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Products and services for families and individuals

Individual insurance products

Along with helping you build and manage your investments, we can help you choose insurance products to reduce financial risk to you and your family.

  • Life insurance
  • Disability insurance
  • Critical illness insurance
  • Health and dental insurance

Life insurance

Insurance can help you manage risk. But it also has many tax advantages. Together, we can decide which insurance products are right for you.

Whether you want to leave your estate financially secure or maintain your family’s lifestyle after you die, we can recommend a life insurance product to suit your needs. Even while you’re living, some permanent life insurance policies can build a cash value you can draw upon as needed for personal or business opportunities.

Disability insurance

Your ability to earn an income is likely your most valuable asset. A disability insurance policy may help ensure you can meet your daily financial needs if you are unable to work. We offer disability insurance for professionals, business owners and employees.

Critical illness insurance

The chances of suffering from and surviving a critical illness are greater than you think. Critical illness insurance can help you meet the financial burdens caused by a critical illness or condition. It offers a one-time, lump-sum benefit that you can use however you choose.

Health and dental insurance

To supplement your provincial government plan’s coverage, we offer enhanced healthcare protection for actively employed individuals and their families and for people at or near retirement age.

Life insurance

Having the right life insurance protection can make a big difference to your life and the lives of those closest to you. Life insurance can be used to protect the things and the people who you love, and it can mean the difference between leaving your estate financially secure and leaving behind debts and an inadequate income.

If you are not sure which kind of life insurance is right for you, we can help you determine which life insurance may meet your short-term and long-term needs and preferences for flexibility and risk.

Types of life insurance

Term life insurance

Term life insurance generally provides the most coverage for the lowest initial cost.

Permanent life insurance

Permanent life insurance protects you for your lifetime. It also has the added benefit of building cash value that you can draw on later. There are two types of permanent life insurance: participating life insurance and universal life insurance.

Participating life insurance

Participating life insurance (or whole life insurance) provides permanent life insurance protection with a tax-advantaged cash value component*. Participating insurance doesn’t require hands-on management by the policyowner. Instead, Canada Life’s professional investment managers manage the assets of the participating account which back the cash value.

Universal life insurance

Universal life insurance provides a traditional life insurance component with a tax-advantaged investment component. You select an investment mix that is as individual as you are—taking into account your financial goals and circumstances and the amount of investment risk you’re comfortable with. This type of policy is attractive for people who want to actively manage their life insurance policy.

* If the accumulation stays within prescribed limits, the cash value is only subject to income tax when it’s withdrawn

Charitable giving

If charitable giving is an important part of your financial strategy, we can work with you to ensure the funding of your favorite charitable organizations are considered in your estate plan.

Disability insurance

Accidents and illnesses are facts of life. They can happen to anyone at any time. Did you know:

  • One in three people, on average, will be disabled for 90 days or longer at least once before age 65 1
  • The average length of a disability that lasts over 90 days is 2.9 years. 1

We can provide disability coverage that’s designed to help address your needs and protect your ability to earn an income—something that could be jeopardized the second a disability strikes. we can help tailor a disability insurance plan to meet your needs.

References

1CIA 86-92 Aggregate Table & 1985 Commissioner’s Disability Table A (Experience Table)

Critical illness insurance

No one plans to get sick, but when something unexpected happens, you can help yourself and your family by being financially prepared.

Critical illness insurance is designed to help financially support patients before, during and after treatment by providing a lump-sum benefit when a critical illness, as defined by the policy, is diagnosed, and you satisfy the waiting period.

Consider some of the potential uses for the funds from a critical illness insurance policy:

  • Modifications to your home
  • Private nursing or domestic help
  • Timely treatment outside Canada
  • Additional staff to run your business

Health and dental insurance

As Canadians, we’re fortunate to have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but government healthcare coverage may not provide all you need.

You may be left to pay for expenses such as:

  • Certain prescription drugs
  • Dental visits
  • Eye exams
  • Paramedic services
  • Ambulance transport

Enhanced healthcare plans can help protect you against these and other unexpected health and dental expenses.

Mutual funds

Through my mutual fund dealer Quadrus Investment Services Ltd., wholly owned by Canada Life, we can offer you powerful investment choices through the exclusive Quadrus Group of Funds.

Mutual funds allow individuals to pool their savings in a portfolio of investments managed by professional money managers. Because of the large amount of money in the pool, mutual funds can diversify a portfolio more widely than an individual may be able to when investing on their own.

  • Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)
  • Registered education savings plan (RESP)
  • Registered retirement income fund (RRIF)
  • Tax-free savings account (TFSA)
  • Registered disability savings plan (RDSP)

Features and benefits

Mutual funds offer a number of features and benefits, including:

Liquidity:

Mutual fund units may generally be redeemed at any time. The redemption value will depend on the unit value at the close of the market on the day before redemption and may be lower or higher than the purchase price.

Diversification:

While an investment in a single company or industry exposes an investor to the ups and downs of that company or industry, mutual funds allow investors to diversify their portfolios among many different companies and industries within Canada and across the world. Through a selection of funds managed by different fund managers, investors may also benefit from diversity of investment style.

Returns:

Mutual funds offer the potential for higher returns compared to guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) and deferred annuities. However, mutual funds also carry more risk.

Professional management:

Unit holders benefit from the expertise of professional managers who have training and experience in the investment field. Fund managers continually research and monitor markets, trends and the companies in which they invest to maintain proper diversification, and to maximize returns consistent with the fund’s objectives.

Cost-effectiveness:

Mutual funds are one of the most cost-effective ways to own a diversified, professionally managed portfolio. Mutual funds allow you to invest in several different companies at a fraction of the cost of buying individual units of each of the companies in similar proportions to the mutual fund.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Segregated funds

Like a mutual fund, a segregated fund pools money from thousands of investors which professional fund managers invest in a variety of securities. Segregated fund policies are only available through insurance companies and take the form of individual variable life insurance contracts offering certain guarantees to the policyholder such as reimbursement of capital upon death. As required by law, these funds are fully segregated from the company’s general operating funds.

Put the benefits of segregated fund policies to work for you.

Death benefit and maturity guarantees

Segregated fund policies protect part or all of your capital investment. They guarantee the value of the policy on its maturity date, as well as the value received on the death of the last insured person.

Estate bypass

When you designate a beneficiary other than your estate, the value of your segregated fund policy flows directly to him/her, generally bypassing the estate and potential probate fees, if any.

Creditor protection potential

Laws may protect a segregated fund policy in the event of bankruptcy or other action by creditors. It’s important to note that potential creditor protection depends on court decisions, which can be subject to change and can vary for each province. This protection cannot be guaranteed. You should talk to your lawyer to find out more about the potential for creditor protection for your specific situation

Lifetime income benefit option

Take control of your retirement and income by guaranteeing your income for life. With the lifetime income benefit option, your income won’t decrease regardless of how the segregated funds perform unless excess withdrawals are taken. You get protection against the risk of outliving your money, market volatility and inflation.

You can choose to receive guaranteed income for life on select Canada Life segregated fund policies—find out more on the lifetime income benefit website.

Features and guarantees vary by policy and age of annuitant and some limitations apply. Maturity and death benefit guarantees are reduced proportionately by withdrawals.

Amounts taken in a calendar year that are greater than the lifetime income amount are generally considered excess withdrawals.

A description of the key features of the segregated fund policy is contained in the information folder. Any amount allocated to a segregated fund is invested at the risk of the policyowner and may increase or decrease in value.

Mortgages

Financing a home may be the biggest financial decision you ever make. We can help you make the right decision by putting you in contact with a Canada Life mortgage planning specialist who will help you choose the mortgage that’s right for your lifestyle and budget.

Rate options

Variable rate mortgage

Canada Life’s variable rate mortgage offers the advantages of an interest rate that floats based on their prime rate over a five-year term.

Lock and roll mortgage

Canada Life’s lock and roll mortgage offers the convenience of a five-year term mortgage plus the advantage of a preferred short-term rate.

Fixed rate terms

Choose from the following terms:

  • Six months and one-year open mortgage
  • Six months and one-year convertible mortgage
  • Two-, three-, four-, five-, seven- and 10-year closed mortgages

Flexible features

Canada Life residential mortgages include several flexible features:

  • Pre-approval
  • Competitive interest rates
  • 90-day rate commitment period
  • Amortization periods up to 35 years
  • Monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly or weekly payments
  • Pre-payment privileges:
    • Double payments
    • Up to 15 per cent increase in regular payments
    • Up to 15 per cent annual lump-sum payments
  • Portable
  • Assumable

Special financing options

Canada Life mortgage planning specialists have a complete range of innovative options such as:

  • Low-cost re-advance program
  • Construction financing
  • Refinance option
  • Bridge financing

Individual life insurance protection to cover your mortgage

Whether you’re buying a home or renewing your existing mortgage, there’s something you need to consider. What happens to your family’s dreams if you should die? Would your family be able to stay in their home?

Through a personal life insurance policy, you can plan to meet more of your family’s needs in the event of death—including staying in your dream home. Talk to us today to discuss your insurance needs.