In this article, we take a look at Canada Life's personal insurance products, paying particular attention to its life insurance and critical illness policies. We weigh up the benefits and costs, including some little-known extras to help you understand how it compares.
If you are simply interested in the best and cheapest way to buy Canada Life Insurance, you can skip to that section here, however we recommend that you read the article in full.
About Canada Life
Canada Life provides retirement, investment and protection solutions to individuals, families and companies. It is a subsidiary of the Great-West Lifeco group of companies, with operations in Canada, the United States, Ireland and Germany and has been operating in the UK since 1903.
The global organisation, Great-West Lifeco is Canada’s oldest life assurance company with foundations tracing back to 1847. Canada Life specialises in the provision of group life insurance products through employers; a fact that is backed up by the number of industry awards it has achieved, winning 'Best Group Protection Provider' for the 8th year running at the 2020 Health Insurance and Protection Awards.
Canada Life Overview
- Life and Critical Illness insurance is only available via an adviser/broker.
- Claims statistics for individual life insurance policies are unknown, however, 98% of group life insurance claims were paid and so we could reasonably assume that the claims statistics would be similar when it comes to individual life insurance claims.
- Canada Life does not specialise in providing individual life insurance policies and they’re neither the cheapest, nor the best. It may appeal to those who have other products with Canada Life and wish to keep their financial affairs in one place.
- Canada Life provides Life Insurance and Critical Illness Insurance but does not offer Income Protection Insurance and you cannot arrange your life insurance as a Family Income Benefit policy.
- Canada Life's Critical Illness Insurance provides cover for the policyholders and includes Children's Critical Illness cover within the adult cover at no extra cost.
Canada Life Policy Summary
Below, we have outlined the features of Canada Life's Individual Life Insurance policy
| Canada Life individual Life Insurance | |
| Cover basis |
|
| Who is covered? |
|
| Terminal Illness Cover |
|
| Can you inflation-proof the amount that you insure so it keeps its value over time? |
|
| Waiver of Premium |
|
| Minimum age at entry | 18 |
| Maximum age at entry | 80 |
| Policy Exclusions |
|
Below, we have outlined the features of Canada Life's Individual Critical Illness Insurance policy
| Canada Life individual Critical Illness Insurance | |
| Can it be combined with life insurance? | Yes |
| Premium type |
|
| Number of critical illnesses covered |
|
| Children’s critical illness cover included |
|
| Minimum age at entry | 17 |
| Maximum age at entry | 65 |
| Policy exclusions |
|
Additional benefits available with Canada Life
Bereavement counselling
This is offered to the policyholder only, with up to 4 face-to-face sessions per issue, per year. It is not extended to children or immediate family members of the policyholder which some other insurers would allow.
Probate Helpline
A service that provides access to probate experts to assist with resolving family disputes, validity of wills, powers of attorney and obtaining probate. Again, this service is only available to policyholders.
Personal Nurse Service
In the event that you make a claim for critical illness or terminal illness, Canada Life offers access to a nurse who can provide practical and emotional support to the policyholder and their family.
Second Medical Opinion
Canada Life includes a service that provides access to over 20,000 UK consultants for a second opinion on your diagnosis and treatment plan. It's worth noting that other insurers may provide access to the best consultants globally for a second opinion which may be better for you.
Canada Life Smartphone App
A free benefit that gives policyholders access to 1,000+ rewards and discounts for goods and services. Some of the brands include Tesco, Starbucks, Currys PC World, John Lewis as well as holidays, gym memberships, theme parks and days out.
How much does Life Insurance with Canada Life cost?
Canada Life individual life insurance comparison - £200,000 over 20 years (Non-Smoker)
| Canada Life Monthly Cost | Lowest Monthly Cost | Highest Monthly Cost | |
| 25 year old non-smoker | £6.02 | £5.59 | £8.01 |
| 35 year old non-smoker | £9.55 | £8.16 | £9.93 |
| 45 year old non-smoker | £22.00 | £17.44 | £25.29 |
| 55 year old non-smoker | £56.63 | £46.53 | £62.11 |
Canada Life individual life insurance comparison - £200,000 over 20 years (Smoker)
| Canada Life Monthly Cost | Lowest Monthly Cost | Highest Monthly Cost | |
| 25-year old smoker | £9.32 | £8.30 | £10.45 |
| 35-year old smoker | £18.05 | £15.20 | £20.50 |
| 45-year-old smoker | £50.81 | £38.87 | £56.10 |
| 55-year-old smoker | £136.71 | £117.38 | £154.57 |
It is important to note that the above costs are a guide and your personal quotation will be determined by your age, smoker status, health, hobbies and occupation. As well as these factors, the amount of insurance and duration of cover will affect the cost alongside additional any options that you may choose to add.
To work out how much your insurance will cost and to determine the best options to choose, we would always recommend that you speak to a specialist insurance broker. We explain how to do this as well as earn up to £100 cashback when you arrange your policy in the next section.
Best Way to Buy Canada Life Insurance
Having read all about Canada Life's life insurance and critical illness insurance, you'll probably feel that you need some more guidance about how to arrange your life and/or critical illness insurance. Although Canada Life offers a number of good benefits within its policy, there are many more options available across the market that may be more comprehensive or suitable for you. In most cases, you will need specific guidance to ensure that you're getting the best policy for the best price and having researched the various ways to do this, we concluded that speaking to a specialist insurance broker is the best route to achieving this.
We have personally vetted the services of a specialist life insurance broker that provides bespoke advice for people of all backgrounds and with a variety of needs. The service is tailored to you and will gather all your information as well as your wants and needs before making a recommendation based on expert knowledge. The advisers are also trained to provide you with valuable and free advice that will ensure that any claims are paid out quickly, to the right people and free of any inheritance tax.
To arrange to speak with an adviser, complete this form. As a Money to the Masses reader, you'll also receive up to £100 cashback once you have arranged your policy.
If a link has an * beside it this means that it is an affiliated link. If you go via the link, Money to the Masses may receive a small fee which helps keep Money to the Masses free to use. The following link can be used if you do not wish to help Money to the Masses and do not wish to qualify for the cashback referred to in the article - LifeSearch
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