What to gather, check and decide before you apply for life, disability or critical illness insurance, and after the policy arrives.
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Use this checklist when you apply for term or permanent life insurance, individual disability insurance or critical illness insurance, and keep it with the policy afterwards.
It follows the order in which problems usually happen. Before you apply, you need numbers: what your household would need and what you already have through group benefits and public programs. During the application, the main risk is an incomplete answer. Canadian insurers can contest a policy for material misrepresentation during its first two years, and for fraud at any time, so a skipped question can cost the whole claim. When the policy arrives, you have a short free-look period, often 10 days, to cancel for a refund if it is not what you expected.
After that, the policy only works if premiums keep being paid and the beneficiary designation stays current. Quebec rules differ: a married or civil union spouse named as beneficiary is irrevocable unless the designation says otherwise, so changing it later needs their consent.
The checklist does not replace reading the contract. For a large policy, a complex health history or a business need, talk to a licensed advisor, and for estate questions, a lawyer or Quebec notary.
Claim Disputes, Mistakes and Official Sources
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.
Coverage Types, Price Factors and 2026 Rules
How Canadian critical illness insurance works: covered conditions, survival period, partial payouts, return-of-premium options, tax treatment and how it differs from disability.
Worked Calculations and Buying Checklists
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.
Claim Disputes, Mistakes and Official Sources
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.
Claim Disputes, Mistakes and Official Sources
The mistakes that cost Canadians their life or disability claims: incomplete applications, outdated beneficiaries, relying on group plans, missed deadlines and lapsed policies.
Claim Disputes, Mistakes and Official Sources
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.
