Key Takeaways
- Canada Life provides term, universal, and participating whole life insurance, as well as disability insurance, critical illness insurance, and health insurance.
- Compared to other Canadian insurance companies, Canada Life’s life insurance premiums are average, and it has a large product selection.
- Canada Life is a subsidiary of Great-West Life, the second-largest insurer in Canada by assets and the first by premiums written.
Is Canada Life life insurance good?
One of the largest life insurance companies in Canada, the Canada Life Assurance Company has over 175 years of history and a network of more than 37,000 advisors behind it. It boasts an “A+” rating for financial strength from A.M. Best and a large selection of insurance products.
But is it one of the best life insurance companies in Canada? That will depend on how well-suited their policies are for your specific life insurance needs. Canada Life’s life insurance rates are competitive for some products, but its customer service review score has room for improvement.
Our expert take
Canada Life offers the two main types of life insurance: term and permanent. Of the two, we prefer term life insurance because it’s generally more affordable, carries fewer unnecessary inclusions, and matches the longevity of most financial obligations.
Canada Life provides fairly standard term life insurance with above-average coverage limits and competitive prices. If you need coverage for end-of-life expenses, estate planning, or a tax-free inheritance, it also offers universal and whole life insurance policies.
Canada Life’s permanent policies appear to be designed for high-net-worth individuals, offering high coverage limits, participating dividends, and accelerated payment options. If your health changes and you want to convert your term policy, be prepared to maintain at least $100,000 of permanent life insurance coverage for the rest of your life.
We can’t fault Canada Life’s success–its participating account is the largest in Canada–but we wish it offered non-participating life insurance such as term 100.
Canada Life insurance products at a glance
Canada Life sells four life insurance policies. We left Wealth Achiever Plus out of the table below due to its similarity to Estate Achiever Plus:
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Rating
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★★★★☆ (3.5)
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★★★☆☆ (3.0)
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N/A
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Coverage
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$100,000 - $25 million for 5-50 years
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$25,000 - $10 million in lifetime coverage
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$25,000 - $50 million+ in lifetime coverage
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Age limits
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18 - 80
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0 - 80
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0 - 85
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- Up to $50+ million in coverage: Get up to $25 million for 5-50 years for term life insurance, and $50+ million for permanent policies
- Up to 8 riders: You can add accidental death, child’s term life insurance, guaranteed insurability riders and more to either term or permanent life insurance
- 4 options for term life insurance: You can exchange, renew, or convert your policy, and choose single or joint coverage
- 3 permanent life insurance products: Choose between permanent coverage with investments or participating dividends
- Competitive pricing: Canada Life policies stick close to the industry average for similar products
- Online life insurance quotes: It’s easy to comparison shop using Canada Life’s online quote process
- High maximum issue ages: Canada Life serves customers from 0-85 years old
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High minimum coverage amounts: You’ll have to buy at least $100,000 of term life insurance or $25,000 of permanent life insurance from Canada Life
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No term-to-100 life insurance: If you want affordable permanent coverage with no extras, you’ll have to shop elsewhere
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Phone call may be required: It doesn’t appear as if you can purchase Canada Life life insurance online
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 10 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.
How much does Canada Life insurance cost?
We analyzed hundreds of quotes from two Canada Life insurance products, My Term and Universal Life, and found they stick close to the industry average.
Canada Life term life insurance cost
Here’s a preview of what your term life insurance cost would be, if you applied for $500,000 in coverage under My Term:
Youths (18-29) |
Female |
$20.29 |
1% below industry average |
Youths (18-29) |
Male |
$28.73 |
1% below industry average |
Adults (30-44) |
Female |
$33.34 |
2% below industry average |
Adults (30-44) |
Male |
$45.04 |
2% below industry average |
Adults (45-59) |
Female |
$121.94 |
1% below industry average |
Adults (45-59) |
Male |
$171.17 |
2% below industry average |
Seniors (60+) |
Female |
$242.20 |
2% above industry average |
Seniors (60+) |
Male |
$328.12 |
1% above industry average |
* Average starting monthly premiums for $500,000 of coverage for a female non-smoker between the ages of 30-44 across a term length of 10-30 years
** Compared to the average starting monthly cost of $500,000 of coverage for a female non-smoker between the ages of 30-44 and across a term length of 10-30 years and 26 term life insurance products.
Canada Life permanent life insurance cost
As for permanent insurance, Canada Life’s Universal Life policy again dances around the industry average:
Adults (30-44) |
Female |
$32.92 |
2% above industry average |
Adults (30-44) |
Male |
$36.33 |
3% above industry average |
Adults (45-59) |
Female |
$53.67 |
2% below industry average |
Adults (45-59) |
Male |
$62.75 |
1% below industry average |
Seniors (60+) |
Female |
$105.83 |
3% above industry average |
Seniors (60+) |
Male |
$125.79 |
1% below industry average |
* Average starting monthly premiums for $50,000 of coverage for a female non-smoker between the ages of 30-44
** Compared to the average monthly cost of $50,000 of coverage for a female non-smoker between the ages of 30-44 across 9 universal 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.
Canada Life vs PolicyMe life insurance
* For $500,000 of coverage for a female non-smoker between the ages of 30-44 across a term length of 10-30 years.
If your first priority is to provide your dependents with affordable financial protection, PolicyMe provides some of the most cost-effective coverage on the market.
Plus, PolicyMe life insurance offers $10,000 of complimentary coverage per child with every policy, and a 10% first-year couple’s discount when you apply together.
See how affordable term life insurance can be with PolicyMe.
FAQ: Canada Life insurance reviews
You can’t withdraw money from Canada Life term life insurance because it doesn’t include a cash value. For permanent coverage with guaranteed cash values, try the company’s Universal Life, Estate Achiever Plus, or Wealth Achiever Plus policies.
When your Canada Life term life insurance policy expires, you can either convert it to a permanent policy, allow it to renew automatically at a higher price, or cancel it. Cancelling term life insurance frees you up to shop for a new policy with a better price, lower coverage, or both.
Canada Life life insurance is fully underwritten, meaning you may be required to take a medical exam in order to get approved. If you’re rejected, you’ll have to go to another company to get no medical life insurance.
On the plus side, full underwriting typically results in lower premiums and higher amounts of coverage.
*** The life insurance premium rates in this article are based on publicly available figures as of March 2026.
