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Wawanesa Insurance Life Insurance Review – Updated 2024
Wawanesa offers affordable term life insurance products, with options for laddering and discounts. Conversion options are restricted to non-participating permanent products, but their term policies include 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms, and term to age 80 options with coverage up to $10,000,000. Non-medical coverage policies up to $500,000 and no-fee riders round out their economical product suite.
You can get some of the best-priced term life insurance policies from Wawanesa. It may not be a household name in the Canadian insurance industry just yet, but there are lots of reasons why we gave it high ratings.
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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Wawanesa Life Insurance rating and review
Wawanesa Life is the life insurance arm of Wawanesa Insurance, a Canadian insurance conglomerate with products across the individual, home, farm and commercial business sectors. They offer term life insurance plans with terms ranging from 10 to 30 years and include a special term-to-age-80 option. When one chooses Wawanesa Insurance, they can potentially layer term plans if they enact a base plan and add up to four term-riders of various initial term lengths within a single policy.
Preferred underwriting is available, with 3 nonsmoker and 2 smoker classes. Wawanesa insurance products are frequently the most affordable in Canada, depending on the applicant’s age and other individual factors.
Apart from pure term life insurance, Wawanesa Insurance has options for Permanent Life Insurance and Quick Issue Critical Illness Insurance products through Wawanesa Life.
While Wawanesa does business in the United States, this review focuses on Wawanesa Canada.
Pros and cons
Wawanesa Life Insurance Pros
- Multiple term life options are available with Wawanesa insurance products
- Premiums are frequently among the most affordable available in the industry
- Ability to create layered or ‘laddered’ structures with Wawanesa insurance products, given the availability of multiple coverage options
- Most products are lifelong renewable, albeit at higher prices
- The company does not charge any policy or rider fees, which helps keep the premiums very affordable
- Ability to get coverage without medicals for up to $500,000, if you are below the age of 45
- Digital e-policy
Wawanesa Life Insurance Cons
- Underwriting process can take relatively longer than other companies
- Policies can only be converted into non-participating permanent products
Who is Wawanesa Insurance?
Wawanesa Mutual, founded in 1896 with executive offices in Winnipeg, is the parent company of Wawanesa Insurance, which distributes life insurance products and services throughout Canada and the United States. Wawanesa Insurance also offers automobile, farm, home and commercial business coverage. The parent company is a mutual insurance company, owned by its policyholders, allowing Wawanesa Insurance to align its business objective with the financial security and well being of its clients.
While Wawanesa Mutual is one of the largest property and casualty insurers in the country, Wawanesa Canada has a relatively smaller life insurance business. Wawanesa Insurance’s life insurance business has been in operation since 1960. In 2017, Wawanesa Insurance acquired the Western Life Insurance business from Desjardins and combined it with Wawanesa Life.
Key facts about Wawanesa Insurance
- When was Wawanesa Insurance founded? 1896
- Where is Wawanesa Insurance headquarters? Winnipeg, Manitoba
- AM Best Rating: A
- Better Business Bureau Accreditation and Rating: No / A+
- Assets: $1.5-billion
- Annual Premiums: $280-million
How much does life insurance from Wawanesa cost?
Representative values, based on non-smokers in good health. $500,000 coverage, 20-year term.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $30.15 | $20.70 |
| 25 | $30.60 | $22.05 |
| 30 | $30.60 | $22.95 |
| 35 | $36.00 | $28.80 |
| 40 | $50.85 | $38.25 |
| 45 | $79.20 | $58.50 |
| 50 | $133.20 | $94.50 |
| 55 | $238.05 | $166.05 |
| 60 | $429.75 | $299.25 |
What types of term life insurance policies does Wawanesa offer?
Wawanesa Insurance offers competitively priced term life insurance throughout Canada.
Coverage and policy details
- Available Term Lengths: 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years terms, and term to age 80
- Available Term Types: Level coverage. Single and joint life options are available
- Maximum Amount of Coverage: $10,000,000
- Renewability: Yes, lifetime renewable at the end of the initial term, with the last renewal at age 80
- Convertibility: Yes, convertible until age 70
What other insurance policies does Wawanesa Insurance offer?
Wawanesa Insurance offers a wide range of products to customers, apart from term life and other living benefits mentioned above, 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.
Wawanesa Life offers 2 different permanent life insurance policies.
Wawanesa Whole Life Insurance
Wawanesa Life’s participating whole life insurance offers higher coverage amounts at a lower premium cost than many of their competitors and is therefore one of the most affordable whole life insurance choices in Canada.
Wawanesa Life’s whole life policy is offered with 2 pay options: Whole Life – Pay to Age 100, (you pay premiums until age 100) and 20 Pay Whole Life (you pay premiums for only 20 years).
You can also build additional coverage with dividends; Wawanesa Life lets policyholders purchase paid-up additional insurance with the value from their dividends.
Wawanesa Instant Issue Life Insurance
Wawanesa Life’s Instant Issue Life Insurance policy is non-medical whole life insurance with a maximum of $50,000 in coverage. It requires a simplified life insurance application, which means you’ll have to answer some questions about your health and medical history, but it does not require blood work or a medical exam. It is available between the ages of 45 and 75 and the death benefit is reduced if the insured passes away within the first 2 years of the policy. There are also many options for surrender values and return of premium.
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.
Wawanesa Life offers enhanced critical illness insurance with coverage for 14 different illnesses including:
- Heart Attack
- Stroke
- Cancer (Life-Threatening)
- Coronary Artery Blockage
- Kidney Failure
- Major Organ Transplant
- Major Organ Failure on Waiting List
- Paralysis
- Occupational HIV Infection
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Loss of Speech
- Loss of Limbs
- Severe Burns
The application for Wawanesa Life’s critical illness coverage is simplified; applicants only need to answer a health questionnaire and there is no requirement for blood work or medical tests.
The policy can be issued between the ages of 18-60 and maximum coverage is $100,000.
There are three plan types available which all offer a return of premiums on death:
- 10 Year Term that is renewable to Age 75
- Level Term to Age 75
- Level Term to Age 75 with a flexible return of premium (after 10 years or age 65, the insured person can surrender the policy for 50% of the premiums paid to that point).
Wawanesa Car Insurance
Wawanesa Insurance offers auto coverage across all provinces and territories except for Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Newfoundland & Labrador.
Wawanesa Home Insurance
Wawanesa offers coverage for your home in all provinces and territories. Their policies include Basic, Broad, and Special categories with increasing levels of coverage, and options for coverage on sheds, garages, cottages, cabins, and more, as well as extended coverage for contents and if you are operating a business from your home. These options extend to their condo insurance offerings.
Wawanesa Insurance also offers tenant insurance for those looking to insure the contents of their home in the event of a fire, flood, or theft.
Wawanesa Business Insurance
Wawanesa Insurance offers coverage for several types of businesses, including commercial business coverage, and farm coverage.
Is Wawanesa Life Insurance right for you?
Wawanesa Insurance offers unique life insurance coverage products that are a great fit for many Canadian consumers – for those looking for a great price on insurance Wawanesa offers some of the country’s most competitively priced premiums. As insurance advisors for Wawanesa insurance products, we can help you decide if Wawanesa Insurance Canada is the best fit.
Speak to our licensed advisors and we can help you find the best coverage for your needs – whether that be with Wawanesa Canada or another great Canadian insurance provider.
