Life Insurance FAQ

You should buy enough life insurance to cover all of the needs you have identified. Figuring out what your life is worth – or what kind and how much insurance you need, is not that difficult. You can get an idea using our Insurance Needs Calculator, or you can call one of our Licensed Insurance Advisors and they will be happy to help you through the process. Once you are done, you will know whether you need permanent insurance or term insurance, or both, and how much of each.

There are only two basic types of policies: Permanent Life Insurance and Term Life Insurance.

Permanent Life Insurance provides permanent protection – coverage as long as you need it, which means coverage until you die. This type of insurance:

• Costs more, which makes sense because as long as you continue to pay premiums, this type of insurance will always pay out a death benefit.
• Usually offers a partial refund of premiums if, for some reason, you decide to cancel your policy before you die. This refund is called a “cash value”.
• Often offers a variety of premium payment options. Some permanent insurance plans are payable for as long as they are in force (sometimes called Whole Life insurance), while other plans allow you to pay a larger premium for a shorter period of time, such as 20 years.
• May offer a variety of additional benefits, either at no cost, such as a Terminal Illness Benefit, or for an additional premium, such as an Accidental Death Benefit.

Term Life Insurance covers the insured for a set period of time (i.e. the term).  Generally, protection is provided in 10, 20 or 30- year terms or, for any other period that is defined in the policy. At the end of the term period, the insurance may end, or you may be able to extend it for another term. You may also be able to convert your Term Insurance policy into a Permanent Insurance policy. This type of insurance:

• Costs less than permanent insurance. Usually, the shorter the term period, the lower the premium.
• Only pays a death benefit if you die during the term period. If you live beyond the term period, this plan does not pay a death benefit.
• Does not include any cash value if you cancel it early, and
• Like Permanent Insurance, may offer a variety of additional benefits, either at no cost, or for an additional premium.

Insurance companies have different ways of assessing risk, or deciding what policy you qualify for. The two broad approaches are referred to as “Traditional insurance” and “No Medical or Simplified Issue Insurance”:

• Traditional insurance is underwritten or assessed by an insurance company using an application that may be 20 to 40 pages long, with medical tests and doctor’s reports. It typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to be issued.
  • This type of insurance tends to be less expensive for healthier applicants who want larger amounts of insurance.
• No Medical & Simplified Issue insurance is typically underwritten with just a few medical questions, no doctors and no tests. It typically takes just a few days to be issued.
  • This type of insurance tends to be for smaller amounts of insurance and/or applicants who have more health issues. And it is often only available in one plan type – smaller amounts of permanent insurance.

Canada Protection Plan specializes in No Medical & Simplified Issue life insurance. We offer much larger amounts of insurance (up to $1,000,000). And we offer both permanent insurance and many different term insurance options. We also offer a wide variety of simplified underwriting options, from very few simple questions for an applicant with very serious health issues all the way to what we consider to be the simplest form of traditional underwriting for a healthy applicant. Because we offer so many choices, our plans offer better value than some No Medical plans available in Canada. Canada Protection Plan believes that No Medical & Simplified Issue insurance can be an excellent insurance solution for many. Our Licensed Insurance Advisors will help you to determine if No Medical & Simplified Issue Insurance is right for you. Our advisors can take the mystery out of insurance and help you to complete the necessary applications and obtain the insurance that you need.

Does life insurance cover death from a global health crisis like COVID-19?
Yes, once your life insurance policy is in place and based on your honest and accurate answers on the application, it will pay out for all types of death – including anything related to complications from COVID-19 or any other disease.

Can I still buy life insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes, we understand the fear and uncertainty surrounding this time. Please be assured that our goal is to continue to offer reliable, affordable life and critical illness insurance coverage to you and your families. While we have implemented additional guidelines surrounding COVID-19, all of our plans and coverages are available.

How soon after I apply will I be covered for life insurance?
Once your policy is approved, with no change in health upon delivery, your coverage will be inforce effective immediately.

Do I need a medical exam because of Coronavirus in order to apply for life insurance coverage?
With Canada Protection Plan we offer No Medical required insurance coverage which means that no doctors’ visits or needles are necessary. You may be asked a few screening questions in relation to COVID-19 exposure, however all of our Life and Critical Illness Insurance plans are available.

Can I get coverage if I recently traveled to or plan to travel outside of Canada?
If you have recently travelled abroad, we would recommend that you follow governmental guidelines and self-isolate for 14 days. After you have returned to Canada for 21 days, if you remain symptom free, you may qualify for coverage.

Am I covered by trip cancellation or interruption insurance if I wish to interrupt my trip due to COVID-19?
As of this date, Travel Insurance is not available. You may want to speak with your travel advisor for full details.

During this unprecedented time it is vital for us all to stay informed and be responsible in both our personal and business activities.

At Canada Protection Plan we continue to ensure ease of doing business with the same level of quality and service. All applications and no-obligation quotes have the ease and convenience to be completed over the phone. Our customer care center is open, and we can be reached should you have any questions.

We thank you for placing your trust in Canada Protection Plan. We are continually working to meet your insurance needs.

This Covid-19 Communication is not in any way intended to be part of or interpreting any existing or future acquired insurance policy and is provided for information purposes only.