PolicyMe vs. Life Insurance Brokers: What’s the Difference?

PolicyMe vs. life insurance brokers: Key differences 

PolicyMe is not a life insurance broker. We’re Canada’s trusted digital insurance provider, offering our own affordable, comprehensive life and health insurance products for Canadian families—fully online, with a team of real advisors on call when you need them. 

Insurance brokers, on the other hand, review insurance coverage options and quotes from a wide range of carriers on behalf of individual clients. Unlike agents, who represent a single company, an insurance broker represents the client: you. 

You don’t need to choose between PolicyMe and an insurance broker. Because PolicyMe’s online quote and application system is so quick to use, it’s easy to get offers from PolicyMe and compare them to offers presented by a broker, if you choose to work with one. 

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What is PolicyMe?

PolicyMe doesn’t sell products from multiple companies, so we’re not an insurance broker. Actually, PolicyMe is a managing general agent (MGA), a specific type of insurance entity authorized to sell and underwrite policies on behalf of another insurance company—in this case, our partner Securian Canada, which provides financial backing for all claims on PolicyMe insurance plans.

How PolicyMe works vs. how life insurance brokers work

The primary difference between PolicyMe and a life insurance broker is the number of companies’ products each sells. Brokers sell life insurance policies from a wide range of companies; PolicyMe only sells PolicyMe life insurance. 

But PolicyMe stands out from traditional insurance brokers in a few more ways, from the initial application experience to discounts and advice from insurance agents. 

The key advantage of working with a life insurance broker is that you’ll get access to quotes and products from multiple life insurance companies, with the option to compare your choices with help from an industry insider. 

The downside: Working with a broker is more involved than buying life insurance on your own. While you may get access to deals you weren’t aware of, you’ll need to find a trustworthy broker, schedule meetings, fill out paperwork, and review multiple life insurance options to get coverage. With the right broker, the process can be smooth and rewarding—but every broker is different. 

The bottom line: If you’re looking for quick, no-frills life insurance coverage, working with a broker may be a more time-consuming option. PolicyMe minimizes the hassle of buying life insurance by offering two straightforward, family-focused life insurance products with accelerated underwriting that gets most applicants from “searching” to “approved” in a day or less.

Cost comparison: Does PolicyMe cost less than a broker?

The cost of life insurance from a broker varies significantly depending on the company you end up buying from. Outside of special cases, which should be disclosed up front, life insurance brokers in Canada don’t charge fees for their services, so the cost of your coverage determines how much you pay. 

PolicyMe charges less for life insurance than many competitors in the insurance industry, thanks in large part to the accelerated underwriting process that reduces overhead costs. Accelerated underwriting uses medical questionnaires and advanced data analysis with machine learning tools to quickly evaluate each online application. 

* Average PolicyMe monthly premiums based on $500,000 of coverage and 20-year term for a non-smoking female applicant in good health.  

Insurance brokers may have access to a wide range of life insurance quotes, with pricing that varies depending on the company, type of policy, and policy details. To give you a sense of how rates obtained through an independent broker or insurance advisor might compare to PolicyMe’s rates, we’ve compiled average rates for female applicants from three of the leading traditional insurers: 

* Average monthly premiums based on $500,000 of coverage and 20-year term for a non-smoking female applicant in good health. 

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The policy you buy matters

The type of life insurance policy you buy impacts the cost of coverage. The average rates we’ve shown above are for term life insurance, since it’s the most popular option for Canadian families. A permanent life insurance policy typically costs 5–15x more than a term life insurance policy. Premiums also vary based on age, sex assigned at birth, amount of coverage, term length, and more.

Benefits PolicyMe offers that brokers typically don’t

PolicyMe isn’t just another insurance broker; we’re an insurance innovator. What that means for policyholders is unique benefits that you won’t find from a traditional insurer or independent broker. 

Free benefits for families

PolicyMe designs life insurance policies with all Canadians in mind, but we’re especially concerned with providing the best life insurance options for families. That’s why every PolicyMe life insurance policy includes $10,000 of child coverage for no added cost and a potential 10% first-year discount if you apply with a spouse or partner. 

By comparison, most other life insurance companies that offer child coverage charge for it as an add-on benefit, or policy rider. If you’re a parent and choose to work with an insurance broker, be sure to ask about benefits available to families.

Built-in simplicity and transparency 

One of PolicyMe’s primary goals is to make life insurance shopping more consumer-friendly: less jargon, fewer barriers to entry, and transparency wherever possible. Our insurance advisors are trained to provide advice with no pressure to buy, and our online application platform makes it easy to find and understand the coverage you need. You can even use PolicyMe’s free online life insurance calculator to understand how much life insurance you need to shop for. 

Insurance brokers operate within a more traditional sales structure that may not provide much transparency around your options. While you might end up with a broker who’s invested in explaining all of your coverage and helping you weigh the pros and cons of each policy, others may be more focused on finalizing the sale. 

Faster approval with less chance of a medical exam

PolicyMe’s mission revolves around removing the barriers that keep Canadians from buying the financial protection they need. A key tool in our insurance-reform toolbox: accelerated underwriting. 

Accelerated underwriting serves two functions: first, it allows over 60% of applicants to get instantly approved for up to $2M in coverage. It’s the quickest, most cost-effective way to secure a sizable death benefit for your loved ones with a minimum of hassle. 

But accelerated underwriting doesn’t just speed up the process. For many customers, it entirely removes one of the biggest roadblocks to buying life insurance: the medical exam. Our 2025 Life Insurance Gap Report found that 26% of uninsured Canadians cite medical exam requirements as a key reason they’ve put off buying life insurance—but with PolicyMe’s accelerated underwriting, less than 35% of customers need a medical exam at all. 

When a traditional life insurance broker may be the better choice

Anyone can shop for life insurance in Canada with a broker, and you may choose to do so to explore all of your options. But there are a few situations in which working with a traditional broker may be your best option: 

• If you have complex estate planning needs: This typically applies to high-net-worth individuals who’ve exhausted all of their investment and retirement savings mechanisms but have additional wealth they’d like to maximize for their beneficiaries. For these clients, a whole or universal life insurance policy is often the best option. PolicyMe doesn’t sell these policies since they’re not a good option for most Canadians, so you may need to work with a broker or financial planning expert to find one. 
• If you have serious health conditions: PolicyMe offers life insurance to people with pre-existing conditions, but if you have major health concerns that make it difficult to find coverage, you may be better off working with a broker to review all of your options. 

When PolicyMe is likely the better fit

PolicyMe exists to meet the needs of Canadian families and individuals who need simple, affordable life insurance with no frills, upsells, or hidden costs. PolicyMe may be a better fit than a traditional insurance broker in the following situations: 

• If you have children: PolicyMe’s free child coverage is a unique benefit for parents that you won’t find from most traditional life insurance policies sold through a broker. 
• If you need life insurance quickly: The broker process may take days to weeks. With PolicyMe, many applicants can start their coverage the same or next day. 
• If you’re looking for life insurance with minimal paperwork: Traditional life insurance underwriting involves long phone calls with advisors, paper applications, and a lot of admin. If you’re hoping to streamline that part of the process, PolicyMe’s digital, customer-driven application might be a better fit. 
• If you want the benefits of full underwriting without the medical exam: Most applicants in good health qualify for instant approval without a medical exam thanks to PolicyMe’s digital accelerated underwriting. 

FAQs: PolicyMe vs. life insurance brokers

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