Life insurance clarified

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5 min.

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Explore all aspects of life insurance so you can make an informed choice.

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Given the multitude of life insurance products available, knowing which one is best for you can be a real challenge. So why not clear up the confusion once and for all about the types of life insurance?

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You will then be ready to meet with a financial security advisor and obtain the right coverage for you and your family.

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Why take out life insurance?

In the event of death, life insurance guarantees payment of a tax-free death benefit to your estate. There are many reasons to take out life insurance:

To protect your family
To leave a tax-free inheritance to your loved ones
To pay for your funeral expenses
To allow your family to maintain their lifestyle
To pay off your debts and your loans

When should you take out life insurance?

Although thinking about one’s own death might not seem easy, it’s important to consider the impact it would have on your loved ones. For example, at the end of your life, your family will need to pay off your line of credit, your auto loan, your mortgage, etc.

Even if you have no financial obligations, the death benefit will help those around you, whether to cover funeral expenses or to let family members take time off to grieve.

You’re never too young to get life insurance. In fact, the younger you are, the lower the cost of your premium.

What types of life insurance does iA offer?

There are four main types of life insurance:

	Term	Permanent	Universal	Participating
Coverage period	10 to 40 years	For life	For life	For life
Cost	$	$$	$$$	$$$$
Surrender value	-	X	-	X
Savings component	-	-	X	-
Annual participations¹	-	-		X

¹ Annual participations are not guaranteed and vary annually.

Each of these four types comes with different benefits. Learn the features of each type to understand what is included.

Term life insurance

Term life insurance covers you for a predetermined length of time, so your loved ones are protected from the economic burden of your financial commitments in the event of your death. It provides a tax-free insurance payment to your heirs.

This is the ideal solution if you have young dependent children and a limited budget, or if you have loans to pay off over the next few years, such as a mortgage.

Term life insurance provides simple, affordable coverage. Its fixed duration keeps premiums lower, while providing a high level of protection in the event of death. Premiums remain the same throughout your term, which can range from 10 to 40 years. When the policy expires, you have the option of renewing it or choosing another type of insurance that better suits your new needs.

We offer two term life insurance products: Access Life and Pick-A-Term.

Permanent life insurance

Permanent life insurance covers you for your whole life and provides uninterrupted coverage to your family and estate.

It is generally chosen by those who want to:

Leave an inheritance
Ensure the continuity of their business
Remain insured even if they fall sick
Protect an investment

Convert your coverage over time and adapt it to your current needs. This will provide custom coverage in line with your budget. You have the choice of paying your premiums in 10 or 20 years, or until your retirement at age 65. The many guarantees of permanent life insurance are reassuring: the premium amount will never increase for the duration of the contract, and the surrender value is guaranteed.

We offer four types of permanent life insurance: Whole Life, Access Life, Child Life & Health Duo, and Life and Serenity 65.

Universal life insurance

Universal life insurance combines two key elements of sound financial planning: permanent life insurance coverage and a tax-free savings account. This solution lets you save through tax benefits, leave a more sizable inheritance and protect the value of your business.

Universal life insurance is a great way to put some money aside if you have already maxxed out contributions to your RRSP and your TFSA for the year. Whether you’re a prudent investor or tend to invest more aggressively, the wide variety of options will let you diversify your savings as you need.

This secure insurance guarantees instant payout of a tax-free benefit to your beneficiaries. It also includes many flexible premium payment options, depending on your personal or work situation. You even have the option of paying an excess premium if there are projects you want to save up for.

Discover our universal life insurance: Genesis.

Participating life insurance

Participating life insurance offers a permanent life insurance solution to ensure the growth of your estate and access to liquidity thanks to annual dividends.

With this coverage, you can:

Benefit from a guaranteed death benefit, surrender value and premiums
Ensure the growth of your estate through annual dividends, and benefit from access to liquidity as needed for projects or to supplement your retirement income
Diversify your investments, protect your estate value and get privileged access to asset classes normally reserved for the institutional market

To learn more about our participating life insurance product, iA PAR, click here.

Now that you’re well informed about the range of products available to you, use our term life insurance calculator to get a better idea of how much your life insurance would cost. You can then focus entirely on your plans for the future, with the peace of mind that comes from having life insurance.

Visit the Well-being section of our Advice Zone to find out more about the reasons for choosing family life insurance, to discover why to take out life insurance for your child and to understand how to choose life insurance.