Insurance · Life

Best life insurance in Canada

We compare 8 major Canadian life insurers on what actually matters before you buy — which products they offer, what you can buy online, issue ages, coverage ranges, and financial strength. Premiums are quote-based, so start with how much you need, then compare insurers.

Best for your situation

Buying term online

Instant, no-advisor term: PolicyMe approves most applicants in real time; Sun Life Go and Manulife CoverMe also quote and issue online.

No-medical & guaranteed issue

When health is a barrier: Canada Protection Plan does no-medical on every plan; RBC’s Guaranteed Acceptance goes to $40K; iA’s Access Life issues to age 80.

Whole life for estate planning

Permanent participating coverage for lifelong/estate needs: Canada Life runs the largest par account; Sun Life and Empire are par specialists.

The 8 insurers at a glance

InsurerBuy online?ProductsIssue ageFinancial strength
Canada Life Largest participating whole life Advisor Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical My Term to age 85 minus term; My Simple Term 18–80 AM Best A+ · DBRS AA · Moody’s Aa3 · S&P AA Review
Manulife (CoverMe) Most you can buy online Yes Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical, Guaranteed issue CoverMe Term 18–70; CoverMe Guaranteed Issue 40–75 AM Best A+ · DBRS AA (Manufacturers Life) Review
Sun Life Online term + final expense Yes Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical, Guaranteed issue Go Term/Simplified 18–69; Go Guaranteed Life 30–74 AM Best A+ · Moody’s Aa3 · DBRS AA Review
RBC Insurance Highest guaranteed-acceptance cap Yes Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical, Guaranteed issue Term 18–70 (10–15 yr); Whole 0–80; UL 0–85; Guaranteed Acceptance 40–75 AM Best A (Excellent) — see note Review
iA Financial Group Widest term flexibility Advisor Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical, Guaranteed issue Pick-a-Term 0–70; Access Life 6 months–80 AM Best A+ · DBRS AA (low) Details
Empire Life Participating whole-life focus Advisor Term, Whole, Universal, No-medical, Guaranteed issue Solution 20: 18–65; Guaranteed Life Protect 40–75 DBRS A (high) · AM Best A (Excellent) Details
Canada Protection Plan No-medical specialist Advisor Term, Whole, No-medical, Guaranteed issue Permanent plans 18–80; Guaranteed Acceptance 18–75 AM Best A · DBRS A (Foresters) Review
PolicyMe Best fully-online term Yes Term, No-medical 18–75 AM Best A (per PolicyMe) — see note Review

Products, issue ages and ratings are sourced to each insurer's own site and the rating agencies (links in every card). Premiums are individually quoted — we don't publish fake prices.

Insurer details

Canada Life

Underwritten by The Canada Life Assurance Company · Assuris member

Largest participating whole life

My Term (any length 5–50 years) and no-medical My Simple Term, plus Canada’s largest participating whole-life account for estate planning.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
My Term: any 5–50 yr; My Simple Term: 10/15/20/25 yr
Issue age
My Term to age 85 minus term; My Simple Term 18–80
Coverage
Simple Protect fast-path to $2M; product min/max not published
No-medical
My Simple Term — no medical tests, short health questionnaire, ages 18–80, terms 10/15/20/25
How to buy
Advisor (online quote, phone application)
Financial strength
AM Best A+ · DBRS AA · Moody’s Aa3 · S&P AA

Standout

Term converts to permanent with no new medical evidence up to age 70; participating whole life (largest open par account) for estate planning

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • Product min/max face amounts for My Term / My Simple Term are not published on consumer pages (the $2M figure is a fast-application threshold, not a cap).
  • No standalone guaranteed-issue life product confirmed — the no-medical offering is simplified-issue My Simple Term.

