Free tool

Term life insurance calculator in Canada

Calculate how much life insurance you actually need; nothing more, nothing less. Answer a few simple questions & get custom advice.

First, let's cover the basics:

Life insurance is about protecting the people you love. We ask for this information to make sure we recommend enough coverage for your entire family.

Now, onto your finances:

We use this information to figure out how much your family would need if they had to replace your income.

What province do you live in?

Select a province

Do you have a partner?  

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Select “Yes” if you are currently married, engaged, in a common-law relationship or have a partner that you share finances with. If so, make sure to incorporate both you and your partner when we ask about your finances and expenses.
Select one of the options

Your date of birth

Your dates of birth

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Life insurance companies use a method called “age nearest” to determine the age the policy premiums are based upon. The age nearest method calculates the issue age based on the nearest age to your policy date. For example, if your date of birth is February 20th, 1984 and today’s date is January 20th, 2019, the issue age would be 35, even though your actual age is 34 and you won’t be 35 for another month.
You
Partner
Select valid date

Do you have any children?

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Select “Yes” if you have children or are currently expecting. Select “No” if you don’t have children or all of your children are out of your household and more or less financially independent.
Select one of the options

How old are your children?  

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Only include children who you are financially supporting (usually 25 and younger). Make sure to incorporate your children when we ask about your finances and expenses.
Add

Do you plan to pay for your kids’ education? 

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If your children’s post-secondary education is something you’re planning to pay for, we’ll want to make sure that your family will have enough money to cover the costs if you were no longer around.
Select one of the options

What’s your gender?

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Different genders have different life expectancies, which is why life insurers take it into account when pricing policies.

We understand that you might not define your identity as simply "Male" or "Female" so we're working to add more options.

We appreciate your flexibility.
Select one of the options

Have you used nicotine or tobacco products in the last 12 months?

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If you quit smoking over a year ago, we have good news for you: No matter how long or how often you were smoking, you can specify “No” for this question. Your life insurance premiums will be the same as those for a non-smoker! Wasn’t that an unexpected surprise?
Select one of the options

Now, onto your finances:

We use this information to figure out how much your family would need if they had to replace your income.

Your annual income  

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Give us a ballpark estimate of your annual pre-tax income. Don’t include investments — we’ll get to that soon.
Enter an amount
Enter an amount

Do you rent or own your house?  

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You should select "own" only if you currently own or are in the process of purchasing your place of residence. If you plan to buy a home in the future, but are not currently looking, please don't select "own" since the time of purchase, sale price and mortgage payments you make can significantly impact your coverage needs. Until you're certain about these details, it's best to not include them to ensure you aren't paying for coverage that you might not ultimately need.

When you do buy your home, we recommend revisiting the PolicyMe life insurance checkup to get updated advice and understand how your coverage needs may have changed.
Select one of the options

What’s your mortgage amount?

Enter an amount
Enter an amount

What’s your monthly rent?

Enter an amount

Family’s savings  

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Add up the money you have in both your retirement savings and non-retirement savings accounts. Your "Other Savings" could include bank accounts, TFSAs, other investment accounts, and if applicable, the value at which you can sell a business you own.
Enter an amount
Enter an amount

Existing life insurance coverage

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You may have already purchased life insurance policies from a broker. If so, please include the total coverage amount of these policies here. Be careful not to include policies that have expired and are no longer active (for example, if you cancelled a policy or if you had a term policy that expired).
Please include any personal coverage and coverage through work
Enter an amount

Family’s non-mortgage debt

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One of the primary objectives of our life insurance calculator is to project how much money your family will need to cover their future expenses. One component of your family's future expenses is the repayment of your debts.
Enter an amount

Based on the answers that you provided, we recommend you get
$placeholder
 in coverage.
$44.52
/mo
$525,000
in coverage over
25 years
$44.52
/mo
$525,000
in coverage over
25 years
$44.52
/mo
$525,000
in coverage over
25 years
Save to my email

Congratulations, you don’t need any life insurance!

Since you don’t have any financial dependents, you don’t need life insurance coverage.

Based on the answers that you provided, we recommend you get

$14,000,000

in coverage.

We offer life insurance policies up to $5,000,000 in coverage.

Still want to see quotes?

Save to my email

Why don’t I need coverage?

Since you’re single and don’t have any children, you don’t need life insurance. Why? Because no one is relying on your income to live.
Buying coverage before you actually need it may seem like the best way to plan for the future. But the reality is that if you don’t need the coverage today, the money you would spend on insurance premiums could be better used to contribute to retirement savings or build an emergency fund.
So save your money for now, and come back to us if your situation changes.

