If you are looking through SSQ life insurance reviews then you know there are LOTS of life insurance companies out there…

…with LOTS of products!

To be honest, most people have better things to do than look through the internet and review pages of technical information about products, rates, and financial ratings.

The thing is, knowing this information is integral to saving money.

Which is why a call to Policy Architects can you thousands of dollars and a big headache.

So let’s check out SSQ life insurance to see if they are a carrier you should consider for your unique needs.

SSQ started as a social justice project by Dr. Jacques Tremblay. He was worried about the ability of Quebec’s working-class inability to afford medical care. In 1944 Cooperative de Sante du Quebec was founded providing medical care to its members. 

In 1945 the name was changed to Les Services de Sante di Quebec or SSQ! 

The goals shifted in the 1950’s to business development and customer service and they diversified their products to include life insurance and disability insurance.

In 1974 SSQ changed its status to a mutual life insurance company and they ventured into the loan and real estate markets over the coming years.

By 2000 SSQ entered into an agreement with it’s first pan Canadian group to broaden the scope of the company, acquiring businesses to achieve this goal. In 2018 they became SSQ insurance. 

SSQ has a great reputation, they:

• Were named one of the 50 best managed companies in Canada in 2003
• Started the Health InSight program to help customers get healthy and save money 

In order to keep the life insurance industry honest, it’s highly regulated. One of the businesses that grew out of this regulation is financial rating companies like Standard & Poors and AM Best.

These companies do the work for you to find out what’s going on under the hood of the life insurance company you are considering.

Basically they assess the stability of insurers and pass this information to you by way of a grade that represents confidence.

If SSQ is the company you have your eye on you’ll be happy to hear their already great rating of A- was upgraded by AM Best to an A this year!

Life insurance reviews are very hit and miss. Don’t get me wrong I always check them out – but at the end of the day, I don’t give them a lot of credence.

Why?

Because I find that they aren’t particularly accurate and there’s a lot of reasons for this.

First of all, anyone making a claim is stressed. This doesn’t ‘make for a perfect transactional environment. Any small issue may seem huge to someone counting on the money for a claim.

Secondly, life insurance companies typically have a whole host of other products. Often I see complaints about auto insurance and health insurance, but crickets when it comes to life insurance claims. Always make sure the complaints registered are about the product you want to buy…

….and finally, anyone can make a complaint. There’s no way of knowing the background of the person giving a one-star review. Are they clients? Do they have a legitimate complaint or are they trolls? There’s no way of knowing.

That said let’s check out what people are saying about SSQ Life Insurance now! 

All in all it looks like SSQ’s customer service could use some work. The common theme seems to be that people are having a hard time getting the help they need from this company.

Life insurance is an awesome product! It’s a tool that can be used to achieve all kinds of cool things like income replacement, estate planning and final expense coverage.

There are two main types of life insurance term and permanent insurance.

Most people buy coverage for income replacement. For this purpose, term insurance works best. This is temporary coverage for a period of time that you feel most vulnerable.

Because there is no guarantee your beneficiary receives a payout, the cost is substantially less than it’s cousin – permanent insurance.

Permanent insurance covers you until the day you die. This means your loved ones are guaranteed to receive a payout as long as you pay your premiums. This type of policy is much more complex.

Besides the cost and the guaranteed payout – the cash value component is one of the main differences between term and permanent coverage.

If you are considering permanent coverage I highly suggest speaking to an independent life agent BEFORE you buy it as there are many different products that include investment options, etc.

So let’s take a look at the products SSQ has to offer:

“My view is that term life is protection against premature death, while permanent life is protection against mature death when people in advanced age may encounter unexpected financial calamities, such as the loss of life savings due to market conditions, or exorbitant medical bills caused by health conditions that were never anticipated.”

Is Permanent Life Insurance Too Expensive? Financial Advisor Magazine 

All of SSQ’s whole life policies have the following benefits:

• Premiums payable for 20 years or until age 100 
• Guaranteed premiums and payouts
• Competitive guaranteed cash values (accumulation by your 10th policy anniversary)
• Reduced paid-up protection (no payments as of the 10th policy anniversary)
• Extreme disability benefit: Receive 50% of the life insurance value if you have an extreme disability

Options:

• Critical illness rider: $20K of coverage for the 3 most common illnesses 
• Child rider: up to age 25 
• Waiver of premium in case of total disability 
• Accidental death & dismemberment 
• Benefit in case of fracture 

Variations follow below:

Critical illness insurance is growing in popularity. This is because people are living after very serious illnesses. It’s a gap that’s left by life insurance, so the companies rushed to fill it. 

If you want to learn more about critical illness click here. 

“Critical illness insurance can cover the cost of replacing indispensable people who are out of work for extended periods on medical or disability leave, while buy-sell agreements provide insurance when a partner in a business dies or becomes incapacitated for an extended period.”

“It’s all part of a bigger conversation,” he says, starting with an awareness that certain people are assets to the business that will have to be replaced – and pose a detriment to the company – if they are absent. “It’s an important element of ‘what if?’ planning.”

How to protect your business from upheaval if the owner suddenly dies, Globe & Mail

Sadly I wasn’t able to pull up any more information on their products.

Each life insurance company handles their website and application process differently. SSQ opts for a very simple website.

While it’s clean and responsive, I am left with questions.

SSQ does not have an application process. They offer a number for you to call an agent  – but that’s about it.

As I have mentioned many times before you don’t want to speak with a tied agent first. They will invariably try to sell you their products – after all, that’s who pays their bills!

An independent agent does not have that sort of pressure. We work with the best life insurance companies in Canada which means we have a cross-section of options to compare. This translates into savings for YOU!

Well, here we go!  Everyone’s favourite section. Let’s take a peek to see how SSQ stacks up in terms of price.

BUYER BEWARE! Online estimates are exactly that – ESTIMATES. There is no way for an agent to give you completely accurate quotes until they find out what your personal circumstances are.

This is simply a guide to give you an idea of what it MIGHT cost you.

For the purposes of this article, I am using standard these rates. This is because most people get this rating. I don’t want to advertise Preferred Plus rates only to have people be disappointed when they apply.

The good news is if you are in terrific health these premiums may be even more affordable. Another reason to call Policy Architects today.

Age	$250,000	$500,000
35 Year Old Male	$21.38	$33.30
35 Year Old Female	$16.88	$25.20
40 Year Old Male	$29.70	$48.60
40 Year Old Female	$21.15	$35.55
45 Year Old Male	$46.80	$77.40
45 Year Old Female	$33.75	$55.35
50 Year Old Male	$74.03	$130.50
50 Year Old Female	$54.45	$89.10
55 Year Old Male	$128.70	$230.40
55 Year Old Female	$91.58	$161.10
60 Year Old Male	$245.25	$435.15
60 Year Old Female	$164.48	$308.25
65 Year Old Male	$383.93	$718.20
65 Year Old Female	$258.30	$498.60

*Quotes above are for SSQ Term Plus 20, monthly, Standard Health Class, non-smoker,  December 2019