Health Insurance Companies in Canada: The Ultimate List

PolicyMe analyzed 1,700+ real quotes across 50+ plans from Canada’s top providers to rank the best health insurance companies in Canada.

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How private health insurance works in Canada

Private health insurance in Canada is coverage you buy to get extra medical coverage on top of the healthcare services covered by your province or territory. 

Canadian private health insurance policies typically offer some form of vision, dental, and prescription coverage. More comprehensive plans may also cover paramedical services. You can purchase an individual plan or join an employer-sponsored group plan.
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Don’t duplicate your coverage

Before you apply for a private plan, ask yourself:

• Do I have any health coverage through my employer?
• Do I have any coverage through my partner’s health plan?
• What health services are covered by my province?

Compare the top health insurance companies in Canada

Canada’s top health insurance companies are PolicyMe, Sun Life, Manulife, GreenShield, and Desjardins. While all five companies offer competitive pricing and strong coverage options, it’s also helpful to check customer reviews when comparing health insurance companies.

Comprehensive list of health insurance companies in Canada

Shopping for health insurance can feel overwhelming, but it helps to know who the main players are. Below you’ll find a list of the most reputable health insurance companies in Canada, along with their ratings as of October 2026. 

Beneva

Formerly SSQ, Beneva offers group health insurance through employers to employees. Available health benefits include prescription drugs, travel insurance, dental, critical illness, wellness plans, and retirement plans.

• Sells individual plans: No (group only)
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 1.3/5 stars on Trustpilot

Blue Cross (and provincial franchises)

Blue Cross plans offer dental, mental health, prescription, paramedical services, vision, and travel health insurance. The biggest available perk is unlimited prescription and dental coverage. Fertility coverage depends on your province.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: N/A
• BBB: A+ (most franchises)
• Customer reviews: 1.4/5 stars on Trustpilot 

Available as Alberta Blue Cross, Ontario Blue Cross, Quebec Blue Cross, Manitoba Blue Cross (Nunavut), Medavie Blue Cross (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador), Pacific Blue Cross (British Columbia and Yukon), Saskatchewan Blue Cross

CAA

CAA members can buy private health insurance (underwritten by Manulife) via three plans. You can get paramedical expenses covered with your benefits plan, as well as prescription drugs, dental, vision, and hospital stays.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: B+ (Good)
• BBB: F
• Customer reviews: 2.0/5 stars on Trustpilot 

Canada Life

Canada Life sells vision, dental insurance, prescription, and paramedical insurance. This well-established company doesn’t offer the cheapest coverage, but it’s one of the best for vision (they’ll cover up to 100%). They also offer family-building coverage for fertility care.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: A+ (Superior)
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 1.3/5 stars on Trustpilot 

Desjardins

Desjardins offers coverage for prescription, mental health, paramedical, dental, and vision coverage. Note that plans only cover you to age 64.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: N/A
• Customer reviews: 1.4/5 stars on Trustpilot 

Empire Life

Empire offers group benefits as well as individual critical illness and disability insurance. You won’t find dental or vision care here, however. 

• Sells individual plans: No (group only) 
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: N/A
• Customer reviews: 4.3/5 on Google

GMS (Group Medical Services)

The GMS base plan is pretty simple, but you can upgrade. Get prescription meds, mental health services, dental, vision, paramedical, orthotics, and travel. Plus, enjoy a flat deductible (rather than a percentage-based coverage amount).

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: N/A
• BBB: N/A
• Customer reviews: 3.1/5 on Google

GreenShield

GreenShield is a popular provider of employee health insurance, known for its high coverage limits for paramedical services like massage and chiropractic care. It also offers coverage for vision, dental (not in the basic plan), mental health, paramedical, prescription meds, and travel.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: N/A
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 1.4/5 stars on Trustpilot 

Industrial Alliance

While you can’t buy an individual plan through iA, you may be offered a group plan through your employer. Group coverage includes paramedical, vision, dental, AD&D, plus several other perks like homecare insurance.

• Sells individual plans: No (group only)
• AM Best: A+ (Superior)
• BBB: Varies by region
• Customer reviews: 1.7/5 on InsurEye

Manulife

Manulife offers a wide variety of health insurance options like prescription medication, paramedical expenses, vision, dental, mental health, and travel. The basic plan doesn’t include dental, but you can add it onto other plans — or get dental only.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: A+ (Superior)
• BBB: A- 
• Customer reviews: 1.2/5 stars on Trustpilot 

PolicyMe

PolicyMe health insurance has plans that cover dental, vision, mental health, prescription drugs, professional services like massage, and lots more (like homecare and accidental dental). Best of all, you only have to wait one business day until you can start making claims.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 4.8/5 stars on Reviews.io

RBC

It doesn’t offer standard health insurance, but RBC does offer critical illness, disability, and travel insurance for its customers. Pricing is competitive, but you won’t find dental or vision care here.

• Sells individual plans: No
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: Varies
• Customer reviews: 1.6/5 stars on Trustpilot 

SBIS

SBIS is an insurance brokerage where you can compare coverage from multiple insurers in one place. Human representatives answer your calls, so you won’t deal with annoying automation or long recordings. It also offers coverage for international students and other visitors to Canada, plus long-term travel insurance outside of the country for extended trips of 182+ days.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: N/A
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 3.6/5 stars on Trustpilot

Scotiabank

If you’re a Scotia customer, you can get health or health plus dental coverage. This includes prescription drugs, paramedical coverage, hospitalization, ambulance, home care, and travel benefits. There are waiting periods for dental, vision, and medical equipment, and it doesn’t cover orthodontics or fertility drugs.

