Canada Life Assurance Company Review 2020! 3 Brands In ONE!

Canada Life Assurance Company was founded by Hugh Cossart Baker, Sr. in 1847 and was Canada’s first domestic life insurance company. This  insurer took off from day one and in fact turned a substantial profit in the first year.

Canada Life branched out internationally opening its first office in the UK in 1903. 

This historic company has grown exponentially through acquisitions:

• 1994 they acquire the individual insurance operations of New York Life & Manulife Financial in the UK
• 1997 they acquire MetLife in the UK
• 1998 they acquire Crown Life Insurance Company of Canada
• 2003 Canada Life becomes part of Great-West Lifeco
• 2019 Great-West Life Co consolidated their 3 brands in Canada merging Great West Life Assurance Company, London Life and Canada Life

Well if you have been reading my reviews you know I think people should tread carefully when relying on online comments when buying life insurance.

Why?

Because online reviews for life insurance don’t necessarily represent the companies accurately. First of all, a number of these insurers carry very diverse products. You need to ascertain if the complaints are about the one you are looking to buy.

Also, people who are making claims are under a lot of stress. If something goes south in their process they are unlikely to have a lot of patience. It just makes sense.

Sadly people are far more likely to sit down and make a complaint than they are to write a glowing review of a life insurance company. Simply because they expect seamless service and more often than not get it.

Term life insurance is my “go-to”! It’s flexible and VERY affordable. If you are like most people and want income replacement just in case a sudden death occurs then term life insurance is for you.

Typically you select a face value (the amount of money you want), a term (the length of time you need coverage) and then take a medical exam.

The life insurance company you select then assigns you a rating depending on the findings that determine how much you pay. Don’t worry, approximately 80% of life insurance applicants are approved at standard rates or higher. 

Canada Life provides term coverage in 10 and 20 year term periods. Like most carriers, they give you an option to convert your term coverage to permanent life insurance (Universal or Whole Life) up to the age of 70.

You can do this without any additional underwriting or providing any medical evidence. This is a must have feature of any term policy and can protect you and your family in the event that you become uninsurable. 

Canada Life Assurance also provides consumers with a generous term exchange option. If you purchase a 10 Year Term policy, you have the option to exchange or convert this coverage to 20 year term.

This must be done after the first policy anniversary and before the 7th policy anniversary. This is a great option if you want to lock in low rates and still have flexibility to increase the period of coverage if necessary. 

Universal Life insurance is a permanent product, which means you are covered until the day you die.

For obvious reasons, this protection costs more than term because there is a guaranteed payout for your beneficiary. That being said, Universal Life Insurance is more flexible and affordable than some of its permanent cousins like Whole Life.

Permanent life insurance works the same as term in that you select a face value and take a medical exam to determine how much you pay. The main difference is the cash value accumulation feature or investment component. 

Universal Life allows you to adjust your payments over time, leave a nest egg for loved ones or use the proceeds while you are still alive. 

Canada Life Insurance offers a number of investment accounts to grow your money. Some are riskier than others but with risk also comes the opportunity for more rapid growth. 

The website offers information about past performance for customers to peruse. 

This is another permanent policy. If you are looking for coverage for life and a cash value accumulation feature this is the policy for you.

You pay premiums along with other Canada Life Policyholders and a portion is invested in their managed account. Investment decisions are made by Canada Life and earnings may be distributed as dividends.

Dividends may be used to buy more coverage, make payments or taken as cash (subject to tax).

They provide PDFs for their account investment reports.

Canada Life provides 2 options:

1. Canada Life Estate Achiever, Max 20 or Pay to 100. 
2. Canada Life Wealth Achiever, Max 20 or Pay to 100

Both these options give you the choice of paying for life or paying your policy up in 20 years. They also each have an investment feature that allows you to grow your money inside the policy tax-deferred or tax-free depending on when the cash take out. T

he Wealth Achiever allows you to accumulate the most cash value in your plan. As such, it’s monthly premiums are higher. 

Disability Insurance (DI) or Long Term Disability (LTD) is the cause of a lot of confusion amongst consumers. Most people have no idea what their existing plan covers and only only find out it’s limitations after they are disabled.

