Key takeaways:
Let's review the best no medical life insurance companies in Canada. You'll also get some tips on choosing the right company and policy for you.
Canada Protection Plan (CPP) is the leading insurer for no medical life insurance in Canada.
Unlike traditional Canadian insurers during the application process, CPP may not:
They has a variety of guaranteed no medical and simplified issue life insurance products, with both term and whole life policy options.
And if you aren't able to get regular term insurance, a simplified issue or guaranteed issue life insurance policy could be an excellent way to get some life insurance coverage and a small death benefit for your family.
This makes CPP a solid option for seniors and those who previously couldn't get coverage. The trade-off is that no medical life insurance policies are more expensive and have coverage caps compared to traditional term life insurance.
Here’s what you can expect to pay for no medical life insurance from Canada Protection Plan:
Pros and cons of Canada Protection Plan term policies:
When asked about CPP, Life Insurance Advisor, Ivana Govedarica, explains:
Canada Protection Plan has four different permanent no medical life insurance plans, the most in Canada. Each policy is designed for a different level of insurability: from the hardest to insure to those in good health.
This type of no medical life insurance covers you for your entire life, so it's a good bet if you're looking to cover expenses that will never go way, like final expenses.
Canada Protection Plan's four permanent no medical plans are:
Pros and cons of Canada Protection Plan permanent policies:
PolicyMe term life insurance is a good option for minimal health questions. We use technology to assess your risk with a 26 question online application. Most eligible applicants complete this process in 20 minutes or less.
Other underwritten life insurance companies on the market require a lengthy application, with a 45 minute medical interview.
With PolicyMe, you'll know instantly if you're approved, declined or we need more information. This may be a note from your doctor or a quick health exam (we pay for and set this up for you).
Our term policies are also more affordable because it's risk-assessed, backed by insurance giant Canadian Premier. Our term life insurance is around 5-10% cheaper than similar policies on the market.
Pros and cons of PolicyMe Term Life Insurance:
Ivana Govedarica why you might want to start the life insurance process with term:
Humania, an insurance company from Quebec, aims to provide accessible insurance and is one of Canada's oldest life insurance providers.
Humania's Insurance Without Medical Exam product asks just six eligibility questions online and is issued immediately. There’s the option to get $5,000 to $300,000 in no medical life insurance coverage for 10, 20 or 100 years.
This plan can include life insurance, critical illness and disability insurance. You can sign up for one product, or all of them.
Another option is their HuGo Life Insurance product. It’s designed to accept applications quickly, but you won’t be approved if you have a pre-existing condition.
Pros and cons of Humania Insurance Without Medical Exam:
Sun Life Go Guaranteed Life Insurance is a permanent no medical life insurance product with coverage for your entire life.
It would be a decent product for someone looking for non-medical coverage. But it's much more expensive compared to fully underwritten coverage like with PolicyMe.
Their website promises no medical questions, however if you go through the application process they do ask for a health history.
Pros and cons of Sun Life Go Guaranteed Life Insurance:
Life Insurance Advisor Ivana Govedarica's take:
Are you 60+? Check out our guide to the best life insurance companies for seniors in Canada.
Cover Direct Life Insurance is a life plan that renews every year. They ask about 12 health and lifestyle questions over the phone but there are no medical exams or blood tests.
Because Cover Direct's policies renew yearly, this means that you can't lock in your premiums. The premiums start off cheap and get more expensive every year.
This is because Cover Direct is not fully underwritten (not fully risk assessed); they take on more risk not knowing your full health profile, so they charge you more.
Whereas with a fully underwritten product like PolicyMe term life insurance, the monthly price you start with is locked in for the entire duration of your term, even if it's for 30 years.
Pros and cons of Cover Direct Life Insurance:
This type of life insurance policy isn't for everyone. Life Insurance Advisor Ivana Govedarica breaks it down:
The industry average rate for applicants with pre-existing conditions, for $500,000 in coverage for a 40 year-old, start at:
The application for no medical life insurance still includes a medical review component, but it's not as thorough as a medical exam. So your insurer won’t learn as much about your health and how risky it makes you as a policyholder.
