Life Insurance in Canada
How much life insurance you need, which kind, and where to buy it.
Life insurance replaces income or pays debts when someone who depends on you dies. This hub is for Canadians deciding whether they need it, how much, what kind, and where to buy it without paying for coverage they won't use.
Start with the needs analysis, then term versus whole life and the cost-by-age guide. The comparison guides cover mortgage insurance versus term, group versus personal coverage, and buying online versus through a broker. Product facts come from insurers' own pages with the date checked.
Insurance needs change with your life; each guide says when to review coverage.
What this hub helps you decide:
- Do I need life insurance, and how much?
- Term or permanent?
- Group coverage or my own policy?
- Online insurer or broker?
Updated November 2026 · 10 guides by Andrew
Start here
- How Much Life Insurance Canadians Actually Need
- Term vs Whole Life in Canada: When Permanent Insurance Has a Job
- Term Life Insurance Cost by Age in Canada: What Drives Your Premium
- Best Term Life Insurance in Canada (2026)
- How to Buy Insurance Without Stacking the Same Risk Twice
New to insurance? Read the overview first: Canadian Insurance Planning Guide: What to Buy, in What Order.
All Life Insurance guides
Infinite Banking in Canada: The Pitch vs the Math
Infinite banking borrows against permanent life insurance. The pitch skips thin early cash values, loan interest, and tax above the policy’s cost basis.
Online vs Broker Life Insurance in Canada: Which Gets the Better Policy?
Neither channel is a cheaper premium on this page. FCAC says a broker sells several insurers and an agent represents a company. Compare the same term, face amount, and health class.
Term Life Insurance Cost by Age in Canada: What Drives Your Premium
There is no national term-life cost-by-age table in Canada. Age is one driver, and Canada Life’s January 2026 examples mix term, face amount, and smoking.
Best Term Life Insurance in Canada (2026)
The best term policy in 2026 matches the years you need, guarantees that premium, and names your beneficiary. This page does not rank insurers.
Mortgage Life Insurance vs Term Life Insurance
Mortgage life insurance is optional creditor coverage that pays the lender. It is not CMHC default insurance. Personal term life pays a beneficiary you name.
Group Benefits vs Personal Coverage: What Happens When You Leave Your Job
Group life and disability end when you leave the plan. The death benefit is generally tax-free. Employer-paid group life premiums are a taxable benefit.
How to Buy Insurance Without Stacking the Same Risk Twice
Government plan, then employer plan, then an individual policy for the residual. Riders, lender mortgage life, and a second travel policy are where Canadians pay twice.
Corporate-Owned Life Insurance: The CDA Credit, and When Personal Term Wins
A corporation can turn part of a life insurance death benefit into a capital dividend. That is an estate tool, not salary replacement.
Term vs Whole Life in Canada: When Permanent Insurance Has a Job
Term life is the default when the income need is temporary. Permanent coverage fits a lifelong dependant, estate tax, or a corporation.
How Much Life Insurance Canadians Actually Need
Size life insurance with human capital, DIME, or expenses, then subtract offsets. Group life that ends with the job is not permanent.