• Sells individual plans: Yes (for existing customers)
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: D-
• Customer reviews: Not rated on InsurEye

Sun Life

Its best product is travel health insurance, but Sun Life also offers standard health plans that include mental health, paramedical, prescription meds, dental, and vision. To get vision, you’ll have to upgrade beyond the basic plan.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: A+ (Superior)
• BBB: A+
• Customer reviews: 1.2/5 stars on Trustpilot 

The Edge

The Edge specializes in health insurance for small businesses and self-employed individuals, including contractors and gig workers. It offers flexible, à-la-carte coverage, where customers can choose a base plan and then select specific add-ons instead of a fixed package. Its small business plans are available for as few as three people.

• Sells individual plans: Yes
• AM Best: N/A
• BBB: N/A
• Customer reviews: 2.8/5 stars on Birdeye 

Wawanesa

Wawanesa offers group coverage to employees, and it’s known for mental health coverage and gender-affirming care benefits. It also covers things like hospitalization, prescription drugs, dental, vision, and other paramedical services. Wawanesa also made Forbes’ 2025 list of Canada’s best employers for company culture.

• Sells individual plans: No (group only)
• AM Best: A (Excellent)
• BBB: A+ (Accredited)
• Customer reviews: 1.3/5 stars on Trustpilot

Looking for specific plans? See our picks for the best health insurance plans in Canada.

How we ranked these companies

PolicyMe’s rankings are based on an independent, data-driven review of Canada's leading health and dental insurance products and providers. Our analysis draws on 1,700+ quotes covering 50+ health insurance products from the seven biggest providers in Canada, sourced from official product websites and supplemented with customer ratings from Google.

Why trust our rankings? 

• 1,700+ quotes analyzed
• 50+ plans reviewed
• Pricing updated May 2026
• Reviewed by licensed advisors
• No paid placements

A good private health insurance plan should cover healthcare costs not included in your existing public and group insurance benefits. That might include dental insurance, vision care, and coverage for mental health or paramedical services. And while the cheapest plan isn’t always the best, our top picks balance affordability with robust coverage.

What do health insurance companies cover in Canada?

Private health insurance companies in Canada cover a variety of healthcare, from the type of care traditionally covered by government plans to supplemental care, like vision, dental, and paramedical services that are not covered by most provincial plans.

You choose your specific coverages and your plan limits. Private plans may offer the same coverage a province provides, but the coverage amounts and copays may be different.

In Canada, there is a wide range of services that may be available through private health care, depending on the policy you select:
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• Basic medical care: Doctor visits, check-ups, surgeries, specialist consultations
• Vision: Routine eye exams, glasses, contact lenses, sometimes corrective surgery
• Dental: Routine exams and cleanings, orthodontics
• Mental health: Therapy, counselling, psychiatric care
• Prescription drugs: Access to prescribed drugs and higher limits
• Emergency medical: Ambulance use, emergency room visits
• Medical equipment: Walkers, wheelchairs
• Fertility: Assistance with conceiving a baby
• Maternity and newborn care: Pregnancy-related care
• Hearing aids: The cost of hearing aids
• Hospitalization: Private or semi-private rooms
• Rehabilitation: Treatment after injuries and accidents to rehab
• Dermatology: Skin treatments and procedures if medically necessary
• Chronic disease management: Support for conditions like diabetes and heart disease
• Diagnostics and preventative: Tests and preventative treatments like vaccines and screenings
• Alternative care: Physiotherapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage
• Telehealth: Access a doctor virtually for consultations
• Travel health insurance: Coverage for medical emergencies abroad
• Wellness programs and health coaching: Programs with fitness and nutrition, access to coaches for personalized well-being plans

Take note

Every company is different, but be aware that LASIK, cosmetic and elective procedures, fertility treatments, and experimental treatments are not typically covered by a private plan. Make sure to read your policy closely before signing!

How do health insurance companies determine premiums?

Three main risk factors determine your health insurance premium:

• Age: Older people (50+) pay higher premiums because they file more claims, statistically
• Location: If your area has a higher cost of living, then your premium will be higher
• Coverage: If you want more coverage, expect to pay a higher premium

The average premium for health insurance in Canada is between $75 and $150 per month. To give you a better idea of how much health insurance might cost you, we’ve pulled starting premiums for applicants aged 21-44 across different provinces for PolicyMe’s Economic Plan.

^{* Premiums may vary and are based on publicly available rates as of October 2026.}

Who regulates health insurance companies in Canada?

Health insurance companies in Canada are regulated by the federal government under the Insurance Companies Act by monitoring compliance with codes of conduct:

• Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR)
• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)

You’re also protected provincially. For instance, in Ontario, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and the Ontario Insurance Act ensure that companies and agents are properly licensed. New Brunswick has the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB), and lots of provinces have an Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, which regulates insurers to protect consumers.
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Learn more

Check out the CLHIA guide if you want to learn more about insurance regulation and consumer protection in Canada.

FAQ: Health insurance companies in Canada