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Foresters Life Insurance Canada Review – Updated 2024
Forester’s offers pure term life insurance policies, with coverage up to $5 million, that are convertible to permanent policies without additional medical underwriting procedures. Benefits of their policies include community membership, bereavement assistance, academic scholarships, charity donations, and more. Term options include 10, 20, and 30 years with the option to convert to whole or participating policies.
Term life insurance is great for short-term coverage. But, sometimes, our needs change. If you’re looking for a plan that is simple but flexible enough to keep up with changes, a policy from Foresters might be right for you.
Read our full review below to find out more about the company, which features they offer, and what we rate their life insurance products.
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Our Foresters Financial life insurance rating and review
Foresters Financial’s Term Life Insurance is a pure term life insurance product – as its name suggests. It is renewable and convertible to their permanent life insurance products, without having to go through additional medical underwriting. It is also exchangeable for another term insurance policy with a longer term, if it is offered by Foresters at the time of exchange. This is an excellent product for meeting changing financial needs, with the added advantage of these optional riders:
- Children’s Term Rider: This rider provides term insurance for the insured person’s children in the age group of 15 days to 25 years. The premium is guaranteed and payable only for 20 years. Each insured child has the option of converting this coverage to a new permanent life insurance policy without evidence of insurability.
- Accidental Death Benefit: This rider provides an additional death benefit when the person insured dies as a result of an accident. The maximum benefit amount has to be the lesser of $300,000 or the death benefit of the base policy.
- Waiver of Premium: This rider waives the premium payable in the event of the total disability of the person insured under the rider.
- Term Riders: Term riders are available on the life of the individual insured under the base policy, or their spouse. These riders also have conversion and exchange privileges and can be useful for building laddered coverage.
Foresters Term Life products also offer some unique benefits that reflect the company’s desire to positively enhance the lives of its client-members and their communities. Once you purchase an insurance policy from Foresters, you become eligible to participate in their community offerings that assist in personal development, social interaction and voluntary service.
A unique feature of Foresters Term Life offerings is that they come with the Foresters Charity Benefit. What this means is that when a claim is paid to the policyholder’s beneficiary, Foresters will pay an additional 1% (up to a maximum of $100,000) of the benefit amount to a registered charitable organization, as designated by the owner. The payment is made as a donation in the name of the insured. The Charity Benefit provision is automatically included; it does not increase premiums, nor does it lower the value of the death benefit.
The insured under a Foresters Term policy are also eligible for Foresters membership plan – members enjoy unique benefits, including competitive academic scholarships, financial counselling, discounted legal services, emergency and disaster relief, as well as grants to support local volunteer opportunities.
Foresters term life insurance also comes with a built-in Bereavement Assistance benefit, which provides reimbursement of up to $1,000 for counselling services to beneficiaries to help them deal with their loss.
Pros and cons
Foresters Life Insurance Pros
- Multiple coverage terms available
- Simplified and quick fulfilment options available
- Discounted premiums on term 10, 20, and 30 products
- Convertible into Foresters’ suite of whole life insurance products, which offer both participating and non-participating options
- Unique community membership benefits (discounts on hotels, attractions, learning libraries, wills, gift cards, online shopping, etc.)
- Digital e-policy
Foresters Life Insurance Cons
- Limited terms (10, 20, or 30 only)
- No online access to policy details
Who is Foresters Financial and Foresters Life Insurance?
Foresters and Foresters Financial are operating brand names for the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF), an international financial services provider. IOF is a fraternal benefit society that originated in Canada and has offered life insurance and annuities in North America and the UK for more than 145 years through Foresters Financial.
Foresters Financial has over 3 million clients and members across Canada, the United States, and the UK. As a fraternal institution, Foresters Financial’s profits are reinvested into causes that enrich the lives of its members and their communities. Foresters Financial has been an early champion of gender and racial equality and is known internationally for its charitable efforts in times of tragedy and need.
Key facts about Foresters Financial
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- Founded: 1874
- Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
- AM Best Rating: A
- Better Business Bureau Accreditation and Rating: Yes/A-
- Assets: $2.6 billion
- Annual Premiums: $1.3 billion
How much does life insurance from Foresters Financial cost?
