Term life insurance: A multi-purpose and convenient product

In the July 2026 edition of the Insurance Journal in a report about term life insurance, sources mentioned that young people are particularly attracted to insurers' offerings. 

However, older clients can also benefit from term life insurance to cover a mortgage. “The 30-to-40 age group is a really big market for us, but we still have all age groups,” says Stéphanie Corbeil, Senior Director of Assure Direct, an online insurance premium comparison site, regarding clients over 40. 

“It’s not uncommon for someone to call me, completely desperate, because their financial institution’s insurance ends when they turn 70,” she adds.

Decreasing term insurance 

Corbeil cites the case of a 70-year-old policyholder who found himself without insurance with a mortgage balance of $175,000. "Health becomes a factor at that age," she comments, alluding to the higher cost. 

Corbeil suggests that those aged 65 and over who find themselves in this situation take out a 10-year term insurance policy (T10), which will be less expensive than a 20-year term policy (T20). She also notes that people in this age group most often prefer a 10-year decreasing term insurance policy, which is even less expensive. 

With most insurers offering decreasing term insurance, the coverage amount chosen by the policyholder will decrease until it represents 50% of the initial amount. For example, Assumption Life's FlexTerm, Beneva's Term Plus, and iA Financial Group's Traditional multi-term (R&C) insurance policies all include a decreasing term insurance option, according to information available in InsuranceINTEL, the Insurance Journal Publishing Group’s insurance product information centre. 

At Assumption Life, decreasing term T10 can be issued to the applicant up to age 75, as is the case with Beneva. Regardless of the term chosen, the age at issuance for a decreasing term policy cannot exceed 70 at iA. 

For those 65 and under 

Young people who want to cover a mortgage will prefer 20-year fixed-amount term insurance – Stéphanie Corbeil 

According to Stéphanie Corbeil, young people who want to cover a mortgage will prefer 20-year fixed-amount term insurance. According to information available on InsuranceINTEL, most insurers can only issue T20 policies up to age 65. 

There are a few exceptions to this limit. Among them, Sun Life can issue its Go Sun Life term life insurance product in its T20 version up to age 69. However, this is a more restrictive product than its traditional Sun Life Evolve term life insurance product. For example, it is not possible to convert Sun Life Go term life Insurance into permanent life insurance. 

Designed for online sales, Sun Life Go term life insurance offers a seven-step online application process: the client must complete a health questionnaire and may be required to undergo a medical examination, depending on their answers. 

Other insurers have chosen to limit the issuance age below 65. At Manulife, Family Term and Family Term with Vitality Plus policies can only be issued up to age 60. Humania Assurance issues HuGO Life T20 policies up to age 59. 

Term life insurance is usually only issued starting at age 18, or 16 in the case of Co-operators Life and its subsidiary CUMIS Life. However, it is possible to insure a baby from birth with Desjardins Insurance's Term 20, ivari's TERMSelect20, and Sun Life Evolve Term Insurance. 

Fast track for people in a hurry 

Insureds who want to obtain their term life insurance policy as quickly as possible can take advantage of an expedited process: accelerated underwriting. Reserved for healthy prospects, this fast track allows them to access insurance without having to undergo an examination or submit bodily fluids. Often, the insurer can issue the policy instantly at the time of the meeting between the advisor and their client.

This option could appeal to young entrepreneurs who are busy and eager to grow their businesses. They can quickly obtain up to five million dollars in T10 or T20 insurance coverage. A leader in the maximum coverage amount available through accelerated underwriting, Manulife offers this option to applicants aged 18 to 50 under its Family Term and Family Term with Vitality Plus products. BMO Insurance also offers up to $5 million in coverage with its Term 20, but only to clients aged 18 to 40. 

For its 10 Year and 20 Year Renewable and Convertible Plans, Equitable offers up to $3 million in accelerated underwriting coverage to clients aged 0 to 50. With its RBC YourTerm product, RBC Insurance also offers accelerated underwriting up to $3 million for individuals aged 50 and under. 

An exception within the $3 million group, Empire Life offers accelerated underwriting up to this limit for its Solution 10 and Solution 20 products, but only to insured individuals aged 0 to 17. For its clients aged 18 to 50 who wish to access accelerated underwriting, Empire Life will limit the term insurance coverage they can obtain this way to $1 million. Several other insurers offer accelerated pricing for policies under $3 million, often for amounts between $1 million and $2 million. 

Conversion option 

With the conversion privilege, the insured can change the term of their term policy while it is in effect. This option, also known as the right to convert, allows the insured to convert their term policy into a new term policy with a longer term. 

Your clients benefit from two additional years, without medical proof – iA Financial Group 

In an announcement released on May 15, iA announced that its Term 10 life insurance policies can now be converted online to T20 or T30 Multi-Term policies, up to seven years after their effective date. Clients benefit from two additional years, without medical proof, to adjust their coverage to suit their evolving needs, the announcement explains. 

The insured must convert their policy within a certain timeframe. The most common conversion period offered on the market is 5 years: this is the case for BMO Insurance, Foresters Financial, Humania Assurance, ivari, Equitable, Manulife, and UV Insurance. 

Other insurers offer a longer period. Assumption Life, Beneva, Desjardins Insurance, Empire Life, and iA allow conversions up to the 7th anniversary of the original policy. RBC Insurance stands out: the conversion must take place before the eighth anniversary. 

Conversions can be made, among other things, from a T10 to a T20 or T30 policy. Some insurers offer several options. 

At RBC Insurance, policyholders can convert an RBC YourTerm policy with a term of 10 to 39 years for a policy with a term of 11 to 40 years. The new policy term simply needs to be at least one year longer than the original policy term and must respect the maximum age allowed for the new term. Canada Life's My Term insurance offers the option to convert a joint policy only upon the first death. Canada Life allows joint policyholders to cancel their joint term policy and convert it for two separate permanent policies on one life. 

Corbeil made the statements used in this article during an interview with the Insurance Journal as part of our report on term insurance.