Along with term life insurance, disability insurance is one of the best ways to protect your income and lifestyle. It’s complicated. So its imperative that you do your due diligence when selecting the right plan for your needs and occupation. 

Canada Life Assurance offers the following plans:

• The Lifestyle Protection Plan is a non-cancellable, guaranteed renewable disability plan ideal for professionals, business owners or employees that provides a monthly benefit.
• The Independence Plan is a conditionally renewable disability plan that provides a monthly benefit for total disability and up to 9 months of benefit for partial disability. 
• The Overhead Expense Plan is a non-cancellable, guaranteed renewable disability plan for business owners. It provides a monthly benefit to reimburse you for specific business expenses during a period of disability.
• The Buy/Sell Plan is a business disability plan which allows policyholders to fund a buy/sell agreement.

Critical illness insurance is a complicated product and many people who purchase a policy, especially through a bank, think they’re covered when maybe they’re not.

To make a successful claim on a critical illness plan, your condition must meet a very specific narrow definition, as determined by the insurance company. 

It’s very important to read the fine print in these policies as there are many exclusions and definitions you need to meet before you see a dime. Read more about the ins and outs of critical illness insurance in my blog post here.

Bottom line? It’s imperative to speak with an experienced independent agent who knows the Critical Illness Insurance market inside and out! It’s worth your time and energy to make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for.

Canada Life Assurance offers the following Critical Illness plans:

• 10-Year term, renewable to age 75, convertible to age 65
• Level Term to age 75, Paid up at age 65
• Level Term to age 75, Pay to age 75
• Level Term to age 100 (permanent), Pay to age 100
• Level Term to age 100 (permanent), Paid up in 15 Years
• Child LifeAdvance is a term critical illness plan for children covering 24 conditions. Convertable at age 25 into a standalone policy

*All plans cover 25 critical illnesses

Canada Life Insurance has a massive product offering. For the purposes of this review, I’m focusing soley on their basic life insurance products. 

Canada Life Assurance also offers:

• Health and Dental Insurance
• Creditor insurance
• Segregated Funds
• Annuities
• Registered Income Funds (RIF)
• Mortgages

So I am going to do some investigation – which you should do too! Just remember, online quotes are a guesstimate and just the start of the process. Just because you see preferred rates, it doesn’t mean you qualify for them.

NOTE: NEVER rely on Online Rates solely!

Be aware of agents who promise preferred rates. The insurance company underwriter is the only one who decides how much you pay for your coverage!

To get the best quote, you need to determine your accurate rating class which ultimately determines the price. The best way to do that is to schedule a call with us here.

Age	$250,000	$500,000
35 Year Old Male	$24.08	$38.25
35 Year Old Female	$18.68	$29.25
40 Year Old Male	$31.50	$54.45
40 Year Old Female	$24.30	$41.85
45 Year Old Male	$50.85	$87.30
45 Year Old Female	$36.45	$63.45
50 Year Old Male	$81.00	$145.80
50 Year Old Female	$57.15	$100.80
55 Year Old Male	$140.85	$265.05
55 Year Old Female	$94.73	$175.95
60 Year Old Male	$260.65	$478.80
60 Year Old Female	$167.40	$321.30
65 Year Old Male	$472.50	$939.15
65 Year Old Female	$326.25	$643.05

*Quotes above are for Canada Life Assurance Company 20 Year Term Renewable, Covertible, monthly, Standard Health Class, non-smoker. Your rates may differ depending on your unique circumstances. February 2020.

“So it looks like their rates are pretty competitive but they never come up as the cheapest company. In fact, if you’re a man or “a senior citizen you can do better. 

Check out this example to get a better idea:” 

So as you can see Wawanesa is less expensive – but not by a whole lot more. 

BUT if you look at it over 20 years it’s $540.00.

The thing is rates are always pretty close in your 30’s if you get a standard rating or better. What happens as you age? Check out the rates for a man in his 60’s! 

So if you’re an older male the difference is pretty big if you select Wawanesa. To be exact he saves $8,500!

Yep.

But this isn’t all. Different companies specialize in different niches. This all hinges on your getting a standard rating.

Remember some insurers are more lenient than others for specific conditions so if he goes up a rating with another carrier the savings are even more significant.