Comparing No Medical Life Insurance Plans for Seniors

Background: No Medical Life Insurance Plans for Seniors

Seniors looking for no medical whole life insurance policies can choose between guaranteed issued policies, where there are no medical tests and no health questions, and simplified issue policy where there are no medical tests and a series of health questions.

There are three forks in the road as it were for life insurance, for those that would prefer for one reason or another to not have to go through the detailed medical questions and tests, or have a medical issue that might complicate obtaining coverage:

1. Medically underwritten– generally involves a nurse to visit you for blood and urine samples. The benefit is you get the most coverage for the least cost, and the widest selection of plans. The downside is people with some medical issues run the risk of a rating i.e. they want you to pay 2-3 times their standard rate, or they could decline you.
2. Non-medical / simplified issue, with a few questions– these plans don’t ask a lot of questions, and no paramedical tests are taken. The price for this are rates approx. twice that for medically underwritten plans, limited coverage amounts, typically $50,000, with one exception up to $500,000. The appeal of these plans is you will know up front whether you qualify or not. Many of these plans are called “Deferred” which means that if you were to die of other than by accident in the first two years, your beneficiary would only receive a return of the premiums you paid. After 2 years the benefit amount is paid, irrespective of cause. The appeal of these plans, from companies such as Canada Protection Plan, iA Excellence, or Assumption Lifeis that they ask a series of questions, and as long as you can answer “no” to all of them, you would be approved, at a rate typically about 50% higher than the medically underwritten plans, before they assess any surcharges, which often makes these plans the ideal, no hassle solution.
3. No questions asked plans– these plans ask no questions at the expense of even more limited coverage, typically $25,000 or less, and very expensive premiums especially for those over 60. People in this category typically opt to self-insure, as these too are deferred life plans.

There are several companies that offer either simplified issue or “no questions asked” plans that you can apply for on-line. We discourage you from using these sites without speaking with a broker first, as often, you would qualify for a better, less costly plan, but the computer doesn’t ask the right questions. So please,whether you speak to us or another life insurance broker, please speak to a knowledgeable advisor first.

The following are the leading simplified issue life insurance providers for seniors in Canada and a basic list of what they have to offer:

No Medical Life Insurance plans from Assumption Life

• The Golden Protection plan is available to insurance applicants ages 40-85.
• Base amounts of up to $100,000, $50,000 over age 71, or if the Deferred plan.
• Golden Protection is available with an immediate death benefit or a preferred death benefit.
• Assumption also offers this plan on a deferred basis. The same questions but the death benefit is deferred for the first 2 policy years if the insured was declined in the last 2 years.
• Only 8 questions, and no height and weight question
• This plan has both some guaranteed cash values and reduced paid up options after 5 years. You can also borrow from the cash value with this plan.

• Non Medical Whole Life
  • This plan is available providing term and permanent plans.
  • Issue ages 20 – 70
  • There are two permanent plans, No-Medical Whole Life offering up to $150,000 of coverage (8 questions), and No-Medical Whole Life Plus offering up to $250,000 of coverage (17 questions).
  • For people who have had major health issues e.g. cancer, leukemia, stroke, heart disease, you may qualify for Whole Life after 3 years of being disease free, and Whole Life Plus after 5 years.
  • If declined by another company neither plan is available.
  • This plan has both some guaranteed cash values and reduced paid up options after 5 years

• Total Protection
  • Total Protection is a close to “no questions asked”, as it asks 3 questions to qualify for $30,000 of coverage, or 6 questions to qualify for $50,000. Issue ages 18-80.
  • This a deferred plan for 2 years as described above.
  • This plan has both some guaranteed cash values and reduced paid up options after 3 years

No Medical Life Insurance plans from Canada Protection Plan

• No medical life insurance for insurance candidates age 80 and under
• Acceptance Life, Deferred Life, Simplified and Simplified Life simplified issue plans.
• Face amounts up to $25,000 for Acceptance Life, to $500,000 for ages 18-60 & $350,000 for ages 61-80 for Deferred Elite and Simplified Elite plans as of November 2018
• Pays out on an immediate basis or a deferred basis, depending on your ability to answer “no” to an increasing number of questions.
• Acceptance Life is a “no questions asked” plan, providing up to $25,000 of Deferred for 2 years permanent life insurance for ages 18-75
• Canada Protection Plan also offers a Deferred and Simplified Issue (Immediate Pay) Term 10, Term 20 and Term 100 plan to applicants up to age 70 for term 10, age 60 for term 20.  Current (November 2018) issue limits on Deferred Term is $350,000 and $500,000 for Simplified Elite Term plans.

No Medical Life Insurance plans from Industrial Alliance& iA Excellence

• Their simplified issue planis called Access Life. They have 4 plans:
• Guaranteed Access – for ages 6 months to 17 up to $10,000 of coverage, and 18-80 up to $25,000
• Deferred – for ages 6 months to 17 up to $25,000 of coverage, and 18-80 up to $100,000
• Deferred Plus – for ages 6 months to 17 up to $25,000 of coverage, and 18-70 up to $200,000, and 71-80 $150,000. Also available as term 20 to age 60 up to $200,000.
• Immediate Plus- for ages 6 months to 17 up to $25,000 of coverage, and 18-70 up to $300,000, and 71-80 $150,000. Also available as term 20 to age 60 up to $300,000.
• Number of questions – 12 for Deferred. 10 more for Deferred Plus, and 6 more for immediate plans.
• With deferred plans, they pay immediately if death cause due to accident

No Medical Life Insurance plans from Wawanesa Life

• Offers a plan called Instant IssueLife Insurance to insured’s age 45-75.
• Face amounts up to $50,000. If death caused by accident, applied for benefit is doubled
• Available on the deferred basis, which means that if the insured dies, in the first two years, by non-accidental means, the death benefit is limited to a return-of-premium plus interest.
• Only 5 qualifying questions, and payment option is for 20 years only.
• The plan also has guaranteed cash values, but only available on surrender of the policy.
• This plan is considered an endowment plan, which pays out the benefit at the later of 20 years or age 85. Note, this may cause some tax liability at that time; your broker can explain this to you.

There is an increasing trend for insurance companies to market some of their products directly to the public, e.g. Equitable Life also recently introduced a Simplified Issue plan to applicants ages 40 to 80.  BMO Insurance and Manulife Financial both offer Simplified Issue and Guaranteed Issue direct to seniors. At first glance it seems direct plans offer a better value but in most instances the premiums are higher than comparable offered through independent brokers, and more importantly, they may not be the best plan for your specific needs and / or medical issues, if any. So please, as mentioned already, spend the time for a 10-minute call with an LSM broker, to understand your no medical life insurance options. If the direct plan makes the most sense, out broker will say so. You will be glad you made the call.