Joint life insurance is a single policy that covers two people and provides a financial payout to the named beneficiaries.
This applies both to couples that are married and who are common-law.
Joint life insurance comes in two main types: first-to-die and last-to-die.
If one partner passes during the term of the life insurance, their beneficiary gets a tax-free, lump-sum payment that they can use however they want.
Couples can use a life insurance payout to cover:
Couples need life insurance to make sure their partner (and any other dependents, like kids) has a financial safety net in the worst-case scenario.
In most cases, a joint term life insurance policy is the best suited for young families with children. It provides coverage for your dependents until they reach adulthood, a period spanning 10 to 20 years.
Joint life insurance works the same as other types of life insurance: it provides a financial safety net for your partner (or other dependents) if you pass away.
Here's how joint life insurance usually works in Canada:
The payout, also known as the death benefit, can be used for:
Another thing to note: joint life insurance can be temporary or permanent.
Permanent policies: offer coverage that lasts your entire life and comes with a cash value component that earns interest and grows over time. Whole life insurance is one type of permanent policy. It's usually the best option for high-net-worth individuals with complex estate planning needs.
Term policies: provide for any temporary financial dependents, such as kids, for a period spanning 10 to 30 years. It's also useful when debt, like your mortgage, is at its highest. Term life insurance is often the best option for married or common-law couples and young families with children.
Joint life insurance policies can be tough to divide if you and your partner decide to divorce or separate before the policy's term is up.
Fortunately, you have options if you have a joint policy and you and your partner split:
Joint life insurance is a single policy that covers two people, with one premium. As we've said, these policies are often cheaper than buying two separate life insurance policies.
That said, individual life insurance gives you the flexibility to pick different policy lengths, conditions and coverage amounts for you and your partner.
Joint life insurance is the better option if:
Individual life insurance policies are the better option if:
Joint policies typically insure the couple at the rate of the healthiest partner. So it can be a big advantage to get coverage for a partner who might otherwise be uninsurable or would net expensive premiums on their own.
But at that point, buying a new policy when you are older will cost more. It's more likely you'll have health issues and this increased risk for the life insurance company means higher premiums for you.
In short: If you’re looking to provide a financial safety net for your partner or family, a separate life insurance policy, versus a joint one, is often the best and most flexible option.
PolicyMe offers the best of both worlds: couples can customize their own term policy and get a discount for applying together. You also get $10,000 in free child coverage for each policy.
There are a three main types of joint life insurance policies:
Which type you get depends on your family's priorities. We've broken down the differences between each policy in the chart below.
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A joint first-to-die life insurance policy pays out the death benefit after the first person passes away. This type of policy may be right if you have:
A first-to-die life insurance policy is similar to an individual life insurance policy, as it helps reduce the impact of the loss in income when a partner passes away. It covers expenses such as a mortgage, debts or childcare.
Once the policy pays out the death benefit, the policy is no longer active. If the surviving partner wants coverage, they would have to purchase a new policy.
This can be problematic if the surviving partner passes away prematurely and has no coverage in place to pay off debts or support financial dependents, like the kids.
The bottom line: First-to-die policies work similarly to an individual life insurance policy and are best for couples with large debts or expenses paid for by one spouse.
A joint last-to-die policy, known as survivorship life insurance, pays out after both policyholders pass.
These policies are used for legacy planning and estate purposes, like
A last-to-die policy is probably not the best option for covering current obligations or if you want a payout to go to your spouse.
Typically, a couple will name their children as the beneficiary to ensure financial stability after both parents are gone. It can also be used to reduce any estate taxes and reduce end-of-life costs for the surviving family.
The bottom line: Joint last-to-die policies are best used for estate planning and legacy planning purposes. Couples can use a last-to-die policy to ensure their children’s financial future.
Combined life insurance isn’t actually a joint life insurance policy at all. It works differently from first-to-die and last-to-die insurance, where one policy covers both people in a relationship.
Instead, combined life insurance joins two separate policies, with different terms, conditions and payouts.
When each partner holds their own policy, two separate death benefits can be paid out. However, insurers will often offer a discount for combining policies since they only have to charge a single policy fee when underwriting two people at the same time.
There are advantages and disadvantages of getting a joint life insurance policy with your partner, as opposed to two separate policies.
If you know you need life insurance but you don't know how much, try our term life insurance calculator. It'll help calculate enough coverage for your entire family. Or get a no-obligation quote online in just a few clicks.
And you save 10% on the first year of your life insurance policies when you and your partner both apply for PolicyMe Term Life Insurance.
