No Medical Life Insurance in Canada 2025

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Get life insurance coverage without a medical exam — but understand what you're paying for.

No medical life insurance allows Canadians to obtain life insurance coverage without undergoing a traditional medical exam. It's designed for people who have been declined for standard coverage, have serious health conditions, or want a faster, simpler application process. But this convenience comes at a cost — premiums are significantly higher, and coverage limits are lower.

Two Types of No-Medical Life Insurance

1. Simplified Issue Life Insurance

Simplified issue policies require you to answer a short health questionnaire (typically 3–15 questions) but no medical exam. You can be declined based on your answers. Questions typically ask about:

HIV/AIDS diagnosis
Terminal illness diagnosis
Recent hospitalization
Certain serious conditions (cancer treatment, heart surgery)
Recent drug or alcohol treatment

If you answer no to all questions, you're approved. Coverage is typically available up to $500,000–$1,000,000 depending on the insurer, and premiums are 20–50% higher than fully underwritten policies.

2. Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance

Guaranteed issue policies ask no health questions and cannot decline any applicant. Everyone who applies is approved. However:

Coverage is usually limited to $100–$50,000
Premiums are very high relative to the benefit
A graded benefit period typically applies — if you die within the first 2 years, beneficiaries only receive a return of premiums plus interest (not the full benefit)
Primarily used for final expense (funeral) coverage

Watch the graded benefit: Most guaranteed issue policies have a 2-year waiting period. If the insured dies of non-accidental causes in the first 2 years, the death benefit is not paid — only premiums are returned. Accidental death is usually covered from day one.

Simplified vs Guaranteed Issue vs Fully Underwritten

Feature	Fully Underwritten	Simplified Issue	Guaranteed Issue
Medical exam	Yes	No	No
Health questions	Detailed	Short	None
Can be declined	Yes	Yes	No
Max coverage	$1M+	Up to $1M	$10K–$50K
Premiums	Lowest	Moderate	Highest
Waiting period	None	None (usually)	2 years

Who Should Consider No-Medical Life Insurance?

People with serious health conditions who've been declined for standard coverage
Older Canadians (60+) wanting final expense coverage
People who need coverage quickly and can't wait for full underwriting
Individuals with a phobia of medical procedures
Business owners needing small amounts of coverage for a specific purpose

Accelerated Underwriting: A Middle Ground

Many major insurers now offer accelerated underwriting for healthy applicants — no medical exam, but using data sources, health questionnaires, and algorithms to approve coverage up to $1M–$3M for qualifying applicants. This is different from simplified issue and can offer rates close to fully underwritten policies. Worth asking about before defaulting to simplified issue.

Try fully underwritten first: Even with health conditions, it's worth applying for fully underwritten coverage first. Many conditions can be accommodated with a rated premium rather than a decline. A rated policy (higher premium) from a major insurer is often still cheaper than a simplified issue policy.

Best No-Medical Life Insurance Providers in Canada

Manulife (CoverMe): Simplified issue up to $1M; online application available
Empire Life: Competitive simplified issue products
Canada Protection Plan (CPP): Specializes in no-medical coverage; wide range of options
Humania Assurance: No-medical and simplified issue specialist
RBC Insurance: Simplified issue products for various age ranges

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