Term life insurance in Canada

The answer to this question depends on several factors, including your salary, whether you have other life insurance, your financial obligations and more. Generally, 5-7 times your current net income is recommended. However, your specific needs could be less than or greater than this recommendation.

Speak to an RBC Advisor if you’d like to learn more: 1-866-757-2595

If you smoke, you may still apply for coverage. You will qualify for non-smoker rates only if you have not used any form of tobacco products within the last 12 months. If you occasionally smoke or if you have quit smoking in the last 12 months, you are considered a smoker.

Once the policy is issued, you can apply for a change to non-smoker rates if you have gone a full 12-month period without using any form of tobacco products. Contact us and apply for a switch to non-smoker rates. You will have to complete a medical questionnaire and we will send out a nurse to collect medical evidence, most likely a urinalysis. Once our underwriters have approved your application and your eligibility is confirmed, you will be switched to non-smoker rates.

You may apply for RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance or RBC YourTerm^® Life Insurance if you are:

• From age 18 to age 70 for Terms 10 to 15. For Terms 16 to 40, the maximum issue age would be age 85 less the selected Term. For example, if a Term 25 policy is desired, the max issue age is 60 (85-25).
• If you want to apply for RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance online, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident/landed immigrant who has been in Canada for more than 12 months.

Preferred rates only apply to RBC YourTerm^®.¹ Preferred rates also depend on your family history, your health and lifestyle factors, whether you participate in dangerous sports, and more. Please contact us for more information. For people aged 18-55, preferred rates start at $1,000,001, and for people aged 55-80, preferred rates start at $500,000.

Once you are approved, your policy will contain a premium schedule that will show all premiums payable, including the renewal premiums that would apply at the end of your term. As long as you continue to pay your premiums, your coverage will continue at these rates.

Premiums are guaranteed for the life of the policy and will be specified in the policy schedule included in the insurance contract. Premiums remain the same for the term length selected. After that term length passes, premiums will renew annually.

Here’s an example to help illustrate how it works: A 25 year old female, non-smoker applies for $1,500,000 in coverage with a Term 20. Premiums are the same at $51.12/month for the next 20 years. At the end of the 20 years, the coverage will renew with premiums increasing year over year.

You will pay premiums for the length of your term (from 10 to 40 years), depending on the term policy you have selected. Coverage can be renewed annually after the initial Term until age 100, at which time coverage continues but premiums are no longer required.

You may pay for your policy on a monthly or annual basis.

• If you are paying by monthly pre-authorized debit, we will automatically charge your account when you are approved for coverage.
• If you select to pay on an annual basis, we will send out an invoice for the annual premium. You can also save money by paying annually.
• If you buy RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance online, you can use a credit card in the name of the policyholder.
• If you buy RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance over the phone, you can use a credit card in the name of the policyholder or set up pre-authorized debits.

* Online option may not be available to all customers. Please get a quote to see if you are eligible to buy online.

If you are between the ages of 18-55 and applying for more than $1,000,000 in coverage; or If you are between the ages of 56-70 and applying for $500,000 or more in coverage, Apply for RBC YourTerm^® Life Insurance:

• Call 1-844-340-2924
• Find an RBC Insurance Store or Advisor

Yes, but you must request the cancellation in writing. When your policy is delivered to you, you have a free look period to review it and cancel without any penalty—30 days for RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance and 10 days for RBC YourTerm^® Life Insurance. If you want to cancel inside this free look period, we’ll refund all premiums paid. After the 10 or 30 days, you can cancel your insurance however you will not receive a refund for the time the coverage was in place.

Term life insurance is a legal contract between you and RBC Life Insurance Company. In the event of your death, we will make a tax-free payment to your beneficiary or estate^3,4, usually referred to as a death benefit. (Note that probate fees are applicable if the death benefit is paid to your estate.

Term life insurance covers you for 10 to 40 year periods. Coverage can be automatically renewed after the initial Term until age 100, at which time coverage continues but premiums are no longer required.

As term insurance is intended to cover short term needs, you want to select a term length aligning with how long you require the coverage, such as buying a term policy to align with a 20 year mortgage term. The term policy is guaranteed renewable in case you do require the coverage for a longer period of time, however you can also request to cancel the policy at that time if you no longer need the coverage.

The premium you pay goes towards life insurance coverage only. The policy does not build any cash value. However, our policies do allow you to convert your insurance to a permanent life insurance or universal life insurance plan at any time prior to the age of 71, with no health questions or medical exam.²

One of the differences between term life insurance and permanent life insurance is that term life insurance is intended to cover shorter term needs (such as protecting your income prior to retiring, a mortgage or loan, children’s education costs etc), whereas permanent life insurance provides coverage for your lifetime. Term life insurance is also generally lower in cost when compared to permanent coverage.

All of our term life insurance plans offer these benefits:

• Affordable, guaranteed rates
• Coverage for 10 to 40 year periods
• Coverage can be automatically renewed after the initial Term until age 100, at which time coverage continues but premiums are no longer required
• Ability to convert to a permanent or universal life insurance plan prior to age 71, with no health questions or medical exam required.²

There is no cash value with a term life insurance policy. The premium you pay is for coverage only.

The conversion option allows you to convert to a permanent life insurance plan prior to age 71, with no health questions or medical exam required.

The exchange option allows you to exchange a Simplified Term and Term 10 policy for a Term 15, Term 20 or Term 30 policy without providing evidence of insurability. The exchange must occur prior to the earlier of your 5th policy anniversary and the policy anniversary nearest your 70th birthday.

You are covered under the policy once you are approved and we receive the first premium. There should also be no change in your health during the review of your application.

If you are paying by monthly pre-authorized debit, we will automatically debit your account when you are approved for coverage. If you select to pay on an annual basis, we will send out an invoice for the annual premium. Once payment is received, coverage starts. If there is any change in your health during our review of your application, please notify our office immediately.

Your coverage ends on the earlier of:

• The date of your death
• The date you request to cancel your life insurance in writing
• The date you stop paying your insurance premiums/paragraph

Please contact us for complete details.

Yes. During the first two years of coverage, if death is due to suicide, then no benefit is payable. Also, if during the application process we are given incorrect or incomplete information, RBC Insurance has the right to deny the claim. This includes information regarding health, lifestyle or smoking habits.

The information above is intended as a summary only. For RBC Simplified^® Term Life Insurance, please see the additional disclosure information or a sample policy for complete terms and conditions, including benefits and exclusions. For RBC YourTerm^® Life Insurance, please see a sample policy for complete details on terms and conditions, including benefits and exclusions.