A single life insurance policy only covers one person.
If you choose to go this route, you and your partner will purchase and hold policies separate from one another.
You can combine your policies if you apply for them at the same time.
Worried about adding life insurance to an already stretched budget? Couples life insurance is more affordable than you think.
There are a few life insurance companies in Canada that offer joint life insurance policies:
Or consider PolicyMe. While we don't offer joint policies, but we do offer a first-year 10% discount on premiums for couples who apply together for term life insurance.How much life insurance coverage a couples needs in Canada will depend on their particular situation.
How do you find the sweet spot between purchasing too much coverage and not buying enough?
These questions will help you start thinking about the right coverage amount for your family. Use them as a thought-starter to help bring clarity to how much life insurance you need for your specific situation
Calculate how much income you’ll need to provide for your family, and you also need to estimate how long of a period of time that coverage will be necessary to keep your family afloat. Everyone will answer these questions differently.
The best time for couples to get life insurance is when either of them depend on each others' income.
Are you in a relationship with shared financial obligations and dependents in your care?
If so, it’s time to start thinking about couples life insurance. The sooner the better, for young married and common-law couples alike.
In a recent survey, we found that while 77% of Canadian parents have life insurance, many either have:
It might sound obvious, but the risk of passing away is low if you’re healthy. So life insurance might seem like an unnecessary expense, but no one plans to pass away young.
The purpose of couples life insurance is to help safeguard your family from the financial impact of an unexpected death. This applies to both joint life insurance and individual life insurance.
Use our free life insurance calculator to get an idea of how much couples life insurance might cost.
Rachelle has been married to her husband Ben for four years; they have a three-year-old daughter together and pay a mortgage on their home.
After getting Ben on board, they applied for life insurance with PolicyMe. They weren’t sure how much coverage they’d need, but then he asked a question that clarified things for both of them.
Ben asked, “What would make life a bit easier if you and our daughter were left in a tricky financial situation?”
They decided it’d be ideal to have enough to:
They also opted to include coverage equal to a year of salary. This brought them to a life insurance policy of $700,000.
Using PolicyMe’s online life insurance calculator, they were approved in minutes and had their policies set up within a week.
“The weight of the financial “what if” was lifted, and trust me, it’s a beautiful feeling,” says Rachelle.
“So here’s my advice: tonight, while your partner looks for something to watch on Netflix, grab your phone and fill out an application. I promise, you’ll have it done before they find a show, and you can rest easy knowing that you’re both protected.”
For many couples, particularly if they’re young and healthy, term life insurance policies offer enough coverage to insure against a worst-case scenario.
Most insurance companies offer term life insurance but may require in-office appointments for consultation, approval and paperwork.
Life gets busy with work, errands and the kids constantly underfoot. So we’ve made it easy for parents to find affordable life insurance coverage even if a thousand other things are going on.
Compare our rates for term life insurance against some of our competitors below.
Read full reviews of the best life insurance providers.
If you're like most couples in Canada, you have bills to pay, mortgage payments to cover, and kids to take care of, no matter what happens. Getting a life insurance quote online and finding the right coverage for your family can be quick and easy.
Whether joint life insurance pays out twice depends on the type of joint life insurance you hold. For example, first-to-die and last-to-die insurance only pay out once because they operate as one policy covering two people.
However, combined life insurance does pay out twice. It’s when you and your spouse opt for two separate policies from the same insurance company at the same time. Two policies = two payouts.
Generally, yes—it’s cheaper to get life insurance as a couple whether you opt for one policy, or even two policies at the same time (in the case of combined life insurance) than to get life insurance separately, at different times.
Because it’s more efficient for your insurer to underwrite two people at the same time, there’s usually a small discount involved when you apply for insurance as a couple.
How much life insurance married couples need depends on your goals. If you were to pass, would you want your home paid off? Your children’s RESPs funded? For your spouse to receive funds to supplement their income?
There’s no hard and fast rule, but consider things like
In general, policies are often purchased for anywhere between 5 and 10 times the holder’s annual salary. According to the Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association, the average Canadian household is insured for about $442,000.
You don't necessarily need life insurance when you get married.
The purpose of life insurance is to leave behind a financial safety net for your family in case you or your partner passes.
If you're married and have shared financial obligations, like a mortgage or young kids, it’s a good idea to consider getting life insurance. That way your family will have a financial cushion if you weren't there to support them.
Of course, you don't need to be married to share financial obligations. Any committed relationship, such as common-law, can mean shared financial obligations which means you probably need life insurance.
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