How was this calculated?

We added up the total amount of money that your family will spend if they don’t make any changes to their current lifestyle, and subtracted out all the money that will be available to your family in the future.
Your recommended coverage is needed to make up the difference.
Debts
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Leaving your family debt free is a very critical first step to reducing the financial burden of an untimely death. We added your mortgage and other debts together to calculate this number.
$0
Children's expenses until age 25
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We made sure your family will have the money to cover your children’s expenses until they become financially independent. This number is the sum total of expenses in each year.
$0
Children's education
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You told us that you plan on paying for your children’s college / university education, so we made sure this support will still be there if something happens to you. This amount can be used to setup an education fund that can eventually be used to cover 4 years of tuition, as well as other school related expenses such as a laptop and textbooks.
$100,000
Partner's expenses for life
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We made sure your family will have the money to cover your partner’s expenses for the rest of their life. This number is the sum total of expenses in each year.
$1,125,000
Savings
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Your savings can be used to pay for some of your family’s future expenses, reducing your life insurance need. We’ve also incorporated your retirement savings, but reduced them by the taxes that will be owed upon withdrawal.
($0)
Partner's future income
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Your partner’s future income is an important part of your family’s financial picture, and can be used to pay for some of your family’s future expenses, reducing your life insurance need. We’ve projected the total amount of money that your partner will earn in the future, subtracting out taxes. This number is the sum total of after-tax income in each year.
($525,000)
Existing coverage already in place
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No need to double count! You already have some life insurance coverage, so we’ve reduced the amount of additional coverage you need. Our goal is to make sure the TOTAL amount of coverage you have between all of your policies is in line with your needs.
($0)
Additional insurance coverage needed
$1,075,000
* When we project forward expenses and income, we add on inflation to make sure your family can afford to pay their bills as prices increase over time

** The numbers you see are all “present values”, a fancy statistical technique that is used to describe how much a future sum of money is worth today
This life insurance calculator (the “calculator”) is provided for informational and illustrative purposes only. The calculator is designed to provide accurate information, but your individual situation may require analysis of other factors not accounted for in this tool. When deciding on insurance coverage or considering the information that the calculator provides, you should consult a licensed professional. The information generated by this calculator depends upon the information you supply, and, therefore, we don’t warrant any results or information that the calculator generates.

FAQ: Life insurance calculator in Canada

What happens next?

Input your details in our term life insurance calculator and we’ll give you three options: a budget-friendly option, a “just right” option and an option with extra protection. Each option will have its own term length, coverage amount and estimated price.

Select one of these options and you’ll go to our quotes page where you can customize your coverage. Make the term length longer or shorter. Add more coverage or less. We’ll adjust your estimated monthly premiums as you go.

Like what you see? Go ahead and apply. It takes most people 20 minutes or less and there’s no commitment. Apply together with your partner to save an extra 10% off your rates in the first year.

Will the calculator recommend too much (or not enough) life insurance?

We never recommend more coverage than you need. There are many features in our calculation that help us do this, such as asking for your partner’s income and any existing savings that could help offset the loss of your income. If you’re ever unsure about your coverage, our non-commissioned advisors are available seven days a week to give you unbiased advice.

Does this calculator only work for PolicyMe term life insurance?

Nope, you can use the calculator’s recommendations for any term life insurance product.

We do give you the option to get an instant quote from PolicyMe, 100% online. We offer same-quality policies at lower rates than other options in Canada. We’ve done this by using technology to remove unnecessary steps and costs, and we pass on the savings to our customers.

Is this quote my final price?

No. PolicyMe’s term life insurance calculator gives you an estimate of what term life insurance could cost for you. You’ll get your final price when you apply and your application is approved. It’s free to apply.

Does the calculator tell me if I don’t need term life insurance?

Yes! If you tell us that you’re single and don’t have any children, we’ll tell you that you don’t need term life insurance. Why? Because no one is relying on your income to live.

We recommend that you put the amount you’d spend on insurance premiums in retirement savings or an emergency fund instead. Then come back later if your situation changes.

What’s your formula for calculating term life insurance?

Here’s PolicyMe’s approach to calculating your term life insurance needs: we add up the total amount of money that your family will spend if they don’t make any changes to their current lifestyle and subtract out all the money that will be available to your family in the future. Your recommended coverage is needed to make up the difference.

Does the calculator recommend both term and whole life insurance?

This calculator only recommends term life insurance options. At PolicyMe, we believe most Canadian families need term life insurance, not permanent policies like whole and universal life insurance. Term life insurance covers you when you need it most: when you have loved ones who depend on you financially and/or you have large loans, like a mortgage.