What do insurance companies do? They charge you more (sometimes much more) for coverage. If you were waiting to hear about the catch or trade-off of no medical life insurance, this is it.
Here’s how quotes for no medical life insurance compare to standard life insurance quotes:
Interested to see how much you could save by going with term life insurance? Get a quote in just a few clicks – your rate might surprise you!
No medical life insurance (also known as simplified life insurance) works by letting applicants skip a medical exam, but they come at much greater cost when comparing quotes to traditional life insurance providers.
Although no medical life insurance might appeal to lots of people, it’s best for those who don’t qualify for a standard life insurance policy.
No medical life insurance is a good choice for Canadians who have:
Yup, swimming with sharks can be enough to exclude you from coverage even if you’re perfectly healthy. But if you can't qualify for traditional policies, a payout can still be important for your family's financial future.
No medical life insurance is used to:
Normally, when you apply for traditional life insurance, the insurance company completes an underwriting process to understand how likely you are to get an illness or die while holding your policy.
Most insurance companies will do some form of medical review to learn the nitty-gritty details about your health. This is often done by way of a medical exam (or paramedical exam) where a nurse comes to your home or office.
This process is sidestepped when you apply for no medical coverage; at a cost.
What disqualifies you from getting no medical life insurance differs from company to company. It can be as simple as not being a permanent resident or Canadian citizen.
Before disqualifying you, most life insurance companies will first vet your application, which includes a medical review.
A medical review is just a questionnaire instead of an exam or interview. So you won’t automatically qualify for no medical life insurance if you apply for it.
You still need to fill out the questionnaire. And based on your responses, you can still get denied coverage from no medical life insurance providers.
Here's how the life insurance health questionnaire typically works:
For example, you could get disqualified for no medical coverage if you’ve had a recent health scare (e.g., heart attack or stroke), have an upcoming surgery, are living with complications due to an illness like HIV, or been recently charged with impaired driving.
No. Not every life insurance applicant is required to get a medical exam to get their policy.
For example, if you apply for term life insurance through PolicyMe, you might have to undergo a medical exam. In your application, you’ll be asked a series of questions related to your medical history and lifestyle.
Most healthy applicants will be approved without having to visit a doctor if they’re:
Depending on whether you opt for simplified issue or guaranteed issue life insurance, your coverage will range anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000.
However, it’s important to note that term life insurance doesn’t always require you to complete a medical exam, either.
In order to maximize your coverage and minimize your premiums, it’s best to start with a term life insurance policy.
If your application is denied, or if you’re asked to complete a physical health exam, you can always opt out and move forward with no medical insurance instead.
The best time to get any type of life insurance is as soon as possible. As you age, your premiums will increase. The longer you wait to apply, the more expensive your policy will be. And if you have people in your life who rely on your income, it's worth it.
No medical is also a good option for those needing coverage quickly or those that want to skip a medical exam. But if you're in good health and can qualify for a traditional policy, it may be more cost-effective in the long run. Ultimately, the decision of when to buy a no medical life insurance policy depends on your individual needs.
In general, you shouldn't get no medical insurance if you are healthy without pre-existing conditions. But you can if you really don’t want to get a medical and you’re willing to pay much more to avoid it. And if you’re willing to pay almost double to avoid the nurse visit. But in most cases, shoot for the best with regular life insurance and, if it doesn't work out, you always have other options.
While this is ultimately a personal decision, it’s important to know exactly what no medical insurance means for your premiums and coverage.
Guaranteed acceptance no medical policies will approve anyone regardless of their medical status or history.
While you can’t technically be denied, sometimes no medical policies some with such heavily restricted coverage and expensive premiums that they don’t make financial sense for you to take on.
If you choose a no medical policy, evaluate the coverage, premiums, and terms carefully to ensure it provides you with the benefits you need.