All guides
Life insurance and disability income protection in Canada: term vs permanent, critical illness, EI sickness benefits, CPP disability, group LTD tax and beneficiary rules.
Coverage Types, Price Factors and 2026 Rules
- CPP disability benefit and QPP disability pension in 2026: who qualifies and how much you get
CPP disability in 2026: severe and prolonged test, contribution rules, up to $1,741.20 a month, children's benefit, LTD offsets, and how Quebec's QPP disability pension differs.
- Critical illness insurance in Canada: how it pays, what it covers and when it is worth it
How Canadian critical illness insurance works: covered conditions, survival period, partial payouts, return-of-premium options, tax treatment and how it differs from disability.
- Disability insurance terms explained: own occupation, elimination period, benefit period and more
The disability insurance terms that decide whether a Canadian policy pays: definitions of disability, waiting and benefit periods, offsets, residual benefits and guarantees.
- EI sickness benefits in 2026: 26 weeks, 55% up to $729 a week, and how to qualify
EI sickness benefits explained for 2026: who qualifies, the 600-hour rule, the one-week waiting period, the $729 weekly maximum, medical certificates and employer plans.
- Life and disability insurance in Canada: how the layers of income protection fit together
How EI sickness, CPP/QPP disability, group LTD, term and permanent life, disability and critical illness insurance fit together in Canada, with 2026 figures.
- What determines life insurance premiums in Canada (and which factors you can change)
Age, sex, tobacco and cannabis use, health class, family history, occupation, face amount, term and riders: how each affects a Canadian life insurance quote.
- Term vs permanent life insurance in Canada: which one fits your need
Term 10, 20, 30, term to 100, whole life and universal life compared: how each works in Canada, what it costs relative to term, and a decision checklist.
Worked Calculations and Buying Checklists
- Buy term and invest the difference: does it beat permanent life insurance in Canada?
A worked Canadian test of "buy term and invest the difference" against term to 100: TFSA growth, the years after the term ends, break-even age and the conditions that decide it.
- Disability income gap: how much of your pay would LTD, EI and CPP really replace?
Worked Canadian example of a disability income gap: group LTD percentage and cap, tax on benefits, CPP offsets, the waiting period, inflation, and how to size a top-up.
- Are long-term disability benefits taxable in Canada? Group LTD tax rules with examples
When group LTD and STD benefits are taxable in Canada, how employee contributions reduce the tax, employee-pay-all plans, group life taxable benefits and Quebec differences.
- How much life insurance do I need in Canada? A worked needs calculation
Calculate how much life insurance you need in Canada: debts, income replacement in present value, education and final costs, minus group life, savings and CPP benefits.
- Mortgage life insurance from your lender vs personal term life insurance in Canada
Lender mortgage life and disability insurance compared with personal term life in Canada: who gets paid, falling coverage, post-claim underwriting, portability and a cost example.
- Disability and income protection for self-employed Canadians: EI opt-in, CPP and private policies
How self-employed people in Canada can protect income: EI special benefits registration, CPP disability, individual disability and business overhead expense insurance, with worked costs.
- Term 10, 20 or 30? Choosing a term length and laddering life insurance policies
How to pick a term length for life insurance in Canada, why renewals get expensive, and how laddering two or three term policies can cut cost, with worked totals.
Claim Disputes, Mistakes and Official Sources
- Life insurance beneficiary designations in Canada: revocable, irrevocable, minors and Quebec rules
How to name a life insurance beneficiary in Canada: revocable vs irrevocable, minors and trustees, estate vs named beneficiary, creditor protection, and Quebec Civil Code rules.
- CPP disability or EI sickness refused? Reconsideration, appeals and the QPP review
How to challenge a refused CPP disability or EI sickness decision: reconsideration deadlines, the Social Security Tribunal, the new EI Board of Appeal, and Quebec's QPP review.
- Missed a life insurance payment? Grace periods, lapse and reinstatement in Canada
What happens when a Canadian life insurance premium is missed: the 30-day grace period, death during grace, automatic premium loans, lapse, and reinstating within two years.
- 12 costly life and disability insurance mistakes Canadians make (and how to avoid them)
The mistakes that cost Canadians their life or disability claims: incomplete applications, outdated beneficiaries, relying on group plans, missed deadlines and lapsed policies.
- The two-year contestability period: when a Canadian insurer can deny a claim for misrepresentation
How the two-year contestable period works for life and disability insurance in Canada and Quebec, what counts as material misrepresentation, fraud, age errors and suicide clauses.
- Long-term disability claim denied or cut off in Canada: appeals, OLHI and limitation periods
What to do when a group or individual LTD claim is denied or terminated in Canada: reasons, internal appeals, the 24-month change of definition, OLHI, regulators and lawsuits.
- Official sources for life and disability insurance in Canada: regulators, OLHI, Assuris and benefit portals
Where to verify life and disability insurance rules in Canada: provincial regulators, the AMF, OLHI complaints, Assuris protection, Service Canada, Retraite Québec and CRA.