Will I be stuck with the coverage the life insurance calculator recommends?

Absolutely not. There are plenty of opportunities to change your term length and coverage amount during the advice, quote and application process. Once you input your numbers in our term life insurance calculator, we’ll present you with three options. You can visit our quotes page and customize your coverage. Or go ahead and apply.

After you apply, you can talk to one of our non-commissioned advisors who can adjust your coverage and term length for you.

Is the recommendation binding?

Nope! Our term life insurance calculator’s advice is not binding, nor is the quote or application process. Our calculator will give you up to three coverage options. You can then get a quote with zero obligation. If you’re not ready to apply yet, there’s an option to save your quote for later.

What should I do if the recommended coverage amount seems too high or too low?

If the coverage amount recommended by the Life Insurance Calculator seems too high or too low, start by reassessing the information you provided and consider any additional factors that may not have been fully captured. You may need to adjust the input concerning your debts, future financial obligations, or income changes.

When in doubt, you can also consult with a licensed advisor at PolicyMe for personalized guidance to ensure that the coverage amount fits your specific needs and financial goals​​. 

How much term life insurance do I need in Canada?

Determining the right amount of term life insurance in Canada is a personal decision, but here are some quick pointers to get your started.

  • Evaluate your financial obligations, like mortgage payments, debts, and daily expenses.
  • Next, think about your loved ones' needs, such as childcare or education costs.
  • Factor in your existing savings or investments.

A good rule of thumb is to aim for coverage that's around 10 times your annual income. This provides a safety net for your family if something unexpected happens. For example if you make $75,000 per year, your life insurance policy should be $750,000 ($75,000 x 10 = $750,000).

What information do I need to calculate my life insurance coverage needs?

To calculate your life insurance needs, you'll need a few key pieces of information. First, consider your financial situation, like your income, debts and expenses. Next, take into account your long-term financial goals, like tuition, childcare and retirement. 

Now, think about potential future costs that could arise, like a mortgage, for example. It's also important to assess any dependents you have, like kids or elderly parents, that may need your financial support. Once you have all this information, you can start calculating your life insurance needs.

How does a life insurance calculator determine the amount of coverage I need?

A life insurance calculator helps you determine the appropriate coverage amount by considering key aspects of your financial situation. It takes into account your current income, debts, and future financial obligations, such as education costs for your children or future income replacement for your family.

This ensures the recommended coverage aligns with your actual needs, providing a personalized approach to calculating life insurance. By considering both immediate and long-term financial responsibilities, the calculator helps ensure that your family's future is secured, even in your absence​​.

What factors should I consider when deciding the term length for my life insurance policy?

When deciding on the term length for your life insurance policy, consider significant milestones and financial obligations in your future. The term should ideally cover periods when financial strain would be greatest on your family if something were to happen to you, such as while your children are still dependent or before your mortgage is paid off.

Common terms are 10, 20, or 30 years, aligning with typical mortgage terms and children’s growth into independence. Tailoring the term to your specific life and financial plan ensures optimal coverage without unnecessary cost​​.

How do I get an estimate for life insurance in Canada?

To get an estimate for life insurance in Canada, you can start by using an online life insurance calculator. This tool will ask you to input details like your age, health, income, and the amount of coverage you think you'll need. After submitting this information, you'll receive an estimated cost of your monthly premiums.

Is a life insurance calculator the same thing as a life insurance simulator?

Yes, a life insurance calculator and a life insurance simulator generally refer to the same tool. Both provide estimates of life insurance costs based on the information you provide. They help you explore different scenarios and see how changes in your life situation might affect your insurance needs and costs.

How much life insurance do I need to buy a house?

Firstly, life insurance is not mandatory when you’re buying a house in Canada. But due to the fact that a mortgage is a large amount of debt, life insurance is recommended to remove the financial burden from your loved ones in the event they’d need to cover it.

Generally, the amount of life insurance you should get when buying a house should at least cover your mortgage balance. This ensures that if something happens to you, the insurance can pay off the remaining mortgage, reducing financial stress on your family.

How much life insurance do I need to get married?

It isn’t mandatory to buy life insurance to get married in Canada. That said, it’s usually a good idea to get some kind of life insurance coverage because your spouse may financially rely on you for the household’s daily expenses and other financial obligations like a mortgage.

When getting married, consider life insurance that covers your shared debts, future plans like children’s education, and enough income replacement for your spouse. The exact amount can vary, so it's a good idea to discuss your financial goals and needs as a couple.