Manulife (CoverMe)

Underwritten by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company · Assuris member

Most you can buy online

A full advisor lineup plus CoverMe — instant online term, easy-issue and guaranteed-issue you can buy without an advisor.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
CoverMe online: 10 & 20 yr; advisor Family Term
Issue age
CoverMe Term 18–70; CoverMe Guaranteed Issue 40–75
Coverage
CoverMe Term $100K–$2M; Guaranteed Issue $5K–$25K
No-medical
CoverMe Easy Issue (2 questions, $50K/$75K); CoverMe Guaranteed Issue (40–75, $5K–$25K, no questions, online)
How to buy
Online (CoverMe) + advisor
Financial strength
AM Best A+ · DBRS AA (Manufacturers Life)

Standout

Buy term, easy-issue or guaranteed-issue fully online; Manulife Par & UL for estate planning; CoverMe Term renewable to 85/89

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • AM Best A+ is headline-level (AM Best and manulife.com ratings pages block automated fetch) — confirm the full release before relying on it.
  • Manulife Par / UL and Family Term issue ages and face min/max are advisor-quoted and not published on overview pages.

Sun Life

Underwritten by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada · Assuris member

Online term + final expense

Advisor Evolve Term (5–40 yr, to $25M) plus Sun Life Go — buy term, simplified-issue or guaranteed-acceptance final-expense online.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
Evolve 5–40 yr; Go Term 10 & 20 yr
Issue age
Go Term/Simplified 18–69; Go Guaranteed Life 30–74
Coverage
Evolve $50K–$25M; Go Term $100K–$1M; Go Guaranteed $5K–$25K
No-medical
Go Simplified Term (3 health questions, $50K/$75K/$100K); Go Guaranteed Life (no questions, 30–74, $5K–$25K)
How to buy
Online (Sun Life Go) + advisor
Financial strength
AM Best A+ · Moody’s Aa3 · DBRS AA

Standout

Buy online via Sun Life Go; Evolve term converts to permanent with no new medical up to age 75; Sun Par for estate planning

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • Sun Life product-page facts were sourced via search snippets because sunlife.ca returned 403 to automated fetch — eyeball each cited URL before relying on the bands/ages.
  • Issue ages for Evolve Term and the permanent/par products are underwriting-set and not isolated on primary pages; the exact S&P symbol was not confirmed.

RBC Insurance

Underwritten by RBC Life Insurance Company · Assuris member

Highest guaranteed-acceptance cap

YourTerm (10–40 yr, to $25M), participating Growth whole life, and Simplified Term + Guaranteed Acceptance (to $40K) you can buy online.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
YourTerm / Simplified Term 10–40 yr
Issue age
Term 18–70 (10–15 yr); Whole 0–80; UL 0–85; Guaranteed Acceptance 40–75
Coverage
YourTerm to $25M; Guaranteed Acceptance $5K–$40K
No-medical
Simplified Term (no exam ≤$1M, health questionnaire); Guaranteed Acceptance Life (40–75, $5K–$40K, no questions, online)
How to buy
Online (Simplified Term / Guaranteed Acceptance) + advisor
Financial strength
AM Best A (Excellent) — see note

Standout

Guaranteed Acceptance up to $40K — higher than the usual $25K cap; term converts to permanent with no new medical before age 71

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • RBC Life Insurance Company’s financial-strength rating could not be confirmed on a fetchable primary source (AM Best ≈ A per snippet; the DBRS AA appears to attach to parent Royal Bank, not the insurer) — verify before publishing.
  • Whether YourTerm completes fully online or moves to phone application varies by eligibility.

iA Financial Group

Underwritten by Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. · Assuris member

Widest term flexibility

Pick-a-Term (any length 10–40 years, to $20M), participating and universal life, and Access Life guaranteed-acceptance to age 80.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
Pick-a-Term: any 10–40 yr (T10–T40)
Issue age
Pick-a-Term 0–70; Access Life 6 months–80
Coverage
Pick-a-Term $25K–$20M; Access Life $10K–$500K
No-medical
Access Life — guaranteed acceptance, no medical, issue to age 80, V100 permanent plus T15/T20/T25, three tiers
How to buy
Advisor (online price check)
Financial strength
AM Best A+ · DBRS AA (low)

Standout

Access Life guaranteed-acceptance to age 80 with up to $500K (high for no-medical); participating whole life for estate planning

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • Whether the online "Check my price" tool issues a binding policy or an estimate-to-advisor is not stated.
  • DBRS confirmation date was read from the release title; open the DBRS page to confirm.