Representative values, based on non-smokers in good health. $500,000 coverage, 20-year term.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $29.70 | $20.70 |
| 25 | $30.15 | $20.70 |
| 30 | $30.15 | $20.70 |
| 35 | $31.50 | $22.95 |
| 40 | $45.00 | $33.30 |
| 45 | $72.00 | $51.30 |
| 50 | $123.75 | $82.80 |
| 55 | $213.75 | $157.05 |
| 60 | $423.00 | $298.80 |
| 65 | $716.40 | $487.80 |
What other types of term life insurance policies does Foresters Financial offer?
Foresters offers three different term life insurance options as described in the review above. Specifically, they are:
Term 10
- Available for applicants aged 18-75
- Automatic renewals available every 10 years
- Face amounts ranging from $100,000 – $5 million
Term 20
- Available for applicants aged 18-65
- Automatic renewals available every 20 years
- Face amounts ranging from $100,000 – $5 million
Term 30
- Available for applicants aged 18-55
- Automatic renewals available for 5-year terms once the original 30-year term concludes.
- Face amounts ranging from $50,000 – $5 million
EZ Term
- Simplified issue, non-medical policy
- Guaranteed renewable to age 75 and convertible to age 65
- Automatic renewals available for 5-year terms once the original 30-year term concludes.
- Face amounts ranging from $25,000 to $250,000, depending on age
- Does not include any riders
Coverage and policy details
- Available Term Lengths: 10, 20, and 30 years
- Available Term Types: Guaranteed level premiums
- Maximum Amount of Coverage: $5,000,000
- Renewability: Yes, see details above.
- Convertibility: Yes, policies can be converted without evidence of insurability to any permanent insurance plan (including whole life insurance) offered by Foresters for conversion at that time, prior to the policy anniversary nearest the policyholder’s 71st birthday.
What other insurance policies does Foresters Financial offer?
Foresters offers a wide range of insurance products to customers, apart from term life, such as:
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance provides you with coverage from the day the policy is settled until the day you die. Premiums are level and guaranteed, and as long as you keep paying the premiums the coverage never expires.
Foresters Financial offers two permanent life insurance policy options:
Advantage Plus Whole Life
- A participating whole life insurance policy
- Offers the flexibility to customize a plan that helps provide financial security for your loved ones with options for term riders for oneself and their children
- Lifetime death benefit protection, guaranteed cash value, and guaranteed premiums
- Premium payment options of 10-pay, 20-pay or pay-to-age-100
Non-Par Whole Life
- A non-participating whole life insurance policy
- Offers the flexibility to customize a plan that helps provide financial security for your loved ones with options for term riders for oneself, their spouse, and their children
- Lifetime death benefit protection, guaranteed cash value, and guaranteed premiums
- Premium payment options of 20-pay or pay-to-age-100
Read our full review of Foresters Financial Whole Life Insurance.
Critical Illness Insurance
Critical illness insurance is a living benefit insurance policy that pays out a tax-free lump sum if you develop a specified illness, health event, or undergo treatment while under its coverage, after a minimum of 30 days from when you are first diagnosed (90 days for cancer). This coverage is available for a period of time also known as term length; and you determine it when purchasing the policy.
Foresters Financial offers 2 different critical illness insurance policies:
Health Security Plus
- Basic coverage (four conditions covered)
- Available in a 10-year term or to age 75
- Simplified application
- Coverage up to $100,000
- Return of premium on death and return of premium on expiry/cancellation available
Life Care
- Enhanced coverage (25 conditions covered)
- Available in a 10-year term or to age 75
- Traditional application process with medical underwriting
- Coverage up to $2,000,000
- Return of premium on death and return of premium on expiry/cancellation available
For more information and an in-depth look at their critical illness coverage, read our Foresters Financial Critical Illness Insurance Review.
Other Financial Services from Foresters Financial
Foresters Financial – as the name implies – also offers options for those saving for retirement through annuities. Their Annuity Plus suite of products can also be used as RRSPs and TFSAs for those looking to ensure a reliable source of income at retirement.
Is Foresters life insurance right for you?
Foresters offers unique life insurance coverage products that are a great fit for many Canadian consumers. As insurance advisors for Foresters’ life insurance products, we can help you decide if Foresters products are the best fit for you.
As Canada’s best online life insurance advisor, we will assist you in comparing and choosing products across all our partner companies. Speak to our licensed advisors and we will be able to assist you in finding you the best coverage for your needs.
