Best Life Insurance Companies in Canada Compared

The life insurance companies below are compared on the products they sell, financial strength and how you buy from them. This page is part of the Canadian life and health insurance guides; how to compare term products and choose a term length is in best term life insurance.

Major Life Insurance Companies in Canada

Rates and Policy Types

Premiums for the same coverage differ between insurers, and the ranking shifts with age, sex and health class, so quotes from several companies are the only reliable comparison. Life insurance costs by age shows sample premiums, and term vs whole vs universal life explains the policy types each company sells. Before comparing companies, the coverage calculation sets the amount to quote on.

Profiles by Category

Online Purchase: PolicyMe

Checked on PolicyMe’s site in September 2026; confirm current limits before applying. The PolicyMe review covers its underwriting and limits. For comparing many insurers at once, the PolicyAdvisor review covers the online broker route.

No-Medical Specialist: Canada Protection Plan

Canada Protection Plan, a Foresters Financial brand since 2020, sells no-medical and simplified issue life insurance through independent advisors and its own licensed advisors. The Canada Protection Plan review covers its products and limits.

Coverage You May Already Have

Employer group plans typically provide a multiple of salary and usually end when you leave the job (employer group life insurance). Bank mortgage insurance covers only the mortgage balance and is tied to the lender (mortgage life insurance vs term life). An individual policy from one of the companies above stays with you regardless of job or lender.

How to Buy Life Insurance

Other Insurers

All of these insurers of record appear on Assuris’s list of member companies.

How to choose a life insurance company

Financial strength ratings: Agencies such as AM Best rate insurers’ financial strength. Sun Life’s investor ratings page, for example, lists an AM Best financial strength rating of A+ (Superior), and Foresters reports an A (Excellent) rating for The Independent Order of Foresters (both checked September 2026). Ratings change, so check the current rating on the insurer’s own page.

Products you need: If you also want disability insurance or critical illness coverage, full-service insurers and brokers sell them; online agencies mostly focus on term life.

Health history: Applicants who have been declined elsewhere often turn to no-medical specialists such as Canada Protection Plan, at higher prices and lower maximums.

Assuris protection: Every life and health insurance company authorized to sell insurance in Canada must be a member of Assuris, which protects policyholders if a member insurer fails. Fraternal benefit societies can choose to join; The Independent Order of Foresters, which issues Canada Protection Plan policies, is a member. For a death benefit, Assuris guarantees you keep $1,000,000 or 90% of the death benefit, whichever is higher. Like CDIC for bank deposits, it protects policyholders regardless of which member insurer they choose.

Frequently asked questions

Which Canadian life insurance company has the best claim payout rate? Whether a claim is paid depends mostly on the policy wording and on what the application disclosed, so the useful checks are how the policy defines what is covered, its exclusion clauses, and the insurer’s claims service reputation. Complaints that an insurer can’t resolve can go to the OmbudService for Life and Health Insurance (OLHI).

Related Resources

• PolicyMe vs PolicyAdvisor
• Best Critical Illness Insurance
• Best Disability Insurance Canada
• Life Insurance for Seniors
• Estate Planning Guide
• What Happens to Your Mortgage When You Die: why life insurance matters for homeowners