Empire Life

Underwritten by The Empire Life Insurance Company · Assuris member

Participating whole-life focus

Solution Series term (10–30 yr), EstateMax/Optimax participating whole life, Trilogy universal life, and Guaranteed Life Protect final-expense.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
Solution 10/20/25/30 + ART (annual renewable)
Issue age
Solution 20: 18–65; Guaranteed Life Protect 40–75
Coverage
Term $25K–$20M (66+ from $10K); Guaranteed Life Protect to $50K
No-medical
Guaranteed Life Protect — no medical or lifestyle questions, ages 40–75, to $50K, graded benefit in the first 24 months
How to buy
Advisor (instant online quote for Simplified term only)
Financial strength
DBRS A (high) · AM Best A (Excellent)

Standout

EstateMax & Optimax Wealth participating whole life for estate planning; Guaranteed Life Protect for final expenses

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • Several Empire PDFs and the AM Best/DBRS detail pages returned 403; some facts came from primary-domain content via search — eyeball the product guides before relying on exact bands.
  • AM Best ratings were withdrawn at Empire’s request in May 2021 then re-affirmed A (Excellent) — confirm current active status.

Canada Protection Plan

Underwritten by The Independent Order of Foresters / Foresters Life Insurance Company · Assuris member

No-medical specialist

Canada’s no-medical / simplified-issue leader — term and permanent with no exam, plus Guaranteed Acceptance to age 75, underwritten by Foresters.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
No-medical term 10/20/25/30 yr
Issue age
Permanent plans 18–80; Guaranteed Acceptance 18–75
Coverage
No-medical up to $1M (healthy applicants); Guaranteed Acceptance to $50K
No-medical
Every plan is no-medical; Guaranteed Acceptance Life cannot be declined for health (18–75, to $50K, 2-year limited benefit for non-accidental death)
How to buy
Advisor-assisted (apply online or by phone)
Financial strength
AM Best A · DBRS A (Foresters)

Standout

The go-to when health issues make standard underwriting hard — no medical on every plan, issues to age 80, simplified-issue up to $1M for healthier applicants

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • Term-life maximum issue ages by term length were not on a cpp.ca primary page.
  • AM Best has separate actions for Foresters Life Insurance Company vs The Independent Order of Foresters — confirm the specific entity’s current rating.

PolicyMe

Underwritten by Canadian Premier Life Insurance Company (operating as Securian Canada) · Assuris member

Best fully-online term

Buy term life online in about 10 minutes with an instant decision — accelerated underwriting means no medical exam for most. Term only, no permanent.

Term Whole Universal No-medical Guaranteed issue
Term lengths
10/15/20/25/30 yr (renews yearly to age 85)
Issue age
18–75
Coverage
$50K–$5M ($100K minimum under age 51)
No-medical
Accelerated underwriting — no medical exam for most applicants; some may need a nurse visit if required
How to buy
Online (instant decision) + optional advisor
Financial strength
AM Best A (per PolicyMe) — see note

Standout

~10-minute online application with real-time approval; free $10K child coverage included; term only (no whole/permanent option)

What to confirm before you rely on this
  • The AM Best "A or higher" rating is sourced only to PolicyMe’s own page — confirm the letter grade and date on ambest.com for Canadian Premier Life.
  • Term only; a permanent / term-to-100 option was hinted in marketing but the legal summary lists conversion privileges, not a standalone permanent product.

Not sure how much coverage you need?

Use the needs calculator, then decide between term and permanent with our explainer.

This comparison is for educational purposes only and is not insurance advice. Product availability, issue ages, coverage ranges and financial-strength ratings are set by each insurer and the rating agencies, vary by product, and change over time; the details above are sourced to each insurer's own site and were verified on June 13, 2026. Premiums are individually underwritten and quoted. Confirm current products and terms — and speak with a licensed advisor — before buying. See our methodology.