexible entry-level plans: Nearly half of coverage for routine services is limited to just one type of medical professional, service, or type of equipment
• Low-value entry-level plans: Every $100 of coverage costs an average of $0.84/month
• Mixed reviews: Customers on Google, Insureye, and TrustPilot complain of poor communication surrounding claims and pre-authorized medical expenses

Best of the rest

Our methodology rewarded companies with solid ratings all around, but if certain features matter more to you than others, you could find the perfect fit in one of the companies below.

Best customer experience: PolicyMe

Most of the reviews for insurance companies on Google, Trustpilot, Insureye, and the BBB are overwhelmingly negative, which makes the exceptions stand out. From clarifying paperwork to filling claims, these are 5 companies with exceptional customer service:

Cheapest health coverage: GMS

You won’t find cheaper health insurance than Group Medical Services (GMS), but there are a few trade-offs. Its financial stability ratings aren’t as high as for-profit industry giants, and as little as 1.5% of its routine coverage is only applicable to one type of medical professional, service, or equipment. Plus, it lists many exclusions.

Make sure to read your policy documents carefully and do your research before committing to the 5 cheapest health insurance plans in Canada:

Best coverage

Nobody’s health or medical history are the same; fortunately, there’s plenty of variety on the Canadian health insurance market. If you need coverage for a specific medical expense (or a particular paramedical profession), these companies may be able to help*:

* Terms, conditions, and limitations apply to all health insurance coverage. We strongly recommend carefully reading your insurance documents to ensure your claims are eligible for reimbursement.

Methodology

There are many factors to consider when choosing a health insurance policy and provider. We boiled it down to three essential categories and chose 6-9 metrics to measure in each one:

All three scores were added to find the overall winners and the winners of each category. To represent the “Value for Money” category, we took the highest-ranking plan of each company.

How to find the best health insurance in Canada

The secret to buying health insurance effectively is to know your needs and do your research. Here are 5 steps containing more detail and the most important questions you need to answer:

1. Find your existing coverage: Take a look at your province’s public healthcare plan and your employer’s group health insurance plan to identify the coverage you already have. What benefits do you already have? Are you using them completely?
2. Tally your existing costs: Add up your health expenses during last year (including the receipts for prescription drugs, dental work, and medical equipment) and successful health insurance claims. Is there anything left over? How much?
3. Identify coverage gaps: These could be leftover expenses from successful claims or services that aren’t covered by public or group healthcare. How much money did you lose to coverage gaps last year? If you divide the total by 12, what’s the monthly cost?
4. Request health insurance quotes: Now that you know your coverage gaps, you can start to look for plans to address them. Do you need supplemental health insurance, vision, dental, or all three? Are your expenses eligible? Are the premiums lower than the monthly cost of your coverage gaps?
5. Calculate your savings: Read the fine print regarding each plan’s maximums, covered services, and fees. If you had bought it last year, how much money would you have paid in premiums? How much money would you have saved?

Don’t forget to take a hard look at the customer reviews for different health insurance companies. Good customer service is a necessity for making efficient use of your coverage—not to mention getting reimbursement when you need it!

If you’re stuck, try starting with these health insurance companies:

The best private health insurance company in Canada

For most Canadians, PolicyMe offers the right amount of coverage paired with flexible terms and affordable premiums. Its accident-related coverage extends to dental work, ambulance services, and hospital accommodations without adding to your premiums with ridiculously high maximums. 

Its best feature, however, is its customer service department. Clients love our timely and helpful insurance agents, who make every part of the process—from buying coverage to receiving claims—as easy as possible.

The best health insurance plans for families in Canada

Family health insurance can be more complicated than health insurance for individuals because it involves identifying coverage and costs for members of different ages. PolicyMe makes it easier to keep track of your benefits with $20,000+ of flexible coverage per person per year, which covers dispensing fees, dental maintenance, and regular check-ups.

Manulife is another family-friendly option because its plans include one free year of continued health benefits for all your dependents should you pass away. 

The best health insurance plans for seniors in Canada

GMS offers the cheapest health insurance premiums for seniors, but they provide low maximums for common expenses such as mobility aids, home nursing, and medical equipment. 

For more coverage, we recommend GreenShield (ZONE 7) and CAA (Enhanced plans). Manulife also issues Enhanced plans with generous home nursing coverage to Canadians 65 and over.

With an Advanced PolicyMe plan, you can claim up to $4,000 for homecare, nursing, prosthetic appliances, and durable medical equipment combined after year three of your policy. It can be particularly helpful for retirees whose health expenses are beginning to climb as they approach their golden years.

FAQ: Best health insurance in Canada

 ^1. Based on publicly available rates for applicants